Anita Shops: For young moderns
Anita Shops Headquarters, Los Angeles — Stores in Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Utah, Arizona
Consult your telephone directory for the Anita Shop closest to you or write direct: Anita Shops, Inc., 2151 N. Soto Street, Los Angeles, California 90032 [NOTE: This company address is from 1965]
Vintage Anita Shops grand opening in Chico, California (1951)
Vintage Anita Shops in Sacramento (1958)
Machine washable acrylic pile duster (1965)
Four rose appliqués marking snap closure with a Peter Pan collar. Also available with two patch pockets and collarless. Colors, hot pink, azure and butter-yellow. Sizes 10 to 18. Price $6.99.
ALSO SEE: Out of this world retro ’60s clothes for her from 1966
Floor-length cotton quilted robe (1965)
Butterfly print with corduroy trim — four button yoke with tie belt defining Empire waist. Colors, red and blue. Same style — floral print with satin trim. Colors, pink and blue. Sizes 10 to 18. Price $6.99.
Chiffon nylon quilted duster (1965)
Kodel fiber-filled — Four rosebud frogs marking closure, with a scalloped collar. Colors, pink and blue. Sizes 10 to 18. Price long $9.99, (as shown) $7.99.
Swiss dot nylon sheer peignoir, trimmed with nylon tulle filching (1965)
Fully-lined sheer overlay gown. Colors, pink, blue, red and black. Sizes, petite, small, medium. Price $12.99.
MORE: 50+ cute vintage mini dresses & miniskirts from the ’60s & ’70s
Los Angeles-area Anita shop in a mall (1975)
After an absence of three years, Anita shops is proud to be back in West Covina to service its many patrons. This magnificent new Anita Shop is in the capable hands of Laura Angie.
Vintage Anita Shops women’s clothing store in California (1977)
MORE: Hip vintage ’70s dresses & skirts women wore in the spring & summer of 1973
23 Responses
I remember Anita Shops was the first job my brother Dan and I held. I worked once or twice a year helping with counting inventory, my brother with stockroom duties. Clothes were nicely stylish with very reasonable prices. I never found out why the one we worked at (Atlantic Square; in Monterey Park, CA) closed down. And this is the only reference to Anita Shops I could find online.
I was employed at Anita Shops Headquarters on Soto Street in Los Angeles, and about one week in downtown Los Angeles before that, in 1965. It was my first job in the US, shortly after i immigrated from a Central European country. I worked in the Data Entry department.
Dear MBS, we missed each other. I began work there in the computer room 1969. How about those old Remington Rand key punch machines. They were relics then.
We converted to IBM KP and a IBM-360 in 1973. It was a hell of a conversion.
Best regards,
Dave Taylor
Please read my comment below (by Dave Taylor)
Hi Dolores,
I apologize for skipping over you. Maybe because yours was the first entry.
There could be several reasons why the store closed. It may have been because the store simply wasn’t doing well. Maybe the rent went up dropping the profit margin rate. There is a likelihood that the employees tried to unionize. That would have been an automatic and quick closure. There may have been some other reason. The ones I mentioned were the most likely.
Best regards, Dave Taylor
I work in the thrift industry and have a passion for vintage clothing. During my hunt yesterday I came across a great Anita Shops collared button front knit sweater. In my ten years in the thrift industry, this is the first time I have found an item with the Anita Shops tag. I remember that Anita was the place my mom took my sister and I growing up. For a long time, most of my clothing came from that shop. Finding this sweater brought back such good memories. This is literally the only reference to the shop that I could find anywhere online.
I’m glad you retrieved those fond memories.
I was a CPA, and worked on the Anita Shops audit probably in 1983-84. I think their top financial person was a woman whose name seemed to be named Rosie or something similar and the owner was Chuck, as I recall. They were eventually bought bought out by a retail co. whose name I don’t recall. It was a fun time perhaps their Soto Ave. HQ was a short drive from my home in Monterey Hills.
Hi Burr DeVos,
I left Anita Shops several tears before you started. I left a good reputation. You may have heard of me, Dave Taylor.
The woman’s name you were referring to was Miss Rosemary Schubert, the company’s controller, in charge of everything.
See my post below.
I remember the Anita shop at Coddingtown Mall in Santa Rosa, CA. It was a mod clothing store that dressed girls to look like the Brady girls—very hip
I worked at Anita Shops all throughout the 1970s, starting February 1969 until May 1980. I worked at the main office on Soto St. Los Angeles, in the Data Processing Department.
It was a very strange place with a lot of crazy people. My two favorite people were Curtis Parrish and Herb Orenstein. Both were fine upholding gentlemen. I had more respect for them than anyone else in the company. Of course, there was the owner, Mr. Charles Colby. He was a good and fair man. And second in charge, the Controller as well was several other titles, Miss Rosemary Schubert. I think she died in the late 1990s. There were some people too awful to mention.
I have many memories of the place. I often think back to it. I know I made a big contribution to Anita Shops. For most of the years there, I got hurt over and over—both emotionally and on two occasions I was physically attacked.
Thanks for the memories… Goodbye Anita Shops.
Dave Taylor
I rewrote this below. After re-reading this one, I didn’t like it. I thought I could rewrite it better and delete this one. It didn’t workout that way. So now there are two entries where there should only have been one. Read my entry below–skip this one.
Dave Taylor
I worked at Anita Shops all throughout the 1970s, starting in February 1969 until May 1980. I worked at the main office on Soto St. Los Angeles, in the Data Processing Department. I started as a computer operator, advanced through the ranks, and after 11 years left as a Systems Analyst.
It was an interesting place with a lot of different people. My two favorites were Curtis Parrish and Herb Orenstein. Both were fine upholding gentlemen. I had more respect for them than anyone else in the company. Of course, there was the owner, Mr. Charles Colby. He was a good and fair man. Second in charge, the Controller, as well with several other titles, Miss Rosemary Schubert. I think she died in the late 1990s. There were some other interesting people. It ran the full gambit of characters.
I often think back to many of the memories I collected there. I know I made a big contribution to Anita Shops. For most of my years there, I got my share of undeserved chide.
Oh, I have so many stories… Thanks for the memories… Goodbye Anita Shops.
-Nancy Carr, I’m sorry I disappointed you.
Dave Taylor
If anyone wants to get in touch with me, email at: vivi-tay-719@roadrunner.com
(Vivi was my wife)
I changed my email address. it’s vivtay719 at roadrunner.com
VivTay719@RoadRunner,com
I remember Anita clothing store downtown Las Vegas Nevada on Fremont Street in 1976 – 1978 I use to shop for my dresses to go to the Disco, and I wished I had my purple dress, it was a beauty, and I had the high heels to match it from C.H Baker shoe atore that was just across from Anita’s, those were some sweet days. I was ahead of my time. I miss Anita’s.
Hi Tina,
I’m glad you had those fun memories.
I wish more people would post their Anita Shops experiences. I’d like somebody who worked there when I did to post.
Dave
Very interesting reading the posts from Dave Taylor and “MBS” about working in the Anita Shops Data Processing department. My mom Irene Castillo (Franco) also worked there in the 60’s, she used to work with the punchcards. I wonder if anyone might remember her?
—Irene Castillo rings a bell to me. Could she have worked on the tag table? Or perhaps she was a key punch operator. Both positions worked with punch cards. Could you tell when she left?
Also see another Anita Shops Post:
(copy & paste)
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/538672805402652803/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3DQ72igmppmOrkfRxa2zr5bZ2sTeiW3VjyBURqzJQM3VPZtQvDNlxA4mk_aem_tXfjGkKE4Nsv8Cr8Pu7Lbw
I just found a random receipt from Anita Shops dated March 26th 1984 in my works parking lot yesterday. It says store number 14 looks like H15 for the salesperson. And they purchased one item number 8/174533 from department “A” for $39.99 plus tax came out to $42.59.
My fifth birthday happened a month after this receipt was made. Can anyone shed any light on what this product might be or store location? Receipt was found in Alameda, CA on 2/3/2025
Hi Jeff,
I don’t recall where store #14 was. We had over a hundred stores on the West Coast, including Ca, Or, Wa, Hi, Ak, Ut, Co, Ne, Az. Those are the states I know of. There could have been more. – After taking a closer look at you message, I see you wrote Alameda. And that’s probably so.
– Department “A” was the Coat Department.
– The “174533” was the style number. The “17” of the style number suggests it was sportswear.
– The “8” was the season number. I find it interesting that the season code was 8 because when I left the company in 1980, they were in season 7. (Two season numbers per year.) The item (coat) could have been old stock. It happens sometimes.
– Anita Shops used to have four seasons, winter, spring, summer, and fall, like they have on the East Coast. In the early 1970s, because California only has two seasons, Winter and Summer, Anita Shops changed to just those two seasons.
I don’t know exactly when Anita Shops closed all its stores, but I think it was in the late 1980s. Could have been early 1990s.
– Best regards, Dave Taylor