Stylish Décor Tailor-Made to Suit All Taste

in the office
14 S tory by Caro l Crisse y N igrel l i • Photo by m inorwhitest u dios .co m
B2B Omaha Magazine • Summer 2012
www.OmahaPublications.com
Dav i d Pa r sow, t h e s e co n d - g e n e r at i o n ow n e r
of t h e r e g e n c y cou r t c l ot h i e r .
Parsow’s
Stylish décor tailor-made to
suit all tastes
Y
ou could say Parsow’s has its ducks in
a row. Dozens upon dozens of hand-carved duck
decoys obediently line up single-file high atop the
thick wooden beams that trim the walls of the upscale men’s
and women’s clothier.
“My dad was an avid collector, and not just of fine clothes,”
explained David Parsow, referring to his late father, Sol, who
founded the Regency Court clothing store 60 years ago this
year. “The decoys are the first things he collected.”
Somewhere above the sweater table the wooden decoys
meet up with their flesh-and-feathered brethren: ducks and
pheasants forever preserved, trophies of a successful hunt.
“My dad loved to hunt small birds and game. And he
loved to fish. You see a lot of the fish he caught mounted on
the walls.”
David points to a crappie and, above a dressing room,
a smallmouth bass. A painting of the Parsow family’s first
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Brittany Spaniel rests on a display case.
“That’s Freckles number one. We had four
Brittany Spaniels growing up. They were all
named Freckles,” said David with a grin.
“I have a Brittany Spaniel now, but it’s not
named Freckles.”
Where did a young man from New York
City learn to love the outdoors?
“Dad actually grew up near Cleveland,
which is where he probably learned to fish and
hunt,” said David. “He moved to New York
later. That’s where he fell in love with clothes.”
And Omaha is where Sol fell in love with
Lee Jane Greenberg, whom he met while stationed here during World War II. He returned
to Omaha after the war, married the love of
his life, started his family, and opened up
his first store in March of 1952 at 16th and
Farnam, next door to the Orpheum Theater.
A black-and-white photo of the original
Parsow’s, strictly a men’s store at that time,
hangs near the front counter.
“Dad met all the acts that appeared at the
Orpheum—singers, dancers, bands. They’d
come in and shop. He always had the best
quality menswear.”
By 1963, Sol followed the migration west
and built a new, bigger store at 36th and
Farnam, across from the Blackstone Hotel.
Comedian Shecky Green, one of many celebrities who stayed at the Blackstone, became a
lifelong friend of the Parsow family. Liberace
also left his mark.
“Liberace came into the shop and drew the
most beautiful, elaborate picture of a piano
with a candelabra on it right on the dressing
room wall,” related David, smiling. “When
Dad moved to Regency Court in 1975, he cut
out the wall and brought the drawing here.”
But don’t ask David if you can see the flamboyant pianist’s artwork.
“You can’t. I don’t know where it is,” he
said, shrugging his shoulders. “I know it’s here
somewhere, but there’s so much stuff stored
here I can’t find it.”
The success of Sol’s clothing enterprise
enabled him to travel and see the world. And
he brought much of the world back with him.
When you walk into Parsow’s and look
up, it’s hard to tell if you’ve entered a hunting
lodge, a Viking’s lair, or a woodcarver’s shop.
A caribou head hangs over a custom-built
fireplace. Huge chandeliers made of antlers >>
B2B Omaha Magazine • Summer 2012 15
in the office
<< and electric candles dominate the ceiling.
Pictures of hunting dogs, their quarry, and
guns dot the walls. Then, abruptly, the hunting motif shifts gears.
“As clothing changed frequently, so did
Dad’s collections,” said David, the president
of Parsow’s. “He went from the decoys to the
antique weapons.”
Sol’s weapon collection, mounted onto the
wood beams throughout the store’s “seven
and a half” rooms, as Sol was fond of saying,
includes swords, sabres, epees, and rapiers
with their complex and ornate hilts. An
ancient metal shield, forged from iron and
posed beside a huge, mean-looking pick axe,
adds contrast to the smaller and more delicate
knives and daggers, some protected in goldplated sheaths.
Delicate knives and steady hands created
the impressive array of wooden figurines
placed close together along the ceiling toward
the back of the store. Acquired during Sol’s
many travels to all corners of the earth, they
add a touch of whimsy to the eclectic décor,
though Sol never bought anything on a whim.
He found beauty in many different forms and
had the means to share them with his family
and his cherished customers.
Two framed European tapestries, a counter
made of stained glass, a large antique hutch
in every room, antique straight chairs with
embossed leather, and a collection of walking sticks with ornately carved handles make
Parsow’s an experience that transcends buying
a custom-tailored suit.
“Everything in here is like a house. That
was his idea,” said David. “He didn’t want
just one big, open store with racks and racks
and racks.”
That may explain why David’s personal collection is hidden behind several cabinets high
off the floor. He has amassed about 90,000
comic books. Marvel comic books. One in
particular he keeps protected in a plastic case.
“August of 1962. This is the first appearance of Spider-Man. I bought it for a dime at
the Salvation Army on 24th Street when I was
8 years old. It’s worth about $14,000 now.”
And, like his father, David’s joy comes
from sharing his passion with a loyal customer
base that remembers the past and appreciates
what Parsow’s means to the Omaha community.
16 B2B Omaha Magazine • Summer 2012
www.OmahaPublications.com
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B2B Omaha Magazine • Summer 2012 17