The date was Feb. 23, 1893, and Detroit’s streets and sidewalks were covered with snow following a 4.5-inch snowfall, according to the National Weather Service.
However, two days earlier, a Detroit family-owned business had already begun to make moves that would allow future generations of Detroiters to remain warm and toasty during Michigan winters — and do it in style.
That’s because on Feb. 21, 1893, Emil Dittrich, a furrier from London, opened a small, second-story wholesale shop on Detroit’s Witherell Avenue, near Trapper’s Alley. Dittrich bought pelts directly from the trappers, which he made into scarves and collars for wool coats.
From those relatively humble beginnings sprang Dittrich Furs, which evolved into a household name for many Detroiters and metro Detroiters, spanning several decades en route to becoming Detroit’s longest-operating, privately held family business.
Dittrich, a high-fashion retailer of furs and other outerwear — equally known for its iconic and dreamy “Diiittrich Furrrs” jingle, creative TV ads, and rich contributions to a Detroit culture that values self-expression — announced Jan. 10 that it will close permanently on April 30 to allow the family to “focus on the health and wellbeing” of family members through retirement.
While the closing announcement may be viewed by some as “an end of an era,” for people that had a deep connection with the Detroit institution, the legacy of Dittrich Furs certainly will live on — on the shoulders of young and old on the streets in and around the city; in upscale restaurants and banquet halls of dapper diners; in the pews of local churches — especially on Mother’s Day; and in the plush ambiance of slick nightclubs and the glitz and bright lights of big events.
A bevy of fur and fur-trimmed jackets, coats, stoles, hats and more are standard fare for the crowds who flock to the Detroit Auto Show Charity Preview ball inside Huntington Place in downtown each year. Some folks in the area throw on their furs just because they’ve got one. And the frigid winter weather can make them a must for others.
From minks and fox, to chinchilla and sable, and everything in between, fur coats have always been at the pinnacle of Detroit style.
Even today, when the wearing of furs has been largely shunned in many circles because of concerns about animal cruelty — particularly among the younger crowd — owning at least one pelt coat remains a must for many well-established Detroiters. It’s a “grown folks” accessory around these parts.
And the story of that proud legacy is captured succinctly, but profoundly, by a video posted Jan. 14 on the city of Detroit government Facebook page, which is told through the voices of Jason Dittrich, president and CEO of Dittrich Furs; Joel Jordan, fur and leather cleaning technician for Dittrich, and Yvette Temple, who started with Dittrich in 1993 as an office clerk, and after working in nearly every department within the company, was named vice president in 2024.
But beyond social media, which can be consumed in the comfort of warm homes and office spaces, poignant stories about Dittrich Furs and the people the business has touched across many generations also have recently been told outside in harsh elements — namely the thousands of women and men that have flocked to Dittrich’s 7373 Third Ave. location in New Center to take advantage of the 70%-off retirement liquidation sale the company announced along with its closing.
On Jan. 13, this brave and hearty collection of shoppers — Detroiters and suburbanites, Black and white, men and women, young and old — included Detroiter Shandela Holiness.
Holiness spent much of her time standing on the edge of the sidewalk, along with the rest of the long line of humanity that snaked down Third Street, as if she was contemplating heading across the street to her vehicle at any moment.
No one would have blamed her, given that Holiness was wearing only a black cotton hoodie with matching sweatpants and white sneakers that she said did nothing to warm her “frozen toes.”
Holiness said she never buys anything extravagant for herself — not even on sale. But she endured the wait much longer than she anticipated, considering she was underdressed for the weather, because she said she wanted to pick out a piece for her daughter who turns 16 in February.
“If my daughter saw me doing this, she would probably say ‘Mom, it’s not that serious,’ ” said Holiness, who was trying her best to beat the cold by pulling her hood closed as tightly as she could to keep her face warm. “But I would do anything for my baby. Purple is her favorite color, so I want to get her something purple or some other fun color.
“I figure that most people will be looking for the basic colors, so I’m hoping I can find something for her here.”
The crowd of would-be customers also included Sue Sidun, who made the trek from Downriver to New Center, just to get a lasting piece of Detroit history from a quintessential Detroit icon.
She became friends with the people around her. They playfully called themselves the “10 a.m. shift,” because they waited roughly six hours to reach the entrance of the store after getting in line at 10 a.m. As the hours went by, the playful mood occasionally turned tense as weary customers coveted their place in line.
One brave fellow stepped out of line to run to McDonald’s, bringing back coffee for about eight people. He was a hero to them. Others just toughed it out, having arrived early, expecting to shop and go, only to find out they still had to wait hours.
Yet, despite the long wait and the challenging weather, which included a brief moment of rain mixed with snow, Sidun and her new friends seemed to remain upbeat, perhaps because of their own family backstories that connected them and compelled them to come out in the first place.
“When my mom passed away in 2014, she left me a mouton lamb coat that I had restyled,” said Sidun, who drove from Allen Park with the hope of finding a reversible, full-length shearling coat for the right price. “I ended up trading it in for a beautiful black leather coat with a fur ruff.
“But in every visit I’ve made here — including the three or four fittings that were needed for the restyling of the mouton lamb coat — the service was wonderful. (General manager) Clarence (Albert), who works behind the counter, is always congenial, and that’s a big part of the experience because they handle the furs and customers with care.”
Around noon, Libby Post, who stood in line near Sidun, could be heard describing a program that introduces young people in Detroit to entrepreneurship, leadership opportunities and civic advocacy. Post said she knew a little something about the history of Dittrich Furs, and she was eager to have a firsthand experience.
“I heard the business was closing and I know the coat culture here (in Detroit) is amazing,” said Post, who is the program and partnership manager for YouthTank Detroit. “I stay right around the corner, and I’ve driven by many times, and I decided now is the time to come in, before it’s too late.
“I’ve had some coats with some (fur) trim before. And my grandma has passed down some coats to me. And my aunt as well, so I’m lucky that they have good taste. I was hoping to get something for my boyfriend and maybe something for myself if anything catches my eye.”
Like Post, Denise Martin’s conversations with her line neighbors showed she, too, has a soft spot for Detroit youths, as she mentioned at least a couple of times a program founded by her friend, Richard Grundy, called JOURNi, which empowers young people through tech education and entrepreneurship training.
Martin also said that she hopes her daughters will feel a certain kind of power one day from the coat she has purchased from Dittrich.
“I hate to see it (Dittrich Furs) go, that’s why I said one more coat and I’ll be good,” said Martin, who drove down that morning from Southfield. “I’ve already passed one coat down to one of my daughters, and the coat that I purchase today will be passed down to my other daughter.
“They’re not into furs, really, but they’ll have them when I leave.”
At least one member of the “10 a.m. shift,” who wished to be identified only as “Terry,” of Detroit, was unable to stay in line until 4 p.m. to enter the store. But before she left, Terry explained to the people in line around her that she, too, was standing in line because of family — and history.
Terry pointed out that her family’s experience was very similar to many other Black families that arrived in Detroit during the first and second waves of The Great Migration, fleeing the oppressive Jim Crow laws of the South for the promise of opportunity.
“I come from a long line of Black, classy women. And while they were not well off, they worked extremely hard to purchase their pieces of fur,” said Terry, who noted that she purchased her first fur at Hudson’s Northland in 1989 and considered the Dittrich liquidation sale an opportunity to help her daughter make a first fur purchase.
“My first piece was a fitch jacket with fox trim. And when I quickly found out that I needed a longer coat to keep me warm while working every day in downtown Detroit, I later purchased a full-length fur coat, when I was able to afford one.”
Terry said she can “appreciate” and respect those people that don’t wish to harm animals. “Certainly. … But I had aunts, grandmothers and great grandmothers that believed in having nice things that they earned. My great grandmother would have been considered a socialite during her day. And when they had big social events at a hotel (Mount Royal Hotel) that was owned by Black men near what is now Woodward and Martin Luther King Boulevard — which included Black entertainers that could not stay in other hotels — she would wear her furs, and it was the same thing at church.
“So that’s where the furs began for my family in Detroit, and other families. The furs, and the occasions when they were worn, showed that Black people could enjoy and achieve anything that anyone else could in our society. It represented an important part of our culture that many of us still honor today.”
Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and a lifelong lover of Detroit culture in its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city’s neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at stalley@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @STalleyfreep. Read more of Scott’s stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/. Please help us grow great community-focused journalism by becoming a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: People are flocking to Dittrich Furs in Detroit for closing sale
Reporting by Scott Talley, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
