For 50 years, Peter Musler has loved dealing with his customers, and it seems the feeling is mutual.

“I love his clothes and I love walking into his store and interacting with him,” said Schenectady resident Peggy King, a former member of the City Council. “Every time I go in we talk about politics and everything that’s going on in the city. It’s always a lot of fun.”

Those friendly visits to Musler’s Fine Women’s Wear at 1726 Union St. are coming to an end. Musler announced last week that the family business, which started in the Proctors Arcade in 1926 and moved to upper Union Street in 1991, will close sometime within the next two months.

“One hundred is a milestone, and I would have liked to reach it, but we’re in our 98th year and that ain’t bad,” said Musler.

“It was a difficult decision that’s been weighing on my mind for a while now. But I’m 74 now and I wasn’t enjoying it the way I used to.”

Marge Rizzo of Glenville has been shopping at Musler’s for more than 20 years, and while she’ll miss the unique quality merchandise the place offers, she’ll mostly miss the straight talk she got from Musler regarding her fashion choices.

“The great thing about Peter is that he looks at what’s good for the customer,” said Rizzo.

“I would try something on and he would say, ‘If you want to buy that go ahead, but don’t tell people you bought it from me.’ He would tell you it doesn’t look good on you. He really cared about his customers and wanted them to walk out of the store feeling good about the way they looked.”

Rizzo said she wasn’t the only member of the family to shop at Musler’s.

“My husband did all his shopping for me at Musler’s, and if he went there with me I would shop and he and Peter would talk about the Knicks and the Giants,” she said.

Interacting with his customers, said Musler, was the best part of the business.

“That’s what I enjoy doing, and I think my best attributes are my people skills,” he said. “I like to talk to people and learn about them. I love developing a relationship with my customers.”

Vicki Parker, a retired Schenectady teacher who lives in the town of Colonie, has shopped at Musler’s for 25 years.

“I drove by one day after school and saw this dress that I really liked in the store window,” said Parker. “It was really pretty. So I stopped the next day and have been going there ever since. He has really nice stuff. Very different and unique. It’s sad that he’s closing. I loved shopping there, and I always enjoyed looking forward to a conversation with him.”

It was Musler’s grandfather, Jules Musler, who opened the store in the Proctors Arcade back in 1926. Jay Musler, Peter’s father, started working there in 1947 and oversaw the move to upper Union Street in 1991. Peter, a 1967 graduate of Scotia-Glenville High School, continued his education at the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, now Philadelphia University. After finishing up there he worked at a major department store and briefly entered the record business, but in 1974 returned home to Schenectady and began working for his father.

“We were much bigger when we were next to Proctors, and had a lot of employees,” said Musler.

“Now it’s just me, unless I asked one of my elfs, my friends, to come in and cover for me if I need them. I have so many wonderful memories, so much gratitude for my customers. I loved it when people would come in and tell me how their mother or their aunt, or their grandmother, used to shop here. It was an honor to serve three generations of families in the Capital Region.”

Musler has one son who was not interested in carrying on the family business.

“I have a son in Florida who has a wonderful job, and he wants me to come down there with him,” said Musler. “I never encouraged him to get involved in our business and I never discouraged him. It was the same way with me when I was growing up. But as I got a little bit older and started working in the store, I got to like dealing with customers.”

Musler said he expects the store to officially close its doors sometime next month or early March.

“I want to get rid of as much inventory as I can,” he said. “And I have so many people to thank. I’ve shared so much joy and happiness with my customers, I want to thank them for making Musler’s what we are.”