Elizabeth Parke Firestone, wife of tire magnate Harvey S. Firestone, Jr., cultivated a refined sense of fashion through years of interest in clothing design and collaboration with world-renowned couturiers. Firestone purchased a number of dresses from Saks Fifth Avenue's Salon Moderne, an exclusive boutique headed by designer Sophie Gimbel. Gimbel created stylish made-to-measure gowns for fashion-conscious American women of means.