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Women of Clark County
Fanny Soss
1884 - 199
Fanny Soss, who had grown up in London with a father who was a tailor, moved to Las Vegas in 1931 with a vision to open a dress shop. Her entrepreneurial ambition led her to expand her business to four boutiques across the city. Fanny’s became a favorite shopping destination for women in Las Vegas.
After twenty years of marriage, Soss and her husband divorced. Soss had been 23 years old when they married. The couple settled in Los Angles and had a son. After the divorce, Soss sought new opportunities. As news of the construction of Boulder (now Hoover) Dam and Las Vegas’s anticipated growth spread, Soss decided to move to Las Vegas.
Over the next several decades, Soss’s business flourished, and she expanded her locations, including opening a boutique in the Flamingo Hotel. She eventually sold her shops in 1979. Soss passed away in 1990 at the remarkable age of 105.
Pictured: Fanny Soss celebrating her 99th birthday, 1982. Fanny's Dress Shop Photographs. UNLV University Libraries Special Collections & Archives.
Sources
- Duvall, M. A., ed. Skirts That Swept the Desert Floor: One Hundred Biographical Profiles of Nevada Women in History. Vol. 1. Las Vegas: Stephens Press, LLC, 2006.
- Makers Teaching Modules. “Fanny Soss.” Accessed April 9, 2025. https://makersteachingmodules.sites.unlv.edu/items/show/96.
For questions or comments, please reach out to the Clark County Museum at ccmuseum@clarkcountynv.gov.