Community Chat

[Preds]

Harveys, Castner-Knott, Cain-Sloan ... always the best window displays and decor for the Holidays.

[abbeythe 8th]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

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@deepwaterdotter wrote:

Would Walmart be considered a department store?  I don't shop there, but past descriptions from others here that do bring the term 'department store' to mind.

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No, IMO. Department stores sold clothing, shoes and handbags, jewelry, cosmetics and fragrance, undergarments and sleepwear. A few (Sears, Montgomery Ward) sold other items, but department stores that were not mail-order stores never sold "everything" and were never "one stop" stores. Most had tea rooms or small restaurants with table service, not fast food. 

The true department store is largely a thing of the past exept for Macys, Nordstrom & a couple of others.

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Our department stores had decent size furniture and rug departments, too.

[Perkup]

In Atlanta in my younger days (when dinosaurs roamed the earth) we had Rich's and Davison's, with a few smaller clothing stores like J.P. Allen and George Muse in the mix.  

Rich's always had their "great tree" on top of the bridge that crossed the street from their clothing and accessories store to their home store. It was a very big deal to go there to watch the lighting of the "great tree".  Some of their store windows, as well as Davison's had Christmas decor that was a big deal to a child.  There were tea rooms in both, with delicious salads and a variety of other choices.

Here in New Orleans we had Dillard's in Metairie that was a first choice lunch spot for me - the best chicken salad ever with poppy seed dressing to die for. They are still there, but they closed the restaurant. Hard to understand because it was always crowded. I guess time moves on. If they had Christmas windows I guess I never noticed.  There are a lot of lovely stores in New Orleans, but I don't go there - last went 10 years ago this month!

And I came back to add that both stores mentioned above sold clothing, shoes, accessories - for men, women and children. Plus they sold housewares and furniture. To me, that's what makes a Department Store.

[151949]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

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@deepwaterdotter wrote:

Would Walmart be considered a department store?  I don't shop there, but past descriptions from others here that do bring the term 'department store' to mind.

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No, IMO. Department stores sold clothing, shoes and handbags, jewelry, cosmetics and fragrance, undergarments and sleepwear. A few (Sears, Montgomery Ward) sold other items, but department stores that were not mail-order stores never sold "everything" and were never "one stop" stores. Most had tea rooms or small restaurants with table service, not fast food. 

The true department store is largely a thing of the past exept for Macys, Nordstrom & a couple of others.

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Our department stores sold everything from jewelry to clothing to appliances and furniture.

[gardenman]

I grew up shopping in Lits Brothers, Gimbels, Strawbridge & Clothier, and Wanamakers in Philly. Those flagship stores were amazing! Unfortunately modern department stores are largely blah any more. 

I believe there's a market void now that a modern department store, modeled on the old ones, could serve and serve well, while making a good profit. I think the key would be to break away from the stuff you can buy anywhere. Have furniture designers, shoe designers, dress designers, jewelry designers, and more specialists on staff catering to customers. Have workshops where custom objects are created. Try to find extraordinary craftsmen/women and become the exclusive source for their items. Develop a relationship with top animal breeders to stock your pet department with the finest purebred puppies and kittens possible. Have custom made Tiffany style lamps available with a good solid story behind them. 

I think that done right, a modern high-end department store modeled on the old ones could be very, very successful.

[jubilant]

There was a nice one close to where I lived in one of the bigger cities in Indiana.  It was called Wolf and Dessaur's.  It had the tea room with excellent food (I have a couple of those old recipes).  It was where I got my very first job out of high school. The store that reminds me a lot of these department stores of old is Von Maurs, although they do not offer bedding, towels, and linens.

[YorkieonmyPillow]

The dept. store we went to when I was little had elevator operators.

[colliegirls]

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@151949 wrote:

When we were little my Grandpa would take us into Pittsburgh to see all the dapartment store windows and to help us shop for our Christmas presents for our parents - which , of course, he paid for. We would walk from one end of down town to the other to see all the stores.Thank Goodness Pittsburgh isn't a very large city. In one store there would be a DJ from a local radio station who would do his show from the store window to raise money for the Children's hospital. Grandpa would buy something pretty for Grandma for Christmas and we would be sworn to keep it secret. We would go to grandpas office and I'd get a Christmas pin to wear on my coat - my grandpa was a jewelery designer so it was always something special for me. I still have most of them.

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The most magical memories ever!  Shopping and then looking at the windows all dressed for the holidays at Kaufmann's, Gimbel's, and Hornes.  I LOVED going downtown at night at Christmas time with my mother.

[jlkz]

@gardenman

Remember the Wanamaker huge EAGLE and the Christmas light show done to real organ music?   I used to get a strained neck just looking up at that show !!!!

[151949]

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@colliegirls wrote:

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@151949 wrote:

When we were little my Grandpa would take us into Pittsburgh to see all the dapartment store windows and to help us shop for our Christmas presents for our parents - which , of course, he paid for. We would walk from one end of down town to the other to see all the stores.Thank Goodness Pittsburgh isn't a very large city. In one store there would be a DJ from a local radio station who would do his show from the store window to raise money for the Children's hospital. Grandpa would buy something pretty for Grandma for Christmas and we would be sworn to keep it secret. We would go to grandpas office and I'd get a Christmas pin to wear on my coat - my grandpa was a jewelery designer so it was always something special for me. I still have most of them.

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The most magical memories ever!  Shopping and then looking at the windows all dressed for the holidays at Kaufmann's, Gimbel's, and Hornes.  I LOVED going downtown at night at Christmas time with my mother.

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And having lunch at the Tic Toc shop in Kaufmanns. And the loft over the first floor in Kaufmanns where they had the candy counters.