Scribbles and Photos

The Winter Palace party girls in the Saks windows are all grey, and whites with a hint of blue ( Party Girl ).  The Bergdorf girls, on the other hand?  Let's just say it's an explosion of color -- and then some. For more party girls (er mannequins), Party Girls . The Series Dressed Up (for the Holidays) 'Tis the Season for Selfies All Hail the Queens Oh NYC Christmas Trees Party Girl The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Sight by Nancy Lundebjerg on 500px I am one week into the two week break between my first cataract surgery and my second ( From Severely Myopic to.... ).   So far so good (knock on wood) -- I'm healing on schedule and there are no signs of retinal detachment.  Plus, my right eye tested at 20/20 which for someone who has been myopic since she was 10 is pretty darn cool.  Except for the two rats that I probably would not have seen on my walk last night in Central Park if not for this new right eye. The only issue I've had is with reading and working on the computer -- which has made the last week a bit challenging.  This was not unexpected given that my left eye still requires a great deal of correction.  How much you might ask?  My eye glass prescription for that eye is -17.5 and my contact lens prescription is -12.  I am anticipating that I won't need correction for myopia in my new right eye but will need readers.  In a nutshell, a pre...

This year's #BGwindows theme for the holidays is Holidays on Ice.   Not surprisingly, Groundhog Day is one of my favorites.  Warning:  the groundhog in this window is a little creepy looking.  The squirrel, on the other hand, is just as cute as can be.  Right down to her teeny tiny little camera. Groundhog Day

FAO Schwartz - Holiday Decor 2013 It does seem a bit early to be thinking about the holidays but many a store cleared out their Halloween stock and went straight to Christmas goodies.  I guess there is not much of a market for Thanksgiving decorations.  Signs of the season have started to appear in Manhattan -- the star is hanging over the intersection of 57th and 5th and the lines are forming at FAO Schwartz (I wonder if they all know that Toys R' Us now owns that venerable emporium as I reported in Behind the Flagship Store ?).  Louis Vuitton has unveiled windows that feature geese.  I am kind of hoping those are just a placeholder and not their holiday windows but the sleigh filled with gifts that the geese are pulling is pretty indicative that these be it.  Sigh. Reindeer, Reindeer, Goose? Across the street at Bergdorf Goodman, David Hoey and his holiday elves appear to be hard at work behind the curtains that mask the windows.  As my fri...

Just a Mannequin Sporting a Mohawk I It would appear that #theMannequins that star in the Bergdorf Goodman windows (#BGWindows) are easily transformed.  Seems like just last week they were appearing in the #BGWindows Follies .  And, wasn't it only yesterday that they served as simple foils for the fashions of Dior ?  Now playing?  A homage to the Punk:  Chaos to Couture  show at the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute . Just a Mannequin Sporting a Mohawk II The punk #BGwindows are staged better than the Costume Institute show although, in a move unusual for Bergdorf's, a bit of merchandising has crept into the mix.  Each window features a helpful little list of the clothing on display and where a particular piece can be found in the store (if they are on sale that is -- some pieces are not).  It's a tangible reminder that Bergdorf's is a department store -- a purveyor of fine goods as it were -- and that the windows are just an...

There was a lot of playing with perspective in the Bergdorf Goodman windows (#BGwindows) this past weekend where proper salons featured mannequins bedecked in Dior.  I don't know if David Hoey was channeling Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face  or maybe in Breakfast at Tiffany's  or maybe just Audrey in Dior  but these windows sure did remind me of her (may she rest in peace). It only seemed fitting to play with perspective too by cutting out the fashion and letting the mannequins take center stage.  The sun obliged me and there were reflections galore at mid-day on the avenue.  So, without further ado, some fun mannequin head shots paired with random near by sculptures (you didn't think I was going to buy photos of Audrey, now did you?!?) . Ethereal Snow Capped Daniel Webster Tribal Shadows Enemy (United Enemies) Mod Enemy 2 (United Enemies) Moody Sherman Statue No pairing needed.... Floatin...

I am a bit behind in reporting that I won the #BGwindows Instagram challenge with a Handful of Mirrors .  I guess I needed some time to savor being selected from amongst all the entries and having it be one of my personal favorites made the victory all the more sweet. My favorite part of winning?  What David Hoey said about my photo: A Handful of Mirrors “The winning photograph captured the spirit of the overall window display while lending a haunting, nostalgic quality. The photo went beyond simple documentation. It is successful as a stand-alone work of art .” (from 5th/58th) Wow!  That is an amazing compliment coming from David Hoey -- the man behind the Bergdorf windows.  You can read the full report on the two winning photos on  5th/58th , the Bergdorf Goodman blog.   And if you want to read about my obsession with the aforesaid windows that can be found in  The #BGWindows' Follies .   Being a lover of reflections, the mirr...

#BGWindows Upside Down Girl Band (Partying All Night) OK, I admit it.  I am obsessed with the Bergdorf Goodman windows.   Bergdorf, with Saks and Lord & Taylor's (L&T) is the last of the grand dame department stores that used to line 5th Avenue.  Yes, Bonwit Teller still exists (just down the street from Bergdorf' as a matter of fact) but it is a pale shadow of what it once was -- a mish mash of items priced to sell to the hoardes of tourists that populate mid-town.  Bergdorf's (as my mother would say). on the other hand, remains the kind of store that is an destination in and of itself -- so big that it takes up not one but two street corners at 58th & 5th.  Now that's a store! But I digress.  The 2012 Bergdorf holiday windows have been revealed!  And, oh what a wonder they are to behold.  Did I say I was obsessed?   #BGWindows Featherful Under Construction A small confession, I am not ...