Temple to Mark 100th Birthday of Stars’ Dressmaker

Esther Weissbuch will be honored Feb. 16 at a 100th birthday party hosted by Temple Emanuel, 8844 Burton Way, Beverly Hills.

As a girl in Lodz, Poland, Weissbuch worked as a shirt designer. After she came to the United States in 1904, she developed a career as a Hollywood dress designer. She owned a dress shop in Beverly Hills near the Beverly Wilshire. Her clients are said to have included such Hollywood notables as Mae West, Mary Pickford and Zsa Zsa Gabor. She retired in 1971 and until 1979 did all the purchasing for the Temple Emanuel Gift Shop.

Weissbuch’s husband died in 1912, at the age of 28. She has two sons: David, 78, who lives in Hong Kong, and William, 69, who lives in Florida. Weissbuch, a Beverly Hills resident, has been involved with Temple Emanuel for 45 years and is an honorary member of its board of directors.