Christmas Window Shoppingin the Big Apple
I was in New York City recently for the Thanksgiving holiday and couldn't resist walking down Fifth Avenue as well as Madison Avenue to check out the Christmas window displays.
The one that jumped out most was at the recently opened Hollister store on Fifth Avenue near 53rd Street. While the temperature outside was near freezing, the inside of the store was steaming with buff, shirtless dudes wearing nothing but swim trunks. The "Bettys," or swim dudettes, had on shorts, sleeveless T-shirts and knit caps. The tall store front had a live video projection of the waves in Huntington Beach, our very own Surf City, which looked pretty nice when you remembered how cold it was outside.
There was only one annoying factor at the Hollister store. Every single salesperson used the same California phrase to greet customers. "What's up?" they asked. Even the people at the cash register were greeting customers with "What's up?" The second most-used California phrase was "Awesome." They all sounded like robots, which wasn't very awesome.
Otherwise, the store had great merchandise, even if the lights were turned down so low it made it difficult to see.
New York's other major stores took a more traditional stance on the holidays, as you can see below.
Barneys New York's theme was "Have a very foodie holiday," with chefs cooking
in the window
Bergdorft Goodman went with a nautical theme.
Polo Ralph Lauren stuck with tradition for the holidays.
