Saks Fifth Avenue Is Not Real Life

Saks Fifth Avenue detail, originally uploaded by Joe Architect.

I spent part of the afternoon at Saks today. I was en route between Le Doug's office and another appointment and I decided to stop in. I was in the mood for a signature scent for summer, anyway. I thought I wanted one of the new Versace scents, but walked out with some Marc Jacobs instead, because it came with a shimmery body lotion.

It's easy to get sucked into Saks. It's nine floors of endlessly pretty things, and everything smells good. The cosmetics are top-of-the-line, they have every designer imaginable and the gems and jewelry are downright obscene, and you know how I love obscene jewlery. Inside Saks, it seems perfectly normal to spend $500 on a dress or a pair of shoes. There must be something in the air, because rational thought goes right out the window when you're staring a pair of Christian Louboutin pumps in the face.

I love Saks, I really do. I love that there exists a happy place where fashion and pretty things rule and the only thing that matters is that your credit card goes through. I love the sense of escape one feels on the fifth floor, among the Nanette LePore frocks and the Tori Burch flats. I love that I can manhandle Baccarat water goblets on the eighth floor, right next to the Hermes place settings. It's tremendous, it's all happening. If grown women are allowed to have fairytale indulgences, I believe Saks is it.

And then, before you know it, you're back on Fifth Avenue, and there's some homeless guy asking you for change and a bunch of tourists taking pictures in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral. But with your little bag of goodies, be it a Miu Miu purse or maybe some Creme de la Mer, you have your oasis of splendor to indulge in once you get back home.

Mall History: It's a Good Thing

Eaton Centre, originally uploaded by Ron Wilson.

My fascination with shopping malls is well documneted, so you can imagine my glee when I found a few blogs last week that specialize in malls and mall history.

Mall history, you say? The internets are a great way to track down any form of nostaligia, and there are people who collect vintage photos of malls. Other collect histories of malls by state, others track dead malls, which is the saddest kind of mall there is.

But wait, there's more! After a store or mall closes, often all that is left is the big box of the the building, a shell of the retail excitement that went on inside, along with the name of the store still carved into the side. That is called a Labelscar. Labelscar, the blog, examines closed malls around the country, complete with photos, and goes in-depth as to why they closed and what department stores anchored them.

Say what you will about malls, but it's a great way to learn about the retail business without picking up a textbook.

An Actual Conversation I Had With a Friend Last Night

Moi: I think I'd like to write a book about malls.
Friend: Malls?
Moi: Yes, malls. I'm fascinated by malls. I worked in them for years during high school and college.
Friend: You'd have to find an angle. I read an article today about the National Mall down in D.C. I'll forward it to you.
Moi: Um, that's not the same kind of mall. I'm pretty sure there's no Aunt Annie's on the National Mall.


This book isn't exactly what I have in mind, but it's refreshing to see that other people have examined malls.