Lèche-Vitrine!

Two summers ago, almost three, I went to Europe with my mom, making stops in Paris, Nice, Venice, and Florence. When in Paris we walked the Champs-Élysées and browsed through a bunch of the designer fashion houses. It was clearly apparent that my mom and I were not the target customer, nor were we purchasing anything, we were just admiring the beautiful clothing and accessories. Some employees were nicer than others. I will not mention names. Who knows, maybe one day you will be my employer. But the best experience was at Fendi. The lovely sales associate was so kind and repeatedly said to us, "Lèche-Vitrine! Lèche-Vitrine!", the French phrase for window shopping. My fluent-in-French mother then told me that the phrase literally means, "to lick the window". Yes, it is a little weird to be saying something like that, but some of their windows were that beautiful.

This now brings me to my New York City window shopping/ Drexel visual merchandising experiences. Thanks to Kristen Ainscoe, my visual merchandising professor, I will always analyze and critique a window display. This was a skill and learning tool frequented in her class. Since moving to New York, I have been trying to sight see as much as I can. I have found the best way is when I go for a run. As I run I can see multiple things, while getting some exercise! The best time is when I run down Fifth Avenue, past central park. 59th and 5th Ave....the Mecca of amazing window displays.... more like works of art.... BERGDORF GOODMAN!! Known for their amazing displays, they are sure to never disappoint and they make any person stop and take a look. So of course I stopped, stared, and began to analyze. The theme of the window seemed to be the 20s. The back wall featured old rotary phones! An issue I picked up was the breaking of the rule of thirds. In class were taught to keep this rule in mind because it creates balance, rhythm, and can usually be found in mannequins, lighting, props, you name it. The Bergdorf window only had two mannequins, leaving some awkward empty space on the left side. You are probably thinking, "Who is this girl to judge a Bergdorf window?! She has little experience compared to the visual merchandiser who designed and executed the display". Yes I agree that I cannot fairly critique this window because of my experience, but thanks to Kristen, you put my mind to work any time I see a window display, and I'm sure that is the case with your other past students. 

Moral to the story... To everyone who knows they cannot afford the beautiful (expensive) designer clothes.... Lèche-Vitrine!!