Come September, fashion plates throughout the Midlands will have to browse for the latest in fall attire somewhere other than Marty Rae's, the Broughton Street store that's been synonymous with Orangeburg style for more than half a century.

After 51 years in the dress business, Martha Rose Carson is phasing out the shop she and her aunt, the late Rae Gardner, began in 1958. By the end of August, plans call for her furniture business, Marty Rae Interiors, housed next door, to expand into the dress shop area, she says.

"We're closing down the shop to make room for more furniture," Carson said. "I haven't bought anything for fall. We're hoping August will finish us up."

The closing of the dress shop, known for its personalized service, signals the end of an era.

"People don't need clothes like they used to. We used to have cocktail wear, formal wear, and people dressed up for church. ... They dressed up with hats and gloves," she said. "I go to a very large church in Lexington, and I and other older ladies dress up, but younger people wear pants and ... jeans!

"People's lifestyles have changed so much. It's so casual. ... Even for parties, people don't dress up."

At a recent gathering in her Lexington neighborhood, Carson says she arrived wearing a crepe suit, appropriate for an evening affair, and was stunned to find guests outfitted in everything from cocktail dresses to "jeans and thong shoes."

"People just don't dress up any more. Clothes just aren't as important as they used to be," she said. "Brand names are not as important. ... The only time people want to deck out is for class reunions. Even for weddings, they don't want to go all out."

Some aspects of the dress shop business, however, have remained constant. The store has been at just one location, and Lucia Dean Zimmerman, the dress store manager, has been a steadfast employee for 47 of those 51 years.

"Dean has earned a special place in her customers' hearts for her unique ability to coordinate wardrobes, ensuring that no one at the same church has the same dress," Carson said. "She dresses a lot of people, from Savannah, Columbia and Augusta."

And, for five decades, Marty Rae's has been just a phone call away for anxious husbands faced with the dilemma of choosing memorable birthday or anniversary gifts.

"They only need to make a call to Dean, and that special gift will be what their spouse wanted to complete their existing wardrobe, wrapped and ready when they stop by the store," she said.

In addition to Zimmerman, Carson said, "We've had wonderful employees, and we've worked together as a family. When they left, it was either they died, got married or started a family. That's the nicest part of the business."

Marty Rae's -- a combination of Carson's nickname and the aunt who raised her -- was a hit from day one.

Featuring distinctive brand names and highly personalized service, the store's slogan has been, "We help the hard-to-fit ladies."

According to Carson, as the work environment relaxed dress requirements, women had the option for more casual wear for work, play and church. By 2000, she says, the store's inventory was decreased, as more and more customers became only interested in buying business casual and casual attire. And she says many of the brand-name lines of clothing the store has relied on have been closing down, as well.

As clothing trends began to change in the early 1980s, so did the market for high-end, downtown specialty stores, such as Marty Rae's.

In its heyday, Marty Rae's included not just clothes, but a full-service bridal center. There was a staff of four full-time sales clerks, two alteration workers and a secretary, in addition to Carson. Elaborate fashion shows were held annually at the old Carolina Theater, where Carson says she'd build the backdrop scenery herself, emcee the event and then dismantle the whole shebang. She says a charm school was also created to tutor young people -- and future customers -- in the social graces.

"We were known for our prom dresses and our junior clothes," Carson said of items the store no longer carries. "We were a bridal salon for probably 20 years -- prom dresses and bridal dresses. ... We were in the bridal business big time. I directed the weddings, and Dean made head pieces for the brides. ...We sold everything except shoes."

During the 1960s and '70s, Carson says clothes were very important, especially the brand names that drew a devoted clientele to Marty Rae's. A large line of accessories, including handbags, hats, jewelry and gloves, were in stock. It was a full service, one-stop shop that could coordinate a woman from head to toe.

"We love dressing ladies completely, from one season to the next. We have a list of our customers who don't buy anyplace but here," she said. "Be true to the customers; don't just try to sell them something."

More recently, Carson says, the shop has catered to more "contemporary, young, married career women and ... I don't want to say old ladies, but older ladies. I don't want to be called an old lady."

Carson, whose family owned and operated Smoak's Cleaners for many years, grew up in the world of business. And she's had a lifelong appreciation for clothes and design.

Still, it took a two-year stint in pre-med at the College of Charleston to convince Carson to focus on her first love.

"That was not my cup of tea," she said. "So, I graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in fashion merchandising. ... I always loved pretty clothes, and I loved to dress up.

"When I graduated in June, my store was being constructed, and we opened in February."

Now, "due to my age, I'll soon be 74 ... and after much thought and sadness," Carson says, the time has come to cut back on the work she loves and to spend more time with her family and friends.

So, in September, when her loyal customer base begins to shop for fall clothes, Carson says she's not sure where they will turn.

"It's hard to find stores like us," she said. "This type of store is, more or less, out of style."

T&D Government Writer Tucker Lyon can be reached by e-mail at tlyon@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5545. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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