Murray Pearlstein Dies in New Mexico

Murray Pearlstein, who ran the LouisBoston specialty apparel store for approximately 30 years, died over the weekend at his home in Santa Fe, N.M. He was 84.

Pearlstein was the third generation of the Boston-based family to run the fashion emporium stared by his grandfather, Louis Pearlstein, in the late 19^th Century. (According to the company’s web site, Louis Pearlstein was a pawnbroker who accepted the suit off a man’s back as collateral for a loan.)

Under Murray Pearlstein’s direction, the retailer began featuring European designer clothing in the 1960s. He also expanded the company’s retail operations, including a store in New York, and then consolidated everything into the elegant former museum building on Newbury Street, which had previously been the Boston home of Bonwit Teller. It became one of the most recognizable stores in the United States.