Ann Gitter, a fashion icon and owner of Margate’s revered Knit Wit clothing boutique for almost 50 years, has passed at the age of 78.
Gitter was quite a bit more than a clothing store owner and Knit Wit was quite a bit more than a women’s clothing store. Gitter made her initial mark in Philadelphia in the 1970s by way of her ownership of the ground-breaking Plage Tahiti and later, Knit Wit stores in Margate, Philadelphia, King of Prussia, Cherry Hill, Willow Grove, and Bryn Mawr.
The Margate store has been in business at 8001 Ventnor Avenue since 1980 after a few years prior at a smaller property down the block. It has beccome one of the area’s top destinations for women’s designer fashions.
Gitter’s contributions as a fashion innovator have been substantial. “She was so ahead of her time,” said Pam Katz, a friend and owner of Philadelphia’s First Impressions store, in a Philadelphia Inquirer obituary. “She had such an amazing eye. People came from New York to have private appointments with her. She dressed so many of us.”
“Gitter, along with businsss partners Donnie Davidow and Robert Brandt, introduced area women to Badgley, Mischka and Betsey Johnson before the runway brands became staples and household names,” said the Inquirer’s Elizabeth Wellington. “Central to the heartbeat of the Philadelphia fashion scene since the 1970s, Gitter gave women more sporty and professional choices as they moved beyond housecoats to haute couture through the 1980s.”
Linda Richardson-Korman, a long time friend, commented, “Ann brought new fashion to Philadelphia and to Margate. She filled our closets with her trademark black and costumed the important occasions of our lives. We always felt our best when wearing Knit Wit. With her warm and attentive ways, she brought out our inner beauty. Her loss is great and I will miss her sweetness and gentle smile. She was respected by all and loved as well.”
Gitter didn’t give a lot of interviews through the years, but she did go on the record when she said, “Never underestimate the power of a good outfit on a bad day.”
Ann Gitter was loved personally as much as she was respected personally. And that’s rare. Knit Wit, and for that matter, Margate, will not be the same without her.
