GUEST POST--Department Stores: Palaces of Service and Style

 by Guest Blogger Donna Mumma

Imagine walking into a multi-floored palace with marble floors beneath your feet and crystal chandeliers hanging overhead. The smell of freshly baked bread, cookies, and pastries mixes with the fragrance of sweet perfume. Pleasant, relaxing music plays as you journey down a wide marble walkway flanked by fluted columns fit for an ancient Grecian temple. Every person you meet smiles, welcomes you in and immediately offers their help. And everywhere you see the latest fashions in clothes, hats, gloves and cosmetics, with more of whatever your heart desires waiting for you on other floors.

This was the experience shoppers enjoyed in the old department stores that once ruled the heart of a city’s downtown. These stores shaped the culture of their areas while also bringing glamor to the upper-, middle-, and working-class folks who lived there. Going to these stores was a dress-up affair, for family’s and singles alike, and all of them provided a shopping experience for their customers so different from that of today.

Beyond being an emporium of one-stop-shopping, the department stores became a vibrant, active member of the community. Most had an upscale restaurant or tearoom that became “the” place to meet, or a cafeteria where employees and customers could enjoy a reasonably priced meal in a less formal atmosphere. There were also lunch counters, some gaining notoriety during the Civil Rights movements in the 1960s when African Americans staged sit-ins to protest the unfair, exclusionary practices at the department stores. 

Throughout the year, the department stores hosted fashion shows, bridal weeks, and Christmas parades. The annual unveiling of the Christmas window displays became a yearly must-see that kicked off the holiday shopping season. More practical events were also scheduled throughout the year. These included cooking demonstrations and classes, cosmetics seminars, and even charm schools for children during the summer when school was out. And on the sweeter side, many housed bakeries that became famous for their own signature treats such as cookies, cinnamon pastries, or cakes. 

The exceptional services didn’t stop there. Many of the old stores housed doctor’s and dentist’s offices, making it easier and more efficient for customers to take care of their health. In Florida, new residents to the state could visit their store to buy and ship oranges or grapefruit to their northern relatives. These stores worked hard to provide all the goods that their customers might need, including hard to find items like prosthetic limbs. 

Bridal salons became a popular part of the department store experience. These shops were run by elegant, well-informed consultants who stood ready and able to guide a bride through every decision she must make leading up to her marriage. This service went far beyond just finding her wedding gown and bridesmaids’ dresses. The consultants also offered their brides tips on how to furnish and care for their new house, how to cut the cake at the reception plus suggestions on where to go for the honeymoon. Some bridal salons kept collections of white runners for the church aisle, candelabras, crystal punch bowls and cups that brides could borrow for the wedding or reception 

The old stores recognized that women made up the largest percentage of their customer base, giving women power and status that they hadn’t enjoyed in the past. Stores garnered their highest profits in Cosmetics and Ladies Sportswear and prominently displayed these on the first floor. They catered to all the stages of a woman’s life, from her birth, her first Easter dress, prom dress, bridal gown, maternity wear and baby layettes, and finally the Mature Women’s section. Women did most of the buying, and they received the most attention in marketing campaigns.

Women found another level of status in the department stores through employment. Many started as clerks, a prestigious job at the time, and worked their way up to become well-respected clothing buyers who influenced the styles their customers wore. Others held jobs as bookkeepers, and secretaries. The stores provided a natural means of mobility, and women were able to gain success and independence not enjoyed by earlier generations.

The stores focused on a new market that emerged after the Second World War; the American teenager. Young people had money to spend on clothes, records, books, even fun items for the beach or their favorite sports. Department stores gave these new buyers a voice, setting up Teen Advisory Boards who met with the buyers and offered suggestions on modern tastes. Many housed a Young Miss section for high-school aged girls, and Collegiate departments for co-eds on upper floors, giving both groups a feeling of having their own place to shop separate from their parents.

Men were not forgotten by the old stores. Before World War 2, some stores had floors devoted exclusively to men. There, men’s suits, shoes, and other clothing necessities were found as well as other products they might need such as hunting supplies, sporting goods, and work clothes. Some stores even had a cigar room set aside for their gentlemen shoppers to take a break and relax with peers in manly surroundings void of any feminine influences.

The old department stores enjoyed a long-lived heyday, but as America moved to the suburbs the glamor of shopping downtown faded. Many of the old stores were bought by large conglomerates and renamed, while others closed their doors forever. The palatial buildings housing them were repurposed into office buildings. Many were leveled to make way for more modern shopping centers with a variety of big-box stores. In later years consumers saw the rise of indoor shopping malls. 

Time moves on, and the old ways must change. But anyone who follows history knows the old can become new. Maybe future generations will decide they need a little glamor in their shopping and the model of the luxurious downtown department store, dedicated to service with style, could rise to prominence once again.

Donna Mumma perfected storytelling in her first grade classroom, spinning tales exciting enough to settle a roomful of antsy six-year-olds. She is an award winning author of both fiction and nonfiction who loves to blend history, mystery, and a touch of faith in her stories. A native Floridian, she now lives on the Sunshine State’s west coast, sharing life with her family, and her energetic collie, Duke. Her newest book, The Women of Wynton’s, tells the story of four women who work at Wynton’s Departmet Store, and must put their dislike of one another aside to solve the murders of fellow employees. Especially when it seems their beloved boss, Mr. Wynton, seems to be next on the murderer’s list. 

Cover That Gray . . . or Light Colored . . . or Red Hair

 By Suzanne Norquist

I color my hair. When I was thirty-two, I turned gray, but thanks to modern products, no one can tell.

Pink, purple, and blue hair might be new trends, but people have tried to look younger and more beautiful since antiquity. Men and women alike. Natural dyes could darken hair and beards, and that’s what people wanted—darker hair. The dye advertised below promises to change light, red, or gray hair to a beautiful brown or black.

For some men, it could make the difference in getting a job or not. For example, an article in the August 1, 1902 issue of The Brush Tribune says,

“An official of the American Federation of Labor says he knows for a fact of many men who are using dyes to hide their gray hairs ... to look young enough to be able to hold their positions ... It is every day becoming more difficult for a man past the prime of life to secure employment.”

Natural dyes, similar to those used on wool and fabric, have existed for centuries. However, different techniques are required because our hair can’t be boiled in dye like cloth can.

In 1500 BC, Egyptians used henna dye prepared from the plant to darken hair. Greeks and Romans created other dyes, some of which proved too toxic to use.

Although scientific discoveries took place in the 1800’s, not much changed until the early 1900s. It took time for the new technology to be commercialized and even more time for people to start using it.

In 1863, English chemist William Henry Perkin accidentally developed the first non-natural dye. He was attempting to use coal tar to produce the malaria drug quinine. This discovery revolutionized the textile industry. The new dye produced a vivid color with staying power.

Soon after, his professor August Hoffman improved on the discovery to create the foundation for most permanent hair dyes today.

The first commercial hair dye wasn’t developed until 1907 by Eugene Schueller. He founded L’Oréal.

Since it took a while for people to adopt these new products, Margaret Mixter’s 1910 book Health and Beauty Hints provides several do-it-yourself recipes for hair dye.

One mixture to color hair black or brown hair included tea and sage. The concoction needed to be applied nightly, and it would stain the pillow. It also didn’t store well for the next day’s use.

Another natural option for brown or black hair included ground walnut shells. This one took more than a week to prepare. And hair needed to be perfectly clean before application. Any oils would ruin the job.

Alternatively, silver nitrate (the main ingredient in photographic negatives) could be used. Before coloring the hair, however, a sort of primer made from potassium sulfate (fertilizer) and other products was applied.

In all cases, another person needed to pull the dye through with a fine-tooth comb.

To lighten hair, bleaching with hydrogen peroxide was possible but not advised.

For a beautiful golden tint, henna could be mixed with honey and rhubarb powder. The person coloring their hair would sit in the sun for two hours. Then they would wash the mixture out with ammonia and sit in the sun again.

Like today, there wasn’t a good way to restore bleached or dyed hair to its original color. The Health and Beauty Hints book says, “Advanced though science is, there is nothing yet known that will bring back the original condition quickly.” It suggests the use of oils and grease until the hair grows out.

Men and women could purchase hair dyes at the pharmacy or the barbershop. I presume these were bottled versions of the do-it-yourself concoctions. Most were designed to turn hair a “beautiful black.”

As much as I dislike spending hours at the salon, I’m glad for modern hair products. And as a redhead, I don’t want “beautiful black” hair.

***

"Mending Sarah’s Heart" in the Thimbles and Threads Collection

Four historical romances celebrating the arts of sewing and quilting.

Mending Sarah’s Heart by Suzanne Norquist

Rockledge, Colorado, 1884

Sarah seeks a quiet life as a seamstress. She doesn’t need anyone, especially her dead husband’s partner. If only the Emporium of Fashion would stop stealing her customers, and the local hoodlums would leave her sons alone. When she rejects her husband’s share of the mine, his partner Jack seeks to serve her through other means. But will his efforts only push her further away?

For a Free Preview, click here: http://a.co/1ZtSRkK

 

Suzanne Norquist is the author of two novellas, “A Song for Rose” in A Bouquet of Brides Collection and “Mending Sarah’s Heart” in the Thimbles and Threads Collection. Everything fascinates her. She has worked as a chemist, professor, financial analyst, and even earned a doctorate in economics. Research feeds her curiosity, and she shares the adventure with her readers. She lives in New Mexico with her mining engineer husband and has two grown children. When not writing, she explores the mountains, hikes, and attends kickboxing class.

She authors a blog entitled, Ponderings of a BBQ Ph.D.