After reading in a newspaper article about the imminent closing of Ideal, where generations of women headed for the perfect prom, wedding and cocktail-party outfits, two Gloucester County entrepreneurs have kept it open.

The store's previous owner, Bruce Rosenwasser, of Vineland, died in March at 54, and no one in his family wanted to take over the business. A liquidator was brought in to sell off the merchandise.

Employees kept their fingers crossed that someone, anyone, would buy the store, which had operated for so long on Route 30, on the way to the Jersey Shore among farms, produce stands and tractor dealerships.

In May, after the last of the prom dresses and sensible polyester slacks sets were sold and the emporium's 1940s-vintage glass-and-wood doors were to be closed forever, in waltzed Anthony Spina, 47, of Washington Township, and Suzanne Miranda, 28, of South Harrison Township.

The U.S. apparel market posted a 3 percent per dollar sales increase in 2007. But this year, sales of women's clothes have lagged behind those of men's and children's apparel, said Marshal Cohen, chief analyst with the NPD Group Inc., a consumer and retail research firm based in Port Washington, N.Y.

"For me that sends up a flare," Cohen said. With consumers jittery about the rising costs of fuel and food, the analyst said he was cautious about how 2008's numbers would look.

Despite the economic downturn, Spina, a building contractor, and Miranda, who worked in management at Jaguar International, the luxury-auto company, decided this was a good time to enter the rag trade.

With no experience in retail, the friends, who had been looking for a career change, know it's a gamble. But there's not much competition in Atlantic County - Hamilton Mall in May's Landing is more than 20 miles away - and Ideal's emphasis on evening wear is fortuitous.

In 2007, "dresses had a phenomenal year and captured the women's market in a big way," Cohen said.

Ideal's sales have increased as people discover that the store survived, the owners say. They have sent postcards to old customers, and they're taking out ads to spread the word.

And, yes, they obtained rights to the store's famous radio jingle, which implored women with a "passion for fashion" and "craving for saving" to "take the wheel" of their automobile and "swing on down to Ideal."

"We saw this as an opportunity to build on a business that had been here for 70 years," Spina said. "We have faith that the people of Hammonton and the surrounding areas that have supported it all these years will continue to do so."

Perhaps because it was an oddity - twin Quonset huts in a field off the highway when most stores were clustered along small-town main streets - Ideal became a landmark soon after it opened in 1938. It didn't hurt that it was open on Sundays when little else was.

No one minded that the place always seemed in need of a paint job and had stained ceiling tiles, creaky floors and bad lighting. Customers only saw the marked-down prices on clothing lines that in recent years ranged from Alfred Dunner to BCBG to Calvin Klein.

Targeting 30- to 50-year-olds, Spina and Miranda say they plan to retain many of the brands traditionally sold in the store, while adding some designer labels and items such as the tummy-tuck dungaree line Not Your Daughter's Jeans.

The store will continue to specialize in special-event dresses, coats, and cruise- and sportswear. The owners plan to add an accessories department.

When they first walked in, Spina and Miranda decided that the 10,000-square-foot store needed some freshening. But the pair said they didn't want to change the look and feel of the place.

Despite a coat of white paint, some replacement ceiling tiles and a few fancy display cases for a new line of costume jewelry, Ideal retains her vintage charm.

"It's great," said longtime employee Vee Berenato, 75. "It's here for 70 years, and I hope it's here for at least 70 more."

Angelina Croce, 75, of Hammonton, said she was 5 when her parents brought her to the brand-new store.

"They used to carry children's clothing and we would always come here for something special, like coats or clothes for church," Croce recalled. "I have so many memories of this place, so many."