Misses Tomasek 1895-1941

The dressmakers "Misses Tomasek" are Julia and her niece, Mary. They worked for Mrs. H. D. Williams, a St. Paul dressmaker in business from at least 1889-1895. It is probable that the Tomaseks took over Mrs. Williams business and continued it as J & M Tomasek at the same Seven Corners address (the Moore Building). In 1904, Mary married George Distler and Julia continued the business under her own name. She moved to the Metropolitan Opera building in1920. When it was torn down in 1936, she moved her business to the Germania Bank. She operated there until 1941, when she and her husband, Ladislav J. Pavlicek, an interior designer, retired to Hollywood, California. In these later years, after Mary was widowed, she also lived in California.

Julia and her husband owned three homes on Grand and Lincoln Avenues in St. Paul. At the peak of her business, she employed as many as 20 staff to sew specialty garments or provide ready-to-wear options. It is likely that some of these were model garments brought back from at least one European trip in 1914. The six garments with her label in this collection include a formal wrap, an automobile coat, a wedding dress, two suits and an evening gown.

One of their houses was at 567 Lincoln and was built in 1910. See Lost Twin Cities by Larry Millett. 

It is illustrated in AIA Guide to St. Paul's Summit Avenue & Hill District. See AIA Guide by Larry Millett.