Selma Koch, owner of the Town Shop, an apparel store on 82nd Street and Broadway in New York, died Thursday. She was 95, known for her ability to quickly find customers' correct brassiere sizes — and, according to her obituary, a size 34B.
“A quick look would tell her a customer's proper bra size, which she maintained that three-quarters of women did not know,” said the obituary, in The New York Times. This was without trying on endless numbers of bras to find the right size. “I never had to try six brassieres on a customer,” she once said. “Two was plenty. I knew in a minute which was right, finished, buy it, out!”
In the final years of her life, Koch appeared on national television programs, such as Rosie O'Donnell's show, to discuss her special talent.
A graduate of Columbia University's School of Journalism, she was working in advertising with the Town Shop as a client. She married the owner's son, Henry Koch, in 1928, and went to work for the family business. At one time, the retailer expanded to four stores, though it is now back to one.