The Department Store: History · Design · Display - Hardcover

Whitaker, Jan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0500516022 ISBN 13: 9780500516027

Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 2011

Synopsis

Where, under one roof, can shoppers find Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Prada, Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen? And where, besides the great department stores of Europe, Japan and America, is it possible for shoppers to spend the day in an extraordinarily opulent setting, drifting from shoes to cosmetics with a stop for a light lunch on the seventh floor and a visit to the bookstore, florist or hairdresser? This is the first illustrated book on department stores, with photographs and ephemera collected from all over the world. Born in the Gilded Age in France, the department store grew up thanks to the Industrial Revolution, the rise of the middle classes, and the invention of steel-frame architecture and the elevator. This lavish book goes behind the fabulous window displays, eye-catching shopping bags and instore extravaganzas promoting everything from shoes to perfumes to the latest fashion sensation to reveal and celebrate the department store in richness and detail.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Wonders of the World · 1. A World of Department Stores · 2. The Endless Shopping Spree · 3. Building to Impress · 4. Getting Attention · 5. Window Gazing · 6. Merchandising Spectacles · 7. Services and Circuses

About this title

Review:

'Wonderful compendium' --The Daily Telegraph

'The stunning photographs, paintings and posters are guaranteed to have you drooling whilst sprinting to your nearest shopping mecca.' --Irish Tatler

`Spectacular is the order of the day in this fact-rich social history, whether it's the caryatids above Macy's, the Egyptian Escalator in Harrods or the Art Nouveau cupola at the Galeries Lafayette.'
--The World of Interiors

About the Author:

JanWhitaker is the author of Service and Style: How the American Department Store Fashioned the Middle Class and Tea at the Blue Lantern Inn: A Social History of the Tea Room Craze in America.

About this edition

• Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0500516022
• ISBN 13: 9780500516027
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 264