Local fashion leader Mary Jane Denzer dies


Mary Jane Denzer and her dog Bodhi. Photo by Bob Rozycki

Mary Jane Denzer ”“ whose eponymous store was a fixture in downtown White Plains for 35 years ”“ died Wednesday night of pancreatic cancer at her home. She was 83.

A former model who became an assistant buyer at Saks Fifth Avenue, Denzer opened her store first on East Post Road in 1980, moving it in 1994 to Mamaroneck Avenue. Twenty years later, she was ready for a new chapter and sleek new digs on Renaissance Square in the shadow of The Ritz-Carlton,Westchester.

Wherever she was, though, she was at the center of local fashion, serving as a conduit between the runways and the suburbs. Traveling to Europe”™s fashion shows several times a year, Denzer knew everyone from Oscar de la Renta ”“ whose womanly offerings were the subject of a superb gala fundraiser for White Plains Hospital in 2013 ”“ to Neil Bieff. She reveled in promoting hot new designers like Rubin Singer and Cristina Ottaviano.

But what made her special was an eye that remained connected to a heart. Denzer didn”™t expect her clients to be runway models. If you were a size 0 petite and needed a gown for a destination second marriage, well, she had just the right diaphanous blush strapless number for you. And if you were a size 12, well, then, she had a black de la Renta cocktail dress that made you feel like a million bucks.

The joy on her face as she stood back and watched what she had wrought, styling clients from the unusual accessories she carried, was infectious.

Denzer made her clients not only look beautiful but feel beautiful, too.

Denzer is survived by four children, three stepchildren and eight grandchildren.

Funeral services will be private.