Aldrich had already concluded he would like to acquire some art and in 1947, he and his wife flew to Paris with the intention of buying an Utrillo.

On his way out to buy cigarettes one day in Ridgefield, Connecticut he spied a building for sale on Main Street.

Seeing that it had high ceilings, he thought it would work well as a place to house his extensive art collection.

After investing a substantial sum to renovate, he turned it into a museum, initially called the "Old Hundred", after the name of the building.

[5][6] His fashion house designed the volunteer docent uniforms for the City Art Museum of St. Louis in 1968.