“This is splendid,” he said enthusiastically.
“Then you’ll loan me the money?” Pandora asked, relief flooding through her. She couldn’t wait to tell Virginia.
“I’m afraid not.” He closed Pandora’s design book.
“You said it was a splendid plan.” Pandora frowned.
“It is, but you’ll need to borrow a large amount.” He folded his arms. “What happens if after a few months you give up the business to stay home and raise children?”
“That’s not going to happen.” Pandora felt the heat rising inside her. “I’m a widow, and I already have a daughter and nanny.”
The man stood up. He rubbed his glasses and held out his hand.
“I’m afraid J.P. Morgan and Company doesn’t lend to women,” he said amicably. “If you get married again, come see me. We’d be happy to lend the money to your husband.”
Pandora tried Central Savings Bank and Public National Bank of New York but was told the same thing. No one would lend money to a woman. She was tired and frustrated. Suddenly she had an idea. She put her arm out and hailed a taxi.
“Levi Dresses on Broadway, please,” she said to the driver.
Levi Dresses looked almost the same as it had when she visited a few years before, but even more dresses were crammed on the silver racks. Glass cases overflowed with purses, and the store now boasted a small shoe department.
Pandora approached a salesgirl wearing a black dress.
“I’m looking for the owner, Levi Rosen.”
The salesgirl disappeared into the back and returned with Levi. He looked the same as Pandora remembered. His thinning hair was pushed across his forehead, and he wore a pin-striped suit with a vest.
“Do you remember me? I’m Pandora Carmichael.” Pandora held out her hand. “You let my friend Millie Grimes buy a dress on credit a few years ago.”
“Of course.” He shook her hand. “Mrs. Grimes still buys her dresses here. She’s a good customer.”
Pandora felt happy that Millie was earning enough to buy more than one dress.
“Is there somewhere we could talk?” Pandora inquired.
He led her to a small office with a desk and two chairs. A window overlooked the factory floor. Rolls of fabric leaned against the wall in the corner, and a water pitcher sat on a table.
“I’m afraid I can’t offer you more than water,” he said pleasantly, pouring two glasses and handing her one. “I don’t often have glamorous young women as visitors.”
Pandora explained that the buyer at Lord & Taylor wanted to purchase her sportswear, but none of the banks would lend her money for the fabric.
“You knit your own fabric at Levi Dresses.” Pandora pointed through the window. “I hoped you could advance me fabric on credit. I’d pay you back soon.”
Levi’s brow knotted together. He rubbed his chin.
“I’d like to help, but it’s too risky,” he apologized. “Lord & Taylor could pull their order, or you might not be able to deliver.”
Pandora took a deep breath. She had to get the fabric. She had tried twice before to launch her career and failed. This was her only chance, and nothing was going to stop her.
She still wore her diamond engagement ring. She pulled it off and held it out to Levi.
“Do you remember I gave you my gold earrings as collateral for Millie’s dress? This time, you can have my engagement ring. I have a whole drawer of jewelry at home. Diamond earrings and pendants and bracelets.”
Pandora had planned on giving her jewelry to Esme; it would be a link between Esme and Harley. But this way she would give Esme something better. She’d build a successful business and show Esme that sometimes one needed to sacrifice to achieve one’s goals.
“No one is buying jewelry; I don’t know what I’d do with it.” Levi shrugged.
“Keep it for a while; I’m certain I can pay you back,” Pandora urged. “If for some reason I can’t, it won’t be difficult to find a buyer.”
She’d read in the newspapers about men who were making money despite the downturn. There would always be someone who would buy precious jewelry at a good price.
“What will your husband say?”
“I’m a widow. It’s up to me to provide for our daughter.” She looked evenly at Levi. “I’m all she has. I can’t let her down.”
Levi held out his hand. “Miss Carmichael, you have a deal.”
She shook his hand gratefully. Her eyes were as bright as the diamond on her engagement ring.
“You won’t be sorry.”
Pandora drove straight to Riverview. She couldn’t wait to call Dorothy Shaver.
As soon as she arrived home, she ran into the cottage and dialed the number on the card.
“Dorothy Shaver, please,” she said to the secretary. “This is Pandora Carmichael.”
“Miss Carmichael.” Dorothy Shaver’s clipped tone came over the line. “How can I help you?”
“I wanted to confirm your order today.” Pandora clutched the receiver. “Would a three-week turnaround suit you?”
Pandora heard Dorothy riffling through some pages.
“That would be the second week of April,” Dorothy said, sounding impressed. “Yes, that would suit me perfectly.” She paused. “Oh, one more thing. Does your company have a name?”
Pandora hadn’t considered a name; she hadn’t thought of her sportswear designs as a real company until that moment.
“It’s Esme Sportswear, after my daughter.”
“What a lovely name.” Dorothy’s voice softened for the first time. “I’m sure your daughter will be proud of you.”
Chapter Twenty-One
July 1930, Hyde Park, New York
Pandora delivered her first order to Lord & Taylor in April; it was an immediate success. Seeing her clothes in the department store window with “America’s New Look” scrawled in red, white, and blue letters above them was better than anything she’d experienced besides Esme’s birth.
Virginia insisted they celebrate with caviar and champagne at the Roof Ballroom of the St. Regis. Pandora didn’t like caviar, and after working so hard she was exhausted, and the champagne gave her a headache. But she still felt giddy, gazing down at the bustling New York streets and knowing she was part of it.
Lord & Taylor had ordered enough pieces for one year, and one whole window at Macy’s new store on Seventh Avenue was devoted to Pandora’s knit dresses. Pandora received her first order from Saks and was in meetings with Woolworth’s. With Suzanne’s approval, Pandora added a headband called the Lenglen Bandeau to her summer collection. It was so popular that stores couldn’t keep them in stock. Esme Sportswear continued to steadily grow and prosper.
Pandora paid Levi Rosen back what she owed him; she didn’t need him to supply her fabric on credit anymore. Esme Sportswear had its own bank account at Public National Bank of New York, and Pandora was toying with the idea of creating a board of directors.
Next year, Pandora wanted to start a training program for young women interested in fashion design but who couldn’t afford to attend college. There would be lectures by the new wave of female designers like Claire McCardell. Pandora would hire her own assistants from the program’s graduates.