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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