231 – Chic Manufacturing Co., Princess Peggy Inc.
Vogue.
I wasn’t quite sure where this building was. Odat did. So I drove on down to the 1000 block of SW Adams, as advised, and low and behold, at the corner of Maple St, there was the building. A building I had seen many times but yet never really noticed. It still holds the Chic Manufacturing letting on the front and has been rehabbed with brand new windows. It is currently empty but has an “available” sign on it.
From what little information I could find, Princess Peggy was a line of clothing manufactured by the Chic Manufacturing Co., but there are also some references to Princess Peggy, Inc. Of all the books I own, I do not have a phone book or business directory from this time period.
The postcard came from this site, which lists the date as 1916. The caption reads “The largest exclusive manufacturer of ladies and children’s aprons in the United States.”
The Vintage Fashion Guild says “Princess Peggy was a line of day and housedresses produced starting in 1929 and through the 1950s by Chic Manufacturing Co. of Peoria, Illinois.”
An article published on April 22, 1996 in Peoria Journal Star, written by columnist Bill Adams includes this: “1975: April 25 * Princess Peggy Inc., a women’s dress manufacturer at 1001 SW Adams St., was declared bankrupt in U.S. District Court.”
As of this writing, a vintage Princess Peggy dress is currently for sale here, which claims the business existed into the 1950’s.
April 7th, 2008 at 6:37 am
This is the Princess Peggy building in the 1000 block of SW Adams street. I don’t know what is in there now, but for many years it was a dress factory.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Chic Manufacturing Company.
(Sorry, I couldn’t resist)
April 13th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Josh, somebody had to do it.
August 8th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I just came across this – my mother worked at Princess Peggy from probably 1946 or 47 until the early 50’s, running a sewing machine. She died recently, but always talked about how nice the man was that ran the factory – I can’t remember his name, but it seems like it was something like Salzenstein – but I may be thinking of the Salzensteins that owned Schradzkis.
I still have a picture taken in the lunch room there when the ladies gave my mother a baby shower, so she had to have worked there until 1953.
I remember going there with her when I was really little, and seeing bugs the size of small dogs – it was an OLD building even then!
November 1st, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I was one of the principal owners of The Schradzki Co. The Chic Co. was owned and operated by Arnold Salzenstein, my father’s brother, and Edward F. Keefer, the husband of my father’s sister. My fathers’ name was also Charles Salzenstein. He, his brother, Harold, Stanley, my cousin, and I owned and operated the Schradzki Co. Chic Co. manufactured popularly priced ladies house dresses.
Charles Salzenstein III
November 12th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
I am the son of John streeter,he worked at Princess Peggy from 1955 to 1971 as the bussiness manager down in the basement with those big I.B.M. data processing cards. This was interesting to see as a small boy. He came to work there with his good friend Bob Ruble. Yes,I heard the name Salzenstein many times,with much praise. My father is still alive,living in St.Pete,Fl. he is 90yrs. old and still dancing. Life is great!!!!!!! {CHARLES YOU COME FROM GOOD STOCK !}
December 6th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
I love the Princess Peggy Labels, too. The dresses were so “girl next door” and classy. I am sorry they went bankrupt. How nice that you showed us the building. The way history is bulldozed these days, I am happy to find traces of anything from my past !
December 10th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
We are considering purchasing this building to house a new manufacturing company. My business partners and I are interested in rehabbing an old warehouse, and we want to bring jobs back into the heart of the city. Does anyone know about the structure? What type of manufacturing was done where inside the building? When were different features added to the building (dock doors, etc.)? Where were the offices located? Where were restrooms located? Any information would be helpful!
January 30th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Princess Peggy was a manufacturer of what were called housedresses. Sold for 2.99, 3.99, 7.99……made of cotton, cotton poly….the company ran into difficulty as offshore locations were able to manufacture and undercut American manufacturers with cheap labor and very low cost. The decline began around 1959-60 and ended with their bankruptcy. My father worked for Princess Peggy for 30 years and was an exec. vice president….I have fond memories of American women working hard at their sewing machines in the factory on Adams Street taking pride in their work and their product…..until foreign competition ended the industry….
March 20th, 2009 at 9:41 am
I had the great opportunity to work for and learn the skills of retailing at The Schradzki Co from Stanley Salzentein while I was a student at Bradley University (1958-1962) and working in The Varsity Club Shop next to Stanley’s office on the second floor of the Adams Street store. I learned more from Stanley in those four years about retailing than I did as a marketing and retailing major at Bradley. It prepared me well for a long career with Sears Roebuck in Chicago and elsewhere before retiring. I remember Arnold Salzenstein stopping in to Schradzki’s on a frequent basis visiting with his brothers and other Schradzki’s employees. What foreign competition did to Princess Peggy was the end result for most all American clothing manufactures. In 1964 the Women’s ready-to-wear departments at Sears discontinued the $2.99 house dress price point and the new opening price point was $3.99 with most sales at $5.99.
April 26th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
I have a 1990 issue of Quilt Magazine. There is an interesting article on Princess Peggy Dress Factory in this issue, which is how I discovered this blog, when I googled Princess Peggy Dress Factory.
Here are a few more items of interest about Princess Peggy Dress Factory in the article :
The idea for the factory began in 1906, when the industry was started as the Chic Apron Company……located on the third floor of a building on S. Adams Street in Peoria.
There were two more plants, located in Chillicothe & Belleville, IL.
Princess Peggy was personified by a succession of attractive young blonde girls whose picture appeared before millions of newspaper readers every month.
If anyone would like a copy of the complete article, email me at sandiesquilts@actlink.net
August 17th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Is it legal for me to have http://www.web-chamber.com – offshore companies explained here?, and bank accounts? How to start? Can I move my existing business offshore
Thanks