With the recent announcement that Lord & Taylor’s New York City flagship store on Fifth Avenue would be closing, WindowsWear has preserved this iconic New York City institution through digitized archives consisting of over 12,000 images of Lord & Taylor’s window displays, dating back to 1931. Lord & Taylor’s Fifth Avenue store opened in 1914 and was the first to create Christmas displays for entertainment, rather than selling merchandise. They also pioneered the animated window display in 1938. The displays were constructed in the basement of the store on elevator hydraulics and raised to ground level to be revealed. Lord & Taylor is the only store in the world which uses this unique system to this day.
Lord & Taylor was the first multi-million dollar company in the U.S. to have a woman serve as President, Dorothy Shaver, in 1945. Shaver was a visionary who made an impact on the emerging American fashion industry by showcasing the work of the American designers who truly shaped American style. Claire McCardle, Bonnie Cashin, Norell, Pauline Trigere, Luis Estevez and Vera Maxwell all made their debut in Lord & Taylor’s Fifth Avenue windows.
Since the early 1900s, Lord & Taylor has been making an impact on the New York fashion scene with their Fifth Avenue windows.
Here is a look at some of the windows from years past
On July 20th, 1943, New York City launched its first ever fashion week. At the same time, the Lord & Taylor windows showed the sacrifice of war.
In March 1954, Lord and Taylor constructed their first store outside of New York City with the leadership Dorothy Shaver. The store served as the model for franchising retail stores across the U.S. Previously, each retail brand only had one location.
In December 1958, Lord & Taylor celebrates The Metropolitan Opera Opening of 1958.
In 1963, Lord & Taylor becomes the first department store to open a dog boutique.
In 1980, the flagship started playing the “Star-Spangled Banner” every morning before the store opened, a tradition that still continues.
On Thursday, May 31, 2018, WindowsWear hosted its 2018 Summer Party at the rooftop of Lord & Taylor’s flagship store in New York City.
Discover more of Lord & Taylor’s iconic window displays through the decades.