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A New Classic

If Harold “Hersh” Rothenberg believes
it should be, chances are, so it will be.
An expert on women’s knitwear and
what women want (in their knitwear),
Rothenberg launched Billie Knitwear in
fall of 2024.
Crafted of a viscose-crepe knit,
Billie Knitwear was created in the
tradition of hand-loomed machine-
made knitwear, similar to Duna, Ball of
Cotton and Barbara Wells. Except, he
says, they are 100% washable — and
designed by him.
Partnering with a pattern-maker in
New York, “We are looking to take this
to the next level of what’s missing in
the industry,” Rothenberg says. “These
sweaters are for everyone.”
Available in sizes XS to XXL, the
collection is a “non-custom customized
design,” he says. “We listen to con-
sumers for what they need and if they
give us enough time, we can have it
for the following season, in multiple
colors, shapes and sizes.”
In addition to being available at
Hersh’s, orders have been placed in
a couple dozen boutiques around the
country, including Barbara Katz in Boca
Raton, where Rothenberg and his wife,
Caryn, will present a pop-up trunk
show Dec. 12-14. Hershsboutique.com;
@hershsboutique.

“But what we really want to be is
a shopping avenue, not a purchas-
ing avenue. We want you to call and
touch and feel. We’re happy to send
a box out across the country so that
customers can try things on before
purchasing and not feel obligated to
own it. We will Facetime you to dis-
cuss how the pieces look. We will
Facetime you and describe what we
have in the store and try things on
for people so they can have a feel-
ing of the item.”
He and his staff — including
his wife, Caryn, and right-hand
woman, Jodi Grodman, who’s been
with him for 33 of his 41 years —
also make themselves available to
accompany clients for alterations,
and clients are comfortable bring-
ing in pieces (even those purchased
at other stores) to create an outfit
— a perfect recipe for creating holi-
day-party glam.
Before opening Hersh’s on the
Boardwalk in West Bloomfield in
1984, at age 24, Rothenberg already
had a leg up in the fashion industry.
Getting his start at age 15 at various
designer men’s, boys’ and women’s
wear shops around town, he soon
got an offer he couldn’t refuse —
from his mom, Marilyn, owner
(along with her best friend, also
named Marilyn) of Just Marilyn’s in
Southfield.
“I knew from a young age that
this was what I wanted to do,”

Rothenberg says. “I always enjoyed
fashion. I remember shopping at
other stores, working hard to buy
one ‘better’ item.”
After high school, he became a
sales rep on the road with women’s
fashions, but he longed to be at
home and open a boutique of his
own.
“It was a blessing to be able
to put my name on a board,”
Rothenberg says. That name,
Hersh, originated as “Hairsh,” after
Harold, but morphed into Hersh.
“It’s my nickname. But I still intro-
duce myself as Harold, because
that’s the name I was given and
that’s who I still am,” he says, with a
nod to his parents. “I have so much
respect for them, Marilyn and
Melvin Rothenberg. They are my
dearest and best friends.”

EXPANDING FOR THE FUTURE
In 2023, after 40 years at the
Boardwalk, rather than stepping
back from business, Rothenberg
opened an expanded space in
Orchard Mall, with thoughts of
expanding further into giftware.
As always, his loyal fans followed,
drawn not only to his impeccable
eye, but his understanding of how
to form a connection.
“I’m 65, and I’m just starting
out,” says Rothenberg, who recently
launched his own knitwear line
called Billie’s (see sidebar). “We

need change in this world, and
there’s always room for growth,” he
says.
For example, one regular cus-
tomer is an influencer and personal
shopper with clients around the
country. “She comes in privately,
she picks out what she wants, we
box it up and she sends boxes out
to her clients,” Rothenberg says. “If
I look at what she spends for a year
for all of her customers, she could
be my top salesperson.
“Today, with brick-and-mortar
boutiques, it’s not about where the
customer lives,” he says. “It’s about
what we can do to make that cus-
tomer content and happy with that
outfit.”
Having evolved from five
employees in his early days to 14,
Rothenberg upped that count this
past Thanksgiving. With a week-
long Black Friday sale, he had 18-20
employees working per day — “we
were here to make sure your needs
were being catered to, one on one,
even in the midst of a massive
crowd,” he says. “That’s what inde-
pendent boutiques are about. That’s
what caring is about. I believe that
I don’t ‘own’ Hersh’s, I work at
Hersh’s. I’m still in touch with every
single person that comes through
my doorway, of every age.”
Rothenberg’s daughter Jessica
Friedman says, “I can’t tell you how
many of the same tops and same

Hersh’s Billie Knitwear collection

DECEMBER 12 • 2024 | 29

BEST OF

You can find Hersh’s at the
Orchard Mall, 6331 Orchard
Lake Road in West Bloomfield