w SV\ 0 p SUBMITTED PHOTOS Former manager of The Milady Shop, Joan Mclaughlin, (second from left) is seen with store employees. Are you being served? STORY BY BENZIE SANCMA FOR THE INTELLIGENCER "When we go to buy for the season, we knew what to pick out because we'd made a point of knowing what appealled to our clientele. They appreciated that." The store also enabled access to people who could not come to the store to shop for themselves by sending them packages of clothing for their approval. "They'd buy some and return the rest. That's one thing a lot of stores would not do, you see. We made it possible for them to shop without actually stepping into the store. It was a relationship built on trust and it paid off," says McLaughlin. In later years, in-house seamstresses began to provide on-site alterations -- a service, she recalls, that solved the problem for customers who had expected to wear the dress the very same day or the next day. Making no attempt to hide her obvious pleasure in recalling the good old days at the store, McLaughlin concludes: "I enjoyed working there so much. "When I got up in the morning, I looked forward to going there, talking to people, finding them the things that they wanted. "I was not one of those salespeople who said, 'It looks beautiful on you' when it really did not suit them. "I helped them find something that really looked great on them. That's why I had so many clients who trusted me enough to come regularly to the store." Schulman sold the store to Howard Cooper of Toronto and he later sold it to George Frederick, a Belleville resident. The building, which housed the store, was burned down in the mid-80s. You can reach Benzie Sangma at bsangma@cogeco.ca with comments on or story ideas for Remember When. a 5, £003 f, DJl