When Department Stores Ruled

 

Today I have two journal pages I have created for Chris at Pearshapedcrafting with her When We Were Young theme at Art Journal Journey. 

Do you remember when department stores ruled downtown areas?  This journal page is so straightforward, it is almost too simple.  In my opinion, it qualifies for this fortnight's Keep it Simple theme at Try it on Tuesday.

"When department stores ruled downtown U.S.A."

Stores from that era.  Look at those old cars!

My only decoration was this nameplate stamp I stamped and fussy cut, then added to the page.

For this page, I started by cutting the focal image from the cover of a magazine.  I adhered it to a sheet of 140 lb red cardstock.  I used the nameplate stamp to cover the price of the magazine.  Finally, I added the computer generated words.  

 

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, America’s business and economic sectors changed dramatically. Agriculture, which had previously been dominant in the states, was replaced by manufacturing and industry.  Oil, steel, textile, and food production in factories brought new jobs and new standards of living.

 

With more successful and affluent Americans having broader tastes, department stores like Macy’s, Bloomingdales, and Sears began popping up in large and influential cities like New York City and Chicago.  Department store entrepreneurs, keenly sensitive to the aesthetics of display, invested a great deal in the art of window dressing, hoping to make shopping less a task and more a pleasure.  These department stores became fixtures of American life, influencing what people purchased, how they furnished their homes, and what luxuries they thought they needed rather than merely wanted.  These stores didn’t just sell goods. They also provided demonstrations, lectures, and entertainment events that appealed to newly wealthy customers looking for how best to use their disposable income.

For my second spread I introduce the self service department store.  Although one could still find nearly every item imaginable for the home, with self service, less sales clerks were needed.

"When department stores ruled."

Other than size, there was little deviation from the norm

when it came to clothing designs.

 

Then something even more radical happened.  Instead of catering to customers in the downtown areas of cities, department stores decided to move to the suburbs.  That is when shopping malls took over the landscape in nearly every city in the country. 

I started by spritzing some of my handmade shimmering mists on a sheet of 110 lb. cardstock.  While the mists were drying, I colored the mannequin's top and the display dress using watercolor pencils.  Since the mannequin has a face, I'm also joining Nicole for her Friday Face Off.

Thanks for joining Bleubeard and me today as we learned about department stores and how they ruled the world of finance and shopping sense after WWII.  Please also join us at Art Journal Journey, Try it on Tuesday, and Friday Face Off.