Lester Melnick, who owned an eponymous clothing store chain in Dallas for many decades, passed away on Sunday, December 29, 2024; he was 99.

Born Norman Lester Melnick on October 29, 1925, Melnick opened his first Lester Melnick women's clothing store in the Preston Royal Village shopping center at 5959 Royal Ln. in 1962, where it became one of THE places to shop. He went on to open 12 stores total, including locations in Richardson, Plano, Arlington, Casa Linda Plaza, Bachman Lake, Fort Worth, and NorthPark.

In addition to his stores, Melnick gained fame as the original designer of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders uniforms. As one fashion blog notes, this came after Southwest Airlines began dressing their flight attendants in hot pants, inspiring Melnick to incorporate hot pants style into the prototype he created — a style that prevails today.

In 1973, Melnick also designed the "Hockaday plaid" uniforms worn by students at The Hockaday School, the prestigious private school where his three daughters and three of his grandchildren attended. As this 2017 profile notes, when Melnick’s plaid became available, Hockaday students were so thrilled by the incorporation of the color green into a plain black & white that the school celebrated.

Hockaday students in Hockaday plaidHockaday

In an interview with the Dallas Jewish Historical Society in 2011, Melnick recounts his childhood in New Jersey, serving in the Marines, then attending college at the University of Miami where he majored in accounting.

He moved to Dallas initially to sell coats, but eventually went to work for Neiman Marcus for 9 1/2 years, where his creativity caught the eye of company chairman Stanley Marcus who promoted him to the position of buyer.

The Lester Melnick clothing store chain became a family operation, with Melnick joined by his daughter Leslie Diers who headed merchandising; his daughter Julie Dearien serving as business manager; and his wife Cynthia handling special events and public relations as well as overseeing the gift department.

Melnick rose in the Dallas retail world during its heyday, when clothes were still manufactured in the U.S. before moving overseas. But as the fashion world changed, he closed down the business in 2003.

He's survived by his wife Cynthia; three daughters Sara Melnick Albert, and husband Mark, Leslie Melnick Diers, and husband Bryan, and Julie Melnick Dearien, and husband Jim; six grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, January 2, 2025 at 2:30 pm at Temple Emanu-El, 8500 Hillcrest Rd., Dallas.