Service and Style: How the American Department Store Fashioned the Middle Class
By Jan Whitaker
From Publishers Weekly The American department store is "not quite a dinosaur," says Whitaker (Tea at the Blue Lantern Inn), but it has certainly seen better days, and it's that robust era—from the turn of the 20th century to the 1960s—that she chooses to celebrate in this lively pop history. At their peak, department stores were the nation's largest booksellers and many major chains also sold groceries. But it was clothes that made the stores a prime destination for women of all social classes, and Whitaker discusses at significant length the subtle movements through which major chains from one end of the country to the other cultivated their reputations for being up-to-date with the latest Paris fashions, then tapped into additional markets for young adult and children's wear. More than 100 photographs and illustrations are integrated into the text, aptly demonstrating the lengths to which stores went in order to present themselves as elegant yet modern and convenient. Legendary New York chains like Macy's and Gimbel's get much of the attention, but outposts from other regions, such as San Francisco's Emporium or Philadelphia's Lit Brothers, also get due notice, adding an additional aura of comprehensiveness to Whitaker's richly detailed account. 8-page color insert. (Aug.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From School Library Journal Adult/High School–This well-written book presents a thorough picture of department stores from their beginnings in the late 19th century through their heyday. Readers are treated to all aspects of the stores' histories, from financing to marketing to merchandising; their employment of women, layout, display windows, and architecture; store competition; and, particularly, the move from home sewing to ladies' ready-to-wear. These independent establishments were instrumental in defining and catering to a rising middle class and an integral and hugely important part of urban centers. Then, around 1970, Sears and Penney's stores and discounters in suburbia made the going too rough. Now the big independents with the proud old names are hardly recognizable. The illustrations include photos of store exteriors and interiors and copies of ads. Chapters are broken up by topic. This is an invaluable resource for students of marketing, fashion design, and U.S. history/social studies.–Judy McAloon, Potomac Library, Prince William County, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. About the Author Jan Whitaker is a writer and freelance editor based in Amherst, Massachusetts. She is the author of Tea at the Blue Lantern Inn: A Social History of the Tea Room Craze in America.
From the Up-to- Date in Downtown Troy through Alexander's to A&S in Brooklyn Christina Larsen in her highly favorable review of this book in 'Washington Monthly' notes that one major reason people shop is for 'the experience'. Jan Whitaker chronicles how the Department Store became a central element in American life. She tells of how the great movement from farm to City in the late nineteenth - century , combined with new developments in communication and transportation helped make Department stores the center of American commercial life. Here is Larsen's description of of what Whitaker does in the book. " She details how department stores, which dominated American retail in the early 20th century, helped give "material expression to vague ideas of what success, femininity, citizenship, and popularity might mean," then put the identifying accessories (briefcase, lingerie, top hat, tennis racket) within reach of most customers. The secret to the stores' success was that they were always selling more than the thing itself." The Department Store drew the masses into the heart of town. It democratized fashion, and made goods available to the many which were once for the exclusive enjoyment of the wealthy. Though Department Stores sold many different kinds of product, once for instance were a central vendor of books, their major product and great attraction was clothing. This book will bring a lot of insight into an American institution , and I think for older folks like myself much nostalgic enjoyment. I grew up in the world of Department stores from the 'Up-to- Date' in downtown Troy New York Alexander's in Manhattan and Abraham and Strauss Brooklyn where my Aunt Molly Zeibert of blessed memory was for many years a 'buyer'(Dresses) . Dead but Not Forgotten Service and Style has a lot going for it. A great mostly unexplore subject, the history of the American Department Story, a great historical theme, the role these stores played in forming middle class style and great photos. Its well written, organized and researched. I have a family connection to Hess's a department store in Allentown and was pleased to find several references to the store and its owner Max Hess. Many of the things my family talked about that made his store special were shared among other stores as well. Too bad it didn't take it to the next level and show how the stores transformed the American middle class into sophisticated and pampered consumers. Still, it was well-worth reading and for gazing at all the great photographs of a bygone era. A welcome gift This book is a rich texture of historical narrative, amusing anecdote, great visual material, and insight into the what drives American consumer culture. I sent it as a gift to my father in South Dakota, thinking he might like it since he knows the author. It was a bit risky, though, since he's not much of a book person: a 94-year-old retired dairy farmer who is not easily impressed (to put it mildly). In this case, the review in the Wall Street Journal whetted his interest in advance and it turned out he loved the book! "I really like her choice of words," he marveled at one point. And then his biggest accolade: "She's got a great sense of humor; even made me laugh on the corset page!"
