Ruth Shaw, owner of boutique at the Village of Cross Keys, dies

Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun
·4 min read
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Ruth Shaw, the fashion icon whose women’s clothing boutique bearing her name kept Baltimore’s well-heeled customers well-dressed for decades, died in her sleep March 17 at Springwell Senior Living. The Village of Cross Keys resident was 96.

Her daughter-in-law, Roseann Glick, said no medical cause of death was available.

Born in Washington, D.C., Ms. Shaw was the daughter of Hyman Berman, a trumpet player, and Belle Berman, a homemaker. She studied at the old Corcoran School, now known as the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design.

Ms. Shaw worked in purchasing for the federal government, sold furniture at the old Kane’s on Charles Street in Baltimore and was a press secretary for Sen. Joseph Tydings, a Democrat, on Capitol Hill.

She went into sportswear design and manufactured and sold women’s tennis dresses under the name Toni Shaw. The manufacturing shop was in New Jersey.

“She delivered her first collection to Saks Fifth Avenue and drove the order to New York in her car,” said Ray Mitchener, her longtime manager and buyer.

“She was a pioneer in putting color on tennis dresses which had been traditionally all white,” her daughter-in-law said.

She also developed a stretchy fabric, called Whipped Cream, with Monsanto for the dresses.

In 1973 she opened Ruth Shaw Inc. a boutique at the Village of Cross Keys.

“When she opened the store, she filled the windows with feather jackets over Liberty print blouses and tweed pants. James Rouse [the Rouse Co. founder] came in and said, ‘Ruth, I don’t think you’re going to make it because there’s not another store like it in town,'” Mr. Mitchener said. “Now, 51 years later, there’s still not another store like it in town.”

A 1986 Sun story said: “Tourists who wander in from the nearby Cross Keys Inn looking for a sweet little party dress are perplexed by three-figure price tags and avant-garde European merchandise.”

The article quoted Ms. Shaw saying, “I’m not interested in what the customers want to buy but what I want to sell.”

She was the subject of news stories when after joining the Center Club, she sued it.

“She sued the Center Club because she paid her dues and the initiation fees but wasn’t allowed to use all the facilities — including a men’s only dining room. She did not think that was right,” Mr. Mitchener said.

She lost her lawsuit, but women were subsequently allowed throughout all the club’s rooms.

On another occasion, she scheduled a business meeting with a bank officer on what was known as casual Friday. The male banker attended in a polo shirt — but no tie.

“She walked out of the meeting,” Mr. Mitchener said. “She said, ‘I got all dressed to be here. When you start looking like a banker, I’ll be here to do business.'”

A 2006 Sun story said Ms. Shaw “is one woman who does not believe in dilly-dallying. ‘I’m not a shopper,’ Ms. Shaw said. ‘I’m a buyer.'”

The story said she could “buy a house or a car in hours. Buying clothes takes even less time.”

She said, “Go with your first instinct on things and you won’t make too many mistakes.”

In the article, she listed her favorite possessions — an antique bowl for her dining room table, an old laptop computer, a Bulgari watch, a Bottega Veneta handbag, and a photograph by Finnish artist Aino Kannisto.

“Ruth was always game to try something new and different. I remember her calling me from Milan at a fashion show. She found this coat with a hundred buttons on it with elastic loops. She liked it and it turned out to be Dolce & Gabbana, who were unknown at the time.”

“She believed you had to beat the bushes to find new talent,” Mr. Mitchener said.

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She retired in 2008 and sold the business to Mr. Mitchener and Brian Comes, with whom she worked for many years. The store is now in the Shops at Kenilworth.

Ms. Shaw was an animal lover and owned dachshunds, West Highland terriers, standard poodles and an English sheepdog.

“She often said, ‘If you don’t like dog hair, don’t come over,'” said her son Robert Glick.

Ms. Shaw was an atheist. No services are planned.

Survivors include her sons, Robert Glick, of Parkton, and Jonathan Glick, of Stafford, Virginia; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Her marriages to David Glick and Daniel Shaw ended in divorce.