#ShopSmallSaturday

I have always loved to shop small...local shops with hand selected merchandise and personal attention to detail and service.  I avoid chain stores like the plague---racks after racks of "the same".  Have you ever noticed that you can be dropped into any state and town and go to "The Mall" and they ALL look alike-same shops, same restaurants, same plants, same music...how boring, how impersonal! As consumers we have become numb and almost programmed that when we need to shop we head for a mall...but turn around...go local!

 Growing up I would shop along with my Mom in our town's "Centre". The bakery, the pharmacy, the shoe store, the clothing shops, the grocery store, the fruit store, the deli, the card shop, the beauty shop, the dry cleaner, penny candy at Woolworth's, a slice of pizza and a movie were all located in one square area. The Center was a destination and from one end of the Center to the other you could find whatever you needed. 

 As the daughter of a small business owner I grew up in a retail world where customers were familiar faces and families grew up shopping in my Dad's store. I of course am a small business owner so I know the importance of customer loyalty to a small businesses' survival. Now more than ever there are so many ways to shop and acquire goods and services...the competition from on line resources is staggering... that is why I love this idea of Small Business Saturday supported by American Express-

 Today, Saturday November 25, the day after Black Friday is a day to support and applaud the small businesses we love to visit on our Main Street. Find participating shops near you ... remember to Go! into town and Shop Small on Saturday!

Window Shopping

via

I think my favorite part of Holiday Shopping is Window Shopping.

Bergdorf Goodman via

Tantalizingly decorated  Windows have always been one of the best part of retail at the holidays--forget what's inside the stores-though the windows are of course styled to lure you in-I adore a well dressed window for any season, but especially for the Holidays.

Bergdorf Goodman via

Traditional holiday windows filled with childhood wonder still pull me in -Macy's, Lord and Taylor, Harrods, Selfridges... all sparkle with snow globes, enchanted Night Before Christmas moments, Fairy Tales, Santa's Workshop of course and even Paddington Bear.

Selfridge's

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Macy's

 

 

 

Saks Fifth Avenue

Lord and Taylor

Harrod's -via

Holiday windows are of course a "can you top this" affair between retailers in major cities.  Sadly in my city we no longer have a downtown filled with glittering department store windows, our department stores have vanished from the downtown area  and somehow windows at the mall don't do it...Holiday windows may be in fact a dying art form, something we can only remember from childhood---I don't think you see great holiday displays on line... so I love to see how small shops in local neighborhoods do their windows.  They may not compete with Baz Lurhmann's designs for Barneys but thoughtful, creative colorful windows that make you smile will always bring me through the doors of local shops.

Baz Luhrmann for Barneys

Some may enjoy a Pub Crawl for me it is a Holiday Window Crawl.  Bergdorf's rarely disappoints and I admit to being pulled in by any snowman, teddy bear, or enchanted magical display that tells a great story and is designed for generations to share and remember. No matter what reinvention and innovation retail shopping may go through I hope the tradition of Holiday Window Hopping will remain.

Bergdorf Goodman