The History Behind Holiday Window Displays

The holiday season is a time of cheer, togetherness, and giving. To any fashionista, the holiday season also means fabulous window displays. From supermarkets to convenient stores, most retailers decorate their storefronts for the busiest shopping month of the year. But it’s the major department stores that have become synonymous with elaborate window décor during the holidays.

Thousands of dollars later, these displays have become elaborately planned projects that trace back to the Industrial Revolution. In the late 1800s, the widespread availability of plate glass allowed store owners to build large windows spanning the lengths of their shops where merchandise from the store could be appealingly displayed to draw in customers. We know that today as window shopping aka the poor girl’s shopping spree.



Children looking through the glass window of Macy’s in 1907.

R.H. Macy of Macy’s in New York City was one of the first department store owners to have holiday presentations including an in-store Santa. In 1874, he created one of the first major holiday window displays with porcelain dolls from around the world and scenes from “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” This sparked the phenomenon of holiday window displays.  

By the 1900s, more and more luxury retailers were creating elaborate window scenes to  lure shoppers.  Lord & Taylor took window displays to the next level with the development of hydraulic lifts under each window in 1914.  This allowed work on new decorations in a sub-basement, then the platform could be raised to street level overnight for a dramatic unveiling event.

Once Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman entered the battle for best window display, retailers took their decorating to the next level with mechanics. Macy’s displayed a not-for-sale mechanical singing bird, but Lord & Taylor really pioneered this effort when the owners put a twist on the traditional method of presenting store merchandise by displaying decorative gilded bells that swung in sync with the sounds of recorded bells. Around the same time, electricity allowed shop owners to light their windows at night which attracted crowds even after the store was closed. At the same time, electricity allowed shop owners to light their windows at night, drawing crowds to the stores after hours as sightseeing destinations.

Now, major department stores begin plans for their window display themes more than a year in advance. Stores produce storyboard, host auditions, and commission custom pieces for their elaborate displays. It is a spectacle no less than a Broadway production.   

These retailers may have the goal to entice shoppers to make a holiday purchase, but people see beyond that marketing tactic and value the displays for their creativity. New York even holds hosted tours where people can walk the city with a guide to view all the major holiday window displays. What once began as a retail strategy has evolved into an iconic holiday tradition that is certainly not going anywhere anytime soon.

Slideshow of NY's Best Holiday Window Displays