Spring Cravings

As the temps have finally started on a steady rise, colorful store windows reflect the mood of most New Yorkers hungry for brighter, longer days. This week, at the beginning of what felt like a global-wide spring break, a welcome day in the mid-sixties allowed us to all finally thaw out. I was out walking amidst the crowds along the route of the big department stores across Midtown. The stores seemed to be rivaling themselves for their own Christmas windows. Now, a floral theme was very dominant, and lifted my mood considerably. Above, the understated elegance of Bergdorf Goodman.

Macy's hosts an annual flower show and this year's theme is a survey of the fine arts. Above, an homage to Pop Art with a double entendre for the season, while the two most dominant figures in Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884) make an appearance just outside of the main entrance. The original hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago. Inside, more floral decor on the main floor brings in the work of Michelangelo, Matisse, and Picasso. Below, a rainstorm references Magritte with large floating raindrops and red Gerbera daisies.

Happy Spring!

Celebrating the Horse - Chinese Lunar New Year 2014

Horses of a Different Color - Atlantic City, New York, France, and Chicago

New York City's Annual Christmas Window Display Extravaganza

If you haven't been to see New York's Christmas windows, there's still time. I'll start off with Bergdorf's since they are always a treat. I work a block away, and even put off taking a sneak peek at these beauties until I had my camera in tow. Never disappointing, this year's theme was "Holidays on Ice" translating a few notable days on the calendar throughout the year into visual theatrics.

My favorite was the spectacular Halloween corner window featuring a custom made feather dress by Naeem Khan and entirely Alice in Wonderland in scale. The mannequin's stretched limbs popped through the windows of a replica of the original mansion of Cornelius Vanderbilt which stood on that very corner from 1883 to 1928. 

April Fool's Day - inverted here for ease of viewing

In a stark contrast to the Gothic pageantry, Valentine's Day brought sweet pink treats; the 4th of July, a regal and stylish parade marshal; and April Fool's Day defied gravity in a fully upside down window. Lesser-celebrated Arbor Day showed us an underground cross-section revealing tree roots and all. 

The larger-than-life diamond wrap-around snake necklace sparkles at Bulgari

Tiffany's voyeuristic city vignettes displayed their baubles dangling like Christmas decorations. An enormous outside building wrap gave us a glimpse of silhouetted families enjoying the season mimicking the smaller shadowy and glowing windows within the windows - all offset with that little blue box, strategically placed, of course.

Gucci's mid-century modern star bursts

Bendel's salutes illustrator, Al Hirschfeld with three-dimensional celebrity caricatures

Midtown decadence at The Peninsula

Anthropologie in Rockefeller Center never disappoints either. Known for clever installations using common objects throughout the year, this Christmas season, passersby were lured by spools of thread and 1970s string art that were transformed into a Russian Fairy-tale Forest. Gigantic colorful Matryoshka dolls, sleeping wolves and bears all nestled among the latest on the clothing racks. The mammoth tree in Rockefeller Center was brought to us by the residents of Sandy Hook in CT in a memorial to last year's December tragedy.

Oh, Barneys.....Huh? Why would you take a chance on subjecting an unsuspecting public to a seizure? For sure, this store is off on some sort of bizarre tangent. I didn't really get anything suggesting "holiday" or "Christmas" out of the flashing and radiating Star Wars-style windows (or large metallic angular entryway either).

And in the corner ring....some pom-pom bedecked elf (?) who will take photos with anyone willing to wait in line and venture into a side door. The photos are then digitally posted on a screen just outside on the street for all to see. I'm not sure who she's supposed to be exactly, but the whole setup appears to be Barney's answer to "an outer-space convertible too".

Not to be outdone, Grand Central Terminal has its own modern light show that silently changes in a grid formation in the rear windows of the main terminal. It's not particularly Christmas-y in theme, but can certainly help grumpy commuters lessen their stress-levels nonetheless.

Finally, there's Saks with its friendly snow yeti as the star of its windows and a short video display on the side of the building. 

Enjoy!

Spring Hiatus and Metamorphosis

Heading in a New Direction

You might have noticed that I've been on a little bit of a spring hiatus. Here's my excuse - not only have I been working on my taxes, but I recently started a new day job, and have been working on two large art projects. I have to keep mum about those for now.

Making Some Transformations

Please stay tuned while I also make some changes around here. I am working behind-the-scenes on making some improvements to my existing Etsy shop while adding a new shop. I'll be sure to make an announcement when I am up and running. In the coming months, I will also be creating new wearable items and lifestyle pieces for the home....not to mention a few changes to this blog. Everything is very much under construction so I hope you’ll stop back again before too long!

Not gone and not resting, just busy making it all happen…..

From the Store Windows Archives...

The side windows at Bergdorf's from 2011

Manhattan's Christmas Windows - The 2012 Tour and Review

The magic of the holidays in Manhattan has begun. Come hither, and peek behind the curtain into Bergdorf's cabinet of fabulosities....

The girl with the wild eyes and her poodle act (left); and

the guardian of the miniature mannequins (right).

Composed of different "acts" this year's theme was Vaudeville shows and performers of the 1930s and the Art Deco era. Bergdorf Goodman never disappoints when it comes to their holiday windows. Never. Always over the top and full of visual drama, this is what a storefront in New York City during the holiday season should be. 

Icy glass reflections of the Jazz Age. 

An odd couple out for a night at the theater.

I can't say that for all of them this year though. The windows at Bloomingdale's featured these odd microscopic dolls in a setting with a lot of spare space. Only after seeing an ad on television with similar imagery, did I figure out that there was a Cirque du Soleil theme. Tiffany's was equally disappointing with staid dollhouse-looking rooms. They were nicely done, but didn't grab me. Maybe it's the economic environment, but shoppers and tourists alike need something to lift their spirits. Even in bleak times, people come to New York to see a spectacle. Overall, Fifth Avenue let me down this year. (I haven't made it to Macy's or Lord & Taylor yet.) 

 Feathers and crystalline light of the Roaring 20s.

The finesse and flair of the visual department is evident by the birds' eye perspective of these bawdy ladies enjoying music and playing instruments in this black and white window.

But wait....there's more!
_________

Barneys opted for the easy way out this year- a video in collaboration with Disney called "Electric Holiday". It is a loop of the story of Minnie Mouse's love for a Lanvin dress with a side ruffle (a girl after my own heart). She becomes bewitched by the dress and consumed in a starstruck Parisian Fashion Week daydream featuring stylish heavyweights like Lady Gaga, Daphne Guinness, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz, and other well-known stylists, designers, photographers, and magazine editors.

In a clever merge of haute couture with adorableness, Minnie's dream continues with familiar and beloved Disney characters elongated for the Paris catwalk. The crowd on the sidewalk in front of Barneys cheered with laughter at an expressionless Goofy in his hipster gear as he marched to the hypnotic electronic beat. In the end, Minnie gets a surprise Christmas gift from her longtime beau, Mickey - guess what was in the big box?! It was disappointing that Barneys didn't have their usual window outlandishness, but the animation and story line were really cute.

Anthropologie's usual stunning displays made from simple, everyday objects and materials.

The Saks windows tell the story of the deconstruction of snowflakes and the science behind them. The bulk of the display consisted of lame kinetic figures. I've honestly seen better moving figures on front lawns in the outer boroughs and suburbs. By far, the most appealing part was the kaleidoscope imagery above and the digital chalkboard-like drawing of the reindeer below.

The view that everyone in Midtown is clamoring to see.

Bendel's celebrates with a golden Miss New Year floating from the rafters in a giant glass of champagne. 

Happy 2013, everyone!