Tuesday, December 18, 2018

HOLIDAY WINDOWS


Continuing down our path of the lovely holiday windows on our second day, they didn't disappoint either. When you get down to it. it's amazing the detail that can fit into these small spaces. Every year, another company that always pleases me is the legendary Tiffany & Co. They have some of the most creative windows for such the smallest of spaces, and I'm here to tell you, jewelry is one of the hardest and most challenging to display. And they always bring it. We even started out with breakfast at Tiffany's!!!
This Tiffany-blue display will certainly dazzle any passerby on Fifth Avenue. The brand's display tells a story about the main protagonist Tiffany's silver doll, of course, in a delightful and charming way. This year's theme is "Believe in Dreams," which takes onlookers behind the scenes of a whimsical Tiffany workshop.

Rock candy..get it? Genius.

Meanwhile at Saks Fifth Avenue....
After years of catering to children with one storybook tale after another, Saks goes after its true demographic: ladies who shop. The loosey-goosey plot revolves around a young woman with a poodle and stars in her eyes, whose love of the theater is nearly eclipsed by her passion for shoes, spa treatments and everything else money can buy, especially in Saks. That said, the windows are a dazzling mix of color and couture, with enough velvet curtains for a David Lynch fever dream. The edgier windows along 49th Street, which have a sexier story to tell. One features a couple canoodling above the stage, another has a man in a corset. And those hunky men outside the stage door seem to be waiting for something more than an autograph. wink!
 Over at Barneys. was a penny for your thoughts! How about 40,000 of them, pasted onto a white backdrop? That’s what’s doing in Barneys’ windows this year, although you’ll have to peer through the cutouts that spell “make change” to see them.

 The pennies (all $400 of them) are part of a partnership with Save the Children. (Barneys’ texting campaign promises another $150,000.) My team and I's inner Scrooge says, “Worthy cause, but lousy windows.....but we didn’t see a single passerby give the display a second glance. Come back, Simon Doonan! You may well be “creative ambassador at large,” but the windows need you here!

And sadly....the legend and long time store that started all the holiday window magic spectacle, and the first to do the holiday windows... is another dear company shuttering this year, Lord & Taylor. The brand’s 2017 windows which were titled “The Best and the Brightest,” spotlighted unique scenes through the lens of a snow globe. Sadly, that was the retailer's last extravagant display. After 104 years in business, Lord & Taylor is closing and will transform into a WeWork space in 2019.That’s right, no more beautiful Christmas-window arrangements. No more gorgeous displays of fashion to gawk at. No more old-school shopping for presents at the iconic store on it's 10 floors. It was a sad thing to see.
Windows are papered up already and literally everything was for sale!
It’s a sad day, with B.Altman's, Bonwit Tellers closing in the late 80's and now this year with Henri Bendels and Lord & Taylor...and now I just heard the fantastic Gumps in San Francisco of 157 years is now closing. But as the saying goes: Sic transit gloria mundi — so passes worldly glory, and the like we will never see again.

14 comments:

  1. Sad about L&T.
    On the other hand, the people that create those other windows are so amazingly talented. What a gift!

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  2. Oh no. lore & Taylor too? Darn. And I agree with the Tiffany’s displays. I’ve seen some miraculous creations in 3x4 feet. They do the most detailed little stories with all that bling.

    PS the Make a Change campaign is way too cool.

    XoXo

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  3. I have so much respect now for the effort that is put into displays, it's an art form of its own!
    I guess online shopping is affecting all businesses. I once posted about being in an empty mall on December 23, I was so shocked, when I was younger that was to be completely avoided so as not to be trampled. One clerk said it's because so many shop online now.

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  4. I've been in Gumps in SF. :-)
    As always enjoy the tour of the windows and the
    time and effort you put into it. xoxoxo

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  5. Really some wonderful displays. Makes standing out in the cold worth it.

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  6. DAvid Lynch fever dream... so perfect for Christmas!! Love it.

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  7. Sad to hear about L&T. I loved the old school charm of Tiffany's. It's almost as if you were there in the 60s.

    As for Sak's. I love it but I can imagine their electric bill probably rivals someone mining for Bitcoin.

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  8. wanamakers, gimbels, strawbridges, lits...all the philly stores gone too.

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    1. PS - breakfast at tiffany's looks dee-lish!

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    2. It was Anne Marie! And even more shocked the prices for the fare aren't as high as you'd expect. There coffee and tea are so good there.

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  9. Another lovely installment of holiday windows. Call me crazy, but Barney's almost also does some kind of political or current event message which is nice, but I feel people like to escape and see some real magic for a short period. We don't need remind of news and affair 27/7 for pete's sake. Tiffany's was a favorite of mine this year too. Fifth Avenue is slowly becoming unrecognizable with shops and flagship leaving. Why is fresh hell are people shopping for clothing???? If Bergdorf's or some of my little shops leave, I'LL BE SCREWED.

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  10. Your preaching to the choir sister. I am by no means a online shopper, especially for clothing. And I like to know I get good service at the stores I shop.

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  11. Thank you for sharing more of these! I never appreciated how difficult jewelry display would be. Tiffany’s is gorgeous. I never cRed much for rock candy, but I do now. Said could use your help with styling or f that se mannequins. Interesting windows but not enough drama I think. And Barney’s... I like their charity but not those windows. Blah.

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  12. Damn autocorrect and my thumbs on my iPad. Saks could use your help. CRed is obviously meant to be cared. Hugs to my favorite Misttress.

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Go ahead darling, tell me something fabulous!