Today we're reminiscing about kinder and gentler times. And though we try to keep Jungle Red Writers a safe place for our readers, an escape from divisiveness and rancor, we need to acknowledge the horrors of the last week. The shootings at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. The pipe bombs sent to people Donald Trump has villified. The killings at a Kentucky grocery store. Tragedy upon tragedy, outrage upon outrage. The real world is very much on our minds and hopefully in our actions, too.
HALLIE EPHRON: The news that Lord & Taylor's flagship store in NYC is closing gave me an acute case of nostalgia. When I left
Los Angeles to go to NYC for Barnard College, my mother took me to Best & Co. for my first real winter coat. A bit further down 5th Ave. at B. Altman's I got my first leather gloves. And a little further south an across the street was Lord & Taylor where I looked for a dress for my first "mixer." (Does anyone remember mixers??) Most of them had lovely ladies-lunch restaurants... and that reminds me of eating on a stool at the counter at JJ Newberry - five and dime.With the recent announcement that Lord & Taylor is closing, all of those stores will be closed. Along with Korvettes and Ohrbachs where I shopped with my mother-in-law for bargains. Gimbels, and Loehmann's. Sears, which was the go-to stores for life's more mundane vacuum cleaners and appliances, is closing now. The stores I loved growing up in Southern California -- Robinsons, I. Magnin, Lanz -- are long gone as well.
Macy's survives, only because it's gobbled up everything else. Also Saks and Bloomingdales hang on. I confess my go-to store these days is Marshalls. In ten minutes I can sweep through and see if there's anything for me there. And of course, Amazon. Is anyone using Rent the Runway?
What stores are you missing, and is 'going clothes shopping' with a ladies' lunch something that you miss at all??
DEBORAH CROMBIE: Hallie, I went to Lord and Taylor on a long ago visit to New York. How sad that it is closing. When I was a child, our big treat was going to Neiman Marcus in downtown Dallas, especially their yearly "Fortnight" every fall, which was themed every year on a different foreign country. Neiman Marcus is still there, thank goodness, although they have had financial troubles the past few years, but I never shop downtown.
Of my other childhood stores, Joske's was swallowed by Dillard's, and Sanger-Harris is long gone. I just read that a new smaller footprint Target is going into their space.But my favorite and most nostalgic shopping experience is Dallas's Northpark Center. My mom and I started shopping there when it opened in 1965. (There used to be a Lord and Taylor there, but it closed years ago.) My mom and I took Kayti to Northpark, and now Kayti and I take Wren. The stores have changed, of course. Out of the four anchor stores, Neiman's, Dillard's, Macy's, and Nordstrom, Nordstrom is our favorite, but it's Dillard's for shoes!
INGRID THOFT: My nieces use Rent the Runway for prom dresses, Hallie. I wish it had been around when I was in high school! Is the Lord & Taylor in Boston closing, too? I hope not. I have many fond memories of going in to the city on a Saturday afternoon and browsing there before heading over to Copley Place and then the Dubarry Restaurant on Newbury Street for lunch. The Dubarry was my parents’ favorite, but it’s long gone, too.
Here in Seattle we have Macy’s and the flagship Nordstrom store, which has had financial troubles, but seems to be on the upswing. I worry that one day we’ll have just one of everything: Store, Bank, Airline, etc. Not a good scenario!
RHYS BOWEN: When I first moved to San Francisco there were several elegant, old fashioned department stores: City of Paris, I Magnin, The White House. You know, the kind with a doorman who wore white gloves and a cafe where they served lady-sized
portions. They all went long ago but Nieman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Nordstroms still survive. I also remember shopping at Lord and Tayor in New York. For some reason I was buying a box of handkerchiefs as a present. Or was that in a dream? For whom would I be buying handkerchiefs?
Anyway these days I love Nordstroms for special outfits (my dress for the Edgars) and their real customer service. Apart from that I
don't shop often for clothes any more. Most things stocked in Macy's don't appeal to me. I have become a fan of Steinmart when I'm in Arizona. There isn't one near me in CA. And I have to confess that I do my clothes shopping in Europe in the summer. HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Rhys, you are too much ! We want to
come with you. I keep thinking there’s a Filene’s—do you know it? For so many years, the flagship department store of Boston. With Filene’s Basement (in the actual basement, the real one) where a savvy shopper could truly find a treasure. I got my very first super-duper designer suit at Bergdorf’s in Boston, in 1983, I bet. And I could still wear it now. (If I, um, ignored the shoulders. But I keep waiting for them to come back.) That store was in a gorgeous building, some sort of mansion I think, and they would serve tea as you tried on clothes. RIP. Another was a tiny store in Boston called Lady Grace, I know it sounds old fashioned, and it was, but you could buy slips. (Anyone, anyone?) That’s gone, too.
Shopping? Well, you know me. I don’t mind shopping but I will admit I use a personal shopper, (it’s FREE) who can put me in a special room and bring diet coke and take care of everything. A few days ago I was in a store and had to wait at a cash register—and I realized how long it had been since I did that. Amazon? Not for clothes, but whoa, for so many other things. Mailing supplies. Birdfood. Pens. Makeup. Poof, it arrives. Hard to resist.
JENN McKINLAY: I love shopping - but only for bargains. I blame
my high school years when my gal pals and I would ride the train from New London to Boston to hit Filene's bargain basement (the original one) like an elite shopping unit. I still can't buy something if I can't say I got it for fifty to seventy-five percent off. I can't help it, I'm Scottish - thrift is in my DNA. Besides what's there to brag about in paying full price? There's no sport in that at all! LOL! I do hope we don't lose all of the classic stores. Maybe they'll make a comeback, like vinyl records, when everyone gets tired of Amazon. Right?LUCY BURDETTE: Yes, Best and Co, that's where we went for
winter coats and dressy dresses in New Jersey too. I also remember Bamberger's fondly. And there was a Brentano's bookstore in that same mall, where I later worked. All gone. These days I mostly shop at a little one-off store in Guilford CT. You can tell them you need something cute for a booksigning, and they bring outfits to try on that you never, ever would have chosen. And they look great!Hank, please tell me those big shoulder pads are never coming back...please...
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I don't know, Lucy - the high-waisted wide-legged pants of the 80s are coming back. (Of course, they themselves were a retread of a 40s look.) I'm with Jenn in that I'm the queen of discount shopping - I instinctively head straight for the end-of-season 70% off rack wherever I am. That being said, I've always gone to Macy's for fancy dresses, as my mother did before me. I'm grateful the local branches survive, but I've heard the famous and original 7th Avenue store is closing? That makes me sad. I went there on a pre-Christmas holiday with the family back in 2010 and got the girls some beautiful winter coats and boots - brands we didn't see at the Maine Mall.
As a brand new career girl in the early eighties, I loved going to Garfinkels and Woodward & Lothrop for my investment wardrobe. Woodies, particularly, was an old-fashioned temple of commerce, with a beautiful main floor that was a must-see at Christmastime. They would have a pianist playing while you shopped - tell me that's not better than elevator music!
And thinking of Christmas, who doesn't have childhood memories of the Sear's Wishbook? My sister and I would pour over that magical catalogue for hours, each of us circling our many, many picks (in different colored pens, so as to avoid confusion.) Honestly, looking through the Wishbook and dreaming of its bounty was as enjoyable as actually getting toys on Christmas morning.
HALLIE: Oh! The Sears Wishbook! Used it for many 'art' projects.
Are you missing the grand old department stores? "Going shopping" with friends with lunch in the tea room? Are you more likely to rent the runway than shop the sales?
For those of you who'd like to stroll down memory lane, visit The Department Store Museum.
Oh, I really enjoyed shopping at Ohrbach’s once upon a time. It’s going to seem very strange without Sears, often my go-to place . . . there’s a part of me that wonders how something that’s been so much a part of our lives can just be gone. I remember walking through the five and dime stores, but the days of Newberry’s and Woolworth’s are long gone, too . . . .
ReplyDeletesigh::
Ohrbach's got me hooked as a bargain shopper. Weren't there always piles of stuff? And pawing thorugh the lipsticks and buying rollers and hairnets at Woolworths. Sigh indeed.
DeleteI think all those Dollar stores have replaced the function of the old Woolworth's - they're just not as pretty as the old stores were.
DeleteI miss shopping at JCPenney's. The downtown store that my grandfather helped build. There's still a JCPenney store at the mall (and the mall is still thriving, surprisingly enough). We would shop at JCP for school clothes, for Christmas gifts, then go to a local diner for malts if we were lucky. Now the downtown is being 'revitalized', as the local politicians like to say. What actually happens is that the lovely old buildings are turned into expensive condos and rental units for the rich summer crowd who want a place along the lake, along with trendy little bistros and brew pubs that do most of their business in the summer months. So gradually, the businesses that used to exist and give people decent jobs are closing one by one. Bergman's Jewelers, which always had great Christmas displays, so many buildings gradually emptying, then being bought up.
ReplyDeleteFlora, where is this? I'm near the town of Quincy with a downtown being renovated as your describe, but year-round not summer only. It's better than all the shuttered storefronts.
DeleteAs Ann knows, because she's visited our town, has lost almost all the "real" stores on our beautiful town square. My husband grew up with them; the bank, the drugstore, the shoe store, the soda fountain, the Ritz Theater where he rode his bike to Saturday matinees. We are now a suburban mecca, with lots of cafes and restaurants and boutiques. I'm not complaining, though, as we're busy and bustling, other than the fact that if I actually want to buy something, it's hard to park.
DeleteThe square in the town where I went to college, fifty miles further north so out of reach of the suburban sprawl, is a pretty sad affair.
Parking's becoming the bugaboo here, too.
DeleteHallie, I'm speaking of Sandusky on Lake Erie. The town had both a GM and a Ford factory, as well as numerous other small factories (American Crayon, Barr Rubber, so many others), and folks could make a decent living there (and not only in manufacturing). But the downtown revitalization, while restoring buildings, isn't providing either affordable housing or decent-paying jobs for locals. It's a hard nut to crack--how to bring in well-paying jobs and bring back housing in the downtown area so regular, working people can live there again.
DeleteLord and Taylor-- I still remember what I purchased there. Best & Co as a girl for reversible navy blue dress coats, Filene's Basement when I was in college, Loehman's in Jersey, I Magnin and Bullock's sale racks when we lived in California. When we had kids, TJMaxx and Marshalls. Now that the kids are getting married, Nordstrom for my "mother" dresses and bridesmaid dresses. Was the L&T restaurant called the Bird Cage? I also remember the restaurant at B Altman's. Charleston Gardens?
ReplyDeleteHow did I miss the Bird Cage? Looking for pictures now.
DeleteWhen I was young, we went into New Orleans every few months for shopping and doctor appts. The big department store was Maison Blanche, but we also went to Woolworth's for breakfast at the counter, and a fabric store my mother loved. Sometimes my grandmother--who was barely five feet tall and wore a suit and hat any chance she got--came to town with us "to do a big shopping." She'd leave my mother with four kids to wrangle and disappear until the appointed time we'd meet back at the parking garage. My grandmother would appear with some teenager she'd hired off the street to carry her packages, and the back of our station wagon would be filled with her purchases, all with the MB logo I can still picture. Then she'd sleep, snoring loudly, all the way home. That's my department store memory!
ReplyDeleteOMG your grandmother sounds like quite the character... has she made it into any of your stories?
DeleteHallie, I have been writing an essay about her and how she'd dress in her little suit and go to the home of the man who owned the local brothel. She'd bully him for donations to the Ladies' Auxillary, in exchange for promising she'd force the priest to bury him in the church cemetery. And--she did.
DeleteHA HA HA HA HA! That's absolutely priceless. Can't wait to see it when it's published.
DeleteOh the shops of my childhood: Kleins, Adlers, The Jones Store, not to mention the biggest delight of all, Katz Drug Store. Or Woolworth. Or Kresge's.
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved to Dallas in 1962, Neiman-Marcus sent me a charge card.
In. My. Name.
A decade or so later, when I got a divorce, that charge card was the foundation of my credit. It was the only one I had with MY name on it, and god help me, did I ever establish credit.
I loved Neiman-Marcus, and I experienced what is known as the "Neiman-Marcus" effect. It goes like this. Say you've been looking at cashmere sweaters in Macy's, and found the $200 price tag too big for your budget. Then you have a look in Neiman's, where the cashmere starts at $999.98. And you spy a sale pile! There it is!! Just what you wanted and a bargain at $225, today only!! Cheap at twice the price!!!!
Oh how I've suffered that effect.
After I moved to LA, I called it the Rodeo Drive effect, same thing only move the decimal to the right a few places.
Now I shop at Land's End for pants and shirts and sweaters, all sans buttons, buckles and zippers. Ah the joy of an elastic waistband.
And shoes come from DSW. I don't own a pair of heels.
My days of suits and silk blouses are far behind me.
And I wasn't as skinny as Hank when I was four. xox
Our local Lands End is in our Sears and hence closing. Very sad.
DeleteAnd this is reminding me of how hard it was to establish credit if you were married and all the credit cards and deeds were in HIS name. I remember insisting that our first car (we paid cash; a Ford Pinto, God help us) was in MY name.
Ann, did you ever eat at the Zodiac Room at the downtown Neiman's? That was the height of sophistication. Ladies' lunches, with crust-less chicken salad sandwiches. Neiman's never sent me a credit card, however. Probably a good thing...
DeleteWhen I lived in Pittsburgh in 1986, we had a family friend who had kept her last name, and Gimbels, the department store, wouldn't give her a charge card because it was different from her husband's. 1986, people!
DeleteWell, Gimbels certainly got its just desserts! It closed in 1987!
DeleteThe Zodiac Room! Of course. And I dressed to go shopping, no pants, often gloves and something even a hat!
DeleteAs I think I've said before, there are eight synagogues in Rochester, and I live in walking distance of seven of them. The atmosphere of sadness here is only surpassed by the atmosphere of community. Today I am a Jew.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Ann.
DeleteOh, Woolworth's! That's a very early childhood memory, going with my grandmother to our local Woolworth's. It was such a treat. Ours didn't have a breakfast counter, however, sadly. We shopped at JC Penney's, too, for basic stuff, and sometimes at Sears.
ReplyDeleteOurs Woolworths had sawdust on the floor.
DeleteThe Girl likes going to Nordstrom's in the Ross Park Mall (the big one, that has everything and I hate it with a passion because it's impossible for me to walk), but unless she hits a sale, things can be pricey. But they do have great customer service and I like their "one holiday at a time" approach to fall/Christmas.
ReplyDeleteWe went to Kaufman's for "fancy" stuff when we were younger. I think they were bought up by Macy's (the original Kaufman's used to be in downtown Pittsburgh and had fabulous Christmas window displays).
I'm all about online shopping these days. But if I must go to a mall to shop, I'm mainly a Macy's and a JC Penney's girl. And no wandering. In, out, done!
Mary/Liz
No wandering?? I confess when Macy's announces its first pre-Xmas sales (PLUS 15% WITH A COUPON) after Thanksgiving I go and wander and start my holiday shopping. Those early days are very relaxing.
DeleteI am not a wanderer, either!
DeleteMary/Liz, my mother worked for Kaufmann's after my sister and I left home for college. It started in PA but was well established in upstate NY by the 1960s. Mom went from selling "Better dresses" to working in their HR department, hiring, training and helping employees coordinate their benefits.
DeleteWhen I cleaned out her jewelry drawers this fall, I fond she had saved all her Kaufmann's name tags, including the one with a diamond chip for ten years service. She retired with a lifetime 30% discount, which she used at Kaufmann's successor store, Macy's.
Nordstroms online was a lifesaver when I was looking for a mother-of-the-groom dress - free shipping and free returns!
ReplyDeleteHallie, do you remember Buffum's? My grandmother would take one granddaughter at a time and it felt like such a treat, especially because otherwise my mother sewed all our clothes. Hank, I didn't know Lady Grace had closed! They actually fitted you for bras. I went to the one in Brookline.
Otherwise I hate shopping for clothes. Gimme online any day.
Buffum's - where was that? Great name. There's a Lady Grace at the South Shore Plaza. Still. Though I've never had enough on top to require getting 'fitted.' And I can't remember the last time I wore a slip.
DeleteThere was one in Pasadena and I think also in LA proper. Oh, and Bullocks and Robinsons!
DeleteYes, Lady Grace, RIP. :-(
DeleteLoved ordering Lady Grace bras online. They had beautiful ones in large sizes that didn’t look orthopedic. Miss them!
DeleteMy grandfather was the furniture buyer for a local department store in Springfield, MO, called Heer's (pronounced "hers") during the '30s and '40s, and my mother more or less grew up there. When my family moved back to Springfield in the mid-1960s, a trip to Heer's was a big deal because the store was beautiful, and Mom always told us stories about her adventures there as a child. All long gone, of course.
ReplyDeleteThese days I like Nordstroms at North Park Mall in Dallas, although I haven't been in ages. I remember once, when I drove out to Abilene to transport a dog for a rescue group I volunteered with, the woman I was meeting asked if I'd like to meet at the Wal-Mart "in case I needed to shop." I've lived in the country, and I remember the importance of the weekly trip to Wal-Mart when everything else is an hour drive from home, but I realized I'd become a city girl because now, if I make a special trip anywhere to shop, it's Nordstroms.
Confession: I've never been to a Wal-Mart. Guessing it's like a Costco only the size of TWO football fields instead of one.
DeleteHallie, Wal-Mart is more like a much lower end Target. As Sam's Club, which Wal-Mart owns, is a lower end CostCo. Wal-mart always feels very jumbled and chaotic to me and I don't like shopping there. At Target, on the other hand, I can happily wander the aisles even if looking for nothing in particular.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteNordstrom is lovely on the weekends when they have someone playing a grand piano on the main floor!
DeleteI refuse to shop eat Walmart. Ever. And I can’t afgord cosco. When I used to belong I would walk in and come back out with five hundred bucks worth of economy sized catsup bottles and oatmeal.
DeletePlus a laptop, a TV , and a sewing machine
DeleteAnn, LOL. I buy bulk stuff there, but you do have to be VERY careful or you'll end up with a $500 bill!
DeleteHallie, Wal-Mart reminds me a lot of Katz back when there was a Katz. Except, of course, no giant neon cat sign out front. The thing with Wal-Mart is that it was the only major chain willing to invest in rural communities like the town where I lived from 1985-2010. It has everything from dog food and diapers to organic produce, and it's all priced to be affordable to people who work minimum wage jobs or live on fixed incomes. So, in rural areas, it's a real godsend. Sure, if you live in the city, there are classier places to shop but if you live in the country it's a big deal.
DeleteI don't like shopping, and I try to avoid it at all costs. Most of the stores mentioned I have never been in. When I can, I shop online!
ReplyDeleteAmazon has spoiled us all.
DeleteWhen I was a little girl, once a week dress d in my patent leather Mary Janes and white gloves I would accompany my grandmother on the streetcar from our house on Capitol Hill in Washington DC to “F” Street where we would begin at Garfinckel’s, visit Woolworth’s where I could select a paperdoll book, and end up at Woodies for lunch in their tea room. I was especially fond of their mashed potatoes. Later, I bought my wedding gown and posed for bridal portrait at Woodies. These days I buy my clothes either at Newman-Marcus (on sale) or J. peterman’s (both online). Malls are such a hassle. Still “lunch” with my girlfriends but stand-alone restaurants. Today’s blog hit me with a whiff of nostalgia so strong that it unleashed a mad passion for mashed potatoes. I guess I’ll make a noontime run to Popeyes in jeans and tee.
ReplyDeleteCracking up! Who knew we'd inspired mashed potatoes. What I yearn for from the Woolworth's counter is an old-fashioned milkshake. And some Bazookka Bubble Gum.
DeleteLoved the hot peanuts.
DeletePatricia, Woodies Tea Room. I remember going there in the early eighties. I felt like the ultimate sophisticate. I was scraping by as a graduate student, and then in my first job, but at Woodies they treated everyone as if you were their most important customer.
DeleteGrowing up there was Bullock's and I. Magnin, side by side, on South Lake Ave. I would save up for the Dec. 26th sale at Bullock's! Both these stores had lady lunch areas but the real treat was across the street at Blum's of San Francisco. For back to school clothes it was Nash's which (ahem, Hank) carried slips and hankies and all manner of every day necessities. Now I buy clothes on line and, like Ann, shoes at DSW.
ReplyDeleteSigh: day-after-Xmas sales. I'd walk to our local Saks and find tons of wonderful things marked 50% off. That's what turned me into a bargain shoper. BLUMS! Tin roof sundaes! Coffee crunch cake! Thee original thin chocolate mints. Be still my beating heart.
DeleteAnd... Coffee Toffee Pie!
DeleteI lived in a small town in farm country but my favorite aunt(the best aunt ever) lived in Westchester. I have the fondest memories of being taken shopping at Lord and Taylor and Altman's. Elegant, calm atmosphere and vast choices even in tiny sizes, which I was then. There certainly were restaurants, dainty ladies' places, a revelation. And you could pay with your (her) charge card! A whole world opened up. To this day, L&T has been my place for special occasion clothes (otherwise I shop online mostly) and its closing makes me sad. And old.
ReplyDeleteWell, you've got lots of good company.
DeleteWhen I was growing up in Stamford CT my parents took us to White Plains NY for clothing shopping at Alexander’s, Macy’s, and another store (was there a Gimbel’s there?) I believe it was Alexander’s that had a Book Department. I saved my money and spent it on books on these shopping trips. That’s where I bought most of my Nancy Drew books, as well as other mystery books.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was very young my dad worked at the Sear’s in Stamford, which is where I had my first experience of Santa Claus. I remember walking through the aisles of the store, on the way to see Santa, when we (me, Mom, Dad, and my little sister) saw Santa himself strolling back to his station! AND he called me by name and asked if I was on my way to see him! Santa knew my NAME!! Of course, years later I found out that my dad told “Santa” that he and my mom were taking us to see him.
There was a Woolworth’s (gone) across the street from my parochial school (gone), where my mom sometimes took us after school if she needed something there. There were loose items (safety pins, lipsticks, etc) in cubbyholes, and we helped her go through them to find whatever she was looking for. Sometimes we had lunch at the lunch counter there. I still remember the smell of hot dogs and coffee as we walked through the store.
A coworker and I took an exercise class at the Y a couple of nights a week. We left our cars at the parking garage for Bloomingdales and stopped at their cafe for a fresh fruit and frozen yogurt snack before heading to class. Sometimes we had lunch there on our lunch break. One day we were seated at a table by a window. We had each ordered chicken salad. There was a ledge just outside the window, and a dead pigeon on the ledge. It kind of spoiled our appetites!
I haven’t lived in Stamford in many years, but I don’t think any of the stores of my childhood are still there. I did enjoy reading everyone’s memories today!
DebRo
DebRo, I love the excitement of Santa knowing your name. That's (obviously) the kind of childhood memory that lasts a lifetime!
DeleteLovely remembrances, Deborah - My older daughter was terrified by our local Santa, and he did not know her name. Stamford has a gorgeous downtown. I just did an event this spring at their library which is spectacular.
DeleteHallie, I don’t miss much about Stamford but I DO miss the library so much! I just about lived there after school when I was in high school. From the outside I don’t like the look of the expansion (which is probably over forty years old now) but I love the inside! I could easily bring a sleeping bag and live there among the books. One of my sisters worked there for a few years, and she misses it, too.
DeleteAs nice as the downtown is now, I miss the small town feel of the downtown I grew up with.
DebRo
Woolworths! Exciting red-and-gold, right on the square in the center of town. And we all knew Mr. Woolworth was a local boy and the annual meeting took place right there in town. Best memory- their soda fountain and hot fudge sundaes with my grandmother.
ReplyDeleteAnd soda fountains had that special smell about them. Malted.
DeleteWhen I was growing up in the small town of Maysville, KY, Cincinnati was the big city where we went to shop and where my pediatrician was. The three main stores we shopped were Shillito's, McAlpin's, and Pogue's, with the first two being most frequented. It was thrilling at Christmas-time when Shillito's transformed its big street-level windows into Christmas magic, with the Shillito's elves making up scenes from their workshop to the mailroom to their sleeping quarters. It was a major treat to see these transformed windows as a child. And, Shillito's had a secret shopping area in the store for kids to buy their parents a Christmas gift. I proudly bought my parents a pair of poodle bookends, which I still have. McAlpin's holds one of my dearest ascent into adulthood memories. It's where my mother and I finally found my wedding dress in 1976, after shopping the other downtown stores, too. We ate lunch that day at the cafe in McAlpin's, and we may have even given in to getting some ice cream from their soda fountain. So, for big city shopping, these are the places and memories I hold dear. Shillito's was later taken over by Lazarus and McAlpin's by Dillard's. Here's a link to the history of those and a few other downtown Cincinnati department stores. It includes pictures of the Shillito's elves, too. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/local/retro-cincinnati/2018/01/05/look-cincinnatis-lost-downtown-department-stores/1006205001/
ReplyDeleteOf course, there were stores and eateries in my hometown that are now long-gone, too, including the little diner called Eats or Morgan's Eats that had the little jukeboxes at each table, where you could play a song. So cool. There was Merz Brothers department store where most people shopped for clothes unless going to the big city. At Merz's they used the pneumatic tube system for transactions, sending the money and sales into through the tubes to a central location in the store, where change would be made and returned through the tubes again to the salesperson and customer. If you aren't familiar with pneumatic tubes used in department stores (they were used elsewhere, too), it's rather fascinating. Here's a Wikipedia article to get you started on information about them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumatic_tube We also had the "dime store," as it was called in downtown Maysville, along with a Penny's, a Sear's, a Montgomery Ward's, and a lady's dress shop. There was a favorite drugstore called Vance's, where they had delicious chicken salad sandwiches, cheeseburgers, and orangeade drinks. My father had his real estate office in one of the banks, and I got to spend quite a bit of time downtown. Plus, our neighbor first worked at her family's florist store (her son Jimmy and I played in the upstairs storage area of the florist), and later Gwendy had a gift shop downtown. Jimmy and I are still friends and see each other at least once a year, even though he has resided in Tucson, Arizona for most of his adult life.
I love this: a secret shopping area in the store for kids to buy their parents a Christmas gift. Brilliant!!
DeleteLOVED those peneumatic tubes. I've always wanted to read a fantasy short story where the characters ride around in them. My bank still uses them to send stuff to and from and drive-up teller window.
Shillito's was our store, too, Kathy. I worked there in the early 70's (my first husband's college job was assistant manager in young men's), and again in the late 70's, in the sales audit department as a second job in the few months before Christmas.
DeleteThe name, for those who don't know, has an accent on the first syllable.
When I worked on Fountain Square, when the Skywalk was still intact, on my lunch hour I could easily get to Shillito's, McAlpin's, Pogue's, and Mabley & Carew above street level--no crosslights to wait for, and out of the weather.
You probably don't remember the chichi women's store, though, Gidding Jenny's. It was very luxe, on Fourth Street.
I remember GJ! Haven't thought of that in years...
DeleteI grew up in small town Indiana so for special shopping we would go to a larger small town - Hammond - to Goldblatt's Department Store (think A Christmas Story) and then to a Chinese restaurant for lunch. Again, think of the Indiana version. Sears in the mall was a ways away but always fun. And that Sear Wishbook, I still miss it!
ReplyDeleteGrandma C, I got to see the original "Christmas Story" department store when Bouchercon (the World Mystery Convention) was in Cleveland. It was Higbee's, and the exterior is still glorious. I spoke with Cleveland natives at the conference who had wonderful memories of going downtown for the Christmas parade and meeting Santa at the department store.
DeleteAlas, it was sold and is a casino now! Sic transit gloria mundi.
A casino?!? Feh. Sick transit.
DeleteGrandma, remember Ayres?
DeleteJulia - I would have loved to see Higbee's. Hallie - I second the ugh on a casino. Hank - no, I don't recall Ayres - what kind of store was that. I grew up in NW Indiana (Cedar Lake, near Hammond, Gary . . . so guess not in our area).
DeleteNo, we had Carson Pirie Scott instead (I’m from near Valpo).
DeleteGrowing up in Houston we shopped at Woolworth's, Kresge's, Sears, Penney's, Palais Royal, Robert Hall, Weiner's. Foley's was THE department store; they had the most wonderful Christmas display in their downtown windows. Macy's ate them.We also had Joske's of Houston, as opposed to Joske's of Texas; family dispute. Sakowitz was also a fancy dancy store. I think they are gone except for a furs store and storage. In New Orleans it was Godchaux's, DH Holmes, and Maison Blanche. I remember arriving at either Holmes or MB one summer morning right before the store opened for the day. With 20 minutes to go they opened the front doors and ushered customers to chairs lining either side of the doors. They offered coffee from a silver set on a rolling cart to us as we waited. Truly elegant. In NE Ohio the shops were Halle's (closed right after we got there), Higbee's, May Co.later acquired by Kaufmann's which was sooo much better than May Co., O'Neil's which was eaten by May Co.and finally Macy's which probably ate all of them. In Minnesota it was Dayton's and Marshall Fields. I think Macy's ate them too. Dillard's is still around.
ReplyDeleteI rarely shopped at Walmart - until they started carrying my books - because I recently learned that Walmart is one of the biggest accounts publishers have for books especially in the flyover states. When they picked up my book last year, actual tears were involved by my agency and publisher. They were that happy. An author's success/failure can be dependent upon whether Walmart carries your book or not. Needless to say, I now try to get into Walmart once a month and I buy books there :)
ReplyDelete(yes! Same experience exactly. Tears.)
DeleteMacy's ate Jordan Marsh here. And Filenes. This is reminding me of Remick's department store in Quincy MA - It was owned by actress Lee Remick's father and I loved shopping there. Two stories with a circular staircase in the center.
ReplyDeleteOh, Jordan Marsh and Filenes! How could I forget those two!
DeleteMusician Nanci Griffith has a wonderful song about Woolworth's.
ReplyDeleteWorth looking up and listening to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wVjkU3yVxM
Libby Dodd
Thanks, Libby. I LOVE Nanci!
DeleteIn addition to the stores Kathy Reel mentions above, I loved Casual Corner in its heyday. And Shillito's is now Macy's here.
ReplyDeleteI was a buyer for a small chain of petites stores in the 70's, and had to "shop for a living" for three years. And then I proceeded to have three daughters. I'd just about do anything other than shop.
I always thought being a buyer seemed like a dream job. But apparently not.
DeleteI lOVED Casual Corner!!!
DeleteMe too! At one point in the early 90s, I think my coworkers and I owned every suit they sold! Now it’s the $69 sale rack at Macy’s.
DeleteI remember taking the bus into Hartford (CT) with my non-driving Grandmother to shop at G. Fox and Company in the 1970s. And there was always lunch in the restaurant at "Fox's." Christmas time brought the special kids' shop where kids could "secretly" shop for presents for their parents, while being well-supervised by the staff. I think the department store closed in the 1990s, after about 150 years. Beautiful building--now a community college.
ReplyDeleteSO LATE!! And still laryngitis stricken, without a voice. I used to work at GC Murphy's Five and Dime-- in the..wait for it, millinery department. I was, maybe 17. I loved it. Murphy's is long gone. I was soon moved to the candy counter, disaster, and then to the record department, heaven. I also caught a quick change artist.
ReplyDeleteStory? Story???? A quick change artist??
DeleteBack in 1988 I went to Bermuda for a week, and found the most lovely department store in Hamilton. It was called Trimminghams, and I bought a skirt there that I wore for years and years after. Alas, it has apparently closed after 163 years. Also, in Los Alamos, there's a small, local department store called CB Fox that stocks all kinds of delightful things.
ReplyDeleteThey closed???! I still have a sweater I bought there in 1987 or 88. How sad!
DeleteDebRo
As a child we had Bowmans and Pomeroys with Pomeroys having the tearoom and Christmas windows. We had three 5 & 10's: Woolworths, Kresges, and G C Murphys. Later in the mall we shopped at Wanamakers with quiches in their restaurant and Hess's with huge cream puffs in theirs. They're all gone but we still have Macys, Sears (for now), and Boscovs. I usually buy at Boscovs. I do buy somethings online but prefer to get clothes in the store. Even if I don't try the clothes on, I like to feel the material and see the colors in person.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. With the exception of Eileen Fisher, where I'm usually sure if I order the right size it will fit (their clothe are very forgiving), I prefer to try/feel. The feel really matters. And shoes and boots?!? They're impossible to buy online. Also, weirdly, handbags, I need to put it on, wear it, feel it, examine the interior. I'm very fussy.
DeleteI felt that gentility in shopping ended when my beloved Bullock's closed here in Southern California. No more ladies' luncheons in the tea room, complete with fashion shows. No more personal shoppers taking on my three young sons, and outfitting them for the new school year. I even remember wearing gloves and (sensible) high heels to go Christmas shopping. A lovely time was had by all...alas, no more.
ReplyDeleteAnd here I am over here missing KMart and Sears. And Mervyns. Shows you my fashion sense or lack thereof.
ReplyDeleteand Toys R Us and Grossman's hardware...
DeleteFond memories of being pulled out of school in 4th grade for my first trip to Marshall Fields on State Street. Probably the first time I ever rode in an elevator, and I thought the marble water fountains were so sophisticated. Then lunch in the Walnut Room under the Christmas tree. Sigh.
ReplyDelete