Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Last Holiday Hurray!!

It's been a busy season so I decided to put up a last round of festive photos to show you what else you may have seen (or missed).

More glitter and sparkle at A/X - sometimes appearing silver, sometimes like a rainbow, strips of plexi added a bit of drama.

Love these mini sweater ornaments! (though a bit unclear of the message or tie in to store)

Oversize light bulb strands - seen here at Kate Spade but noted in many windows (see Banana Republic blog entry earlier in month)

More natural elements but this time done in gold as seen in this tall wrapped stick trees. Note the outside window boxes that add another layer to window.

A bit of whimsy - seen here at Paul Smith in these festive window vitrines but noted all over - did you get to Barney's or Bergdorf's? Love the white scroll window cling border.



























Tuesday, December 29, 2009

5 themes we noticed this holiday


Holiday 2009 was an exciting season at retail and kudos to the hard working teams of visual merchandisers who helped bring some fun back into store display! We noticed a few themes emerging during the season:
1. winter white - seen here at Polo RL but noted in many locations, the snowy frosty look was a hit.
2. natural influences - the inclusion of real and fake trees, garlands and other natural elements like pine cones lent an old fashioned air to store display.
3. wrapped boxes - most likely what retailers hoped all our homes looked like but the inclusion of wrapped packages in many retail windows gave an air of positive thinking and colorful imagery. Noted here at Ann Taylor Loft but noted in earlier blogs as well.
4. glitter - things that sparkle and shine catch our eye and many went in this shiny direction. Looking ahead to brighter times?
5. effort!! - the biggest thing we noticed this season was retailers big and small put a lot of effort into giving a festive appearance at retail that made shopping fun and entertaining. When was the last time you said that?
What did you see around this holiday season that is worth noting?



















Sunday, December 13, 2009

Making something out of nothing...










These days visual merchandisers are being asked to do 'more with less'. While this is not a trend we like to see (knowing the importance of valuing visual merchandising), we know it is a sign of the times.

So it's a real delight when we see retailers who do it so well and Anthropologie is one of the best at it. Their in store merchandisers are given a general theme and material direction and then they create their own magic within their respective stores. This holiday, each store came up with its own magic using little more than plastic, paper snow cones and white tissue paper.

The results speak for themselves!






















Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Holiday is startin' all dressed up in tartan!


Tis' the season for bad puns...sorry.

But I do love these festive windows with their bright, pop colored boxes and happy tartan ribbons at Eddie Bauer. Paired with natural looking trees and strings of light - bring it on!
We believe indeed.
















Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Paper covers rocks!




Remember when you were a kid and you would fold white paper into squares and cut it and make paper snowflakes?
Well the windows here are a little more intricate -and inspiring!
These whimsical paper miniature "worlds" are a delight and a must see at Tiffany & Co this season.
They say diamonds are a girl's best friend (but this paper may be a BFF!)















Monday, December 7, 2009

This holiday display is all "tied up"!





















A truly lovely holiday "gift" display seen here at Victoria's Secret Michigan Avenue flagship store.
The entire store is tied up in pink bows and ribbons of every variety - from the peekaboo windows with the ribbon curtains, stacked gifts with bows, fanciful ribbon trees to the entrance with the large pink garland garnished in satin adornments all the way though - to the inside table top displays and each area of the store - there is something to delight at every turn.
A wonderful effort and one that really inspired me to want to shop for the holidays.