Thursday, March 6, 2008

Sears Had Everything
















A few interior shots from 1962, including an attractive snack bar, (great way to take a break during a shopping trip, right?), some departmental views, and the ubiquitous catalog order desk. As mentioned previously, every Sears store had one of these, and the company also had hundreds of standalone Catalog Stores in small towns across the country, filling in the (fairly few) gaps market gaps Sears had during those years.

Oh, and for those who can read music:






Yes, indeed!

15 comments:

  1. I love these photos. Then again, I think I say that about 95% of the photos here. Here are some fun rhetorical questions for everyone:

    How come the "Coffee Houses" of today don't look as cool and colorful as this one? Starbucks would regain some of their stock prices if any of the stores they built look anything like that one on the inside. I guess turquiose and yellow would distract from 1001shades of brown they seem to like.

    How come Sears doesn't sell pink elegant outfits like these ladies are wearing anymore?

    How come men don't dress like these manly men anymore?

    How come no one ever looks excited to see demonstrations of power tools anymore?

    Lastly, why on earth doesn't ANYONE use lamps like that anymore? Too awesome looking!

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  2. Boy, do those photos take me back. About 30 years ago (oh my) I worked at another department store in the Hillsdale Shopping Center, south of San Francisco. I used to eat lunch at Sears' Coffee House all the time. Good food and reasonable prices. And when we got bored, someone would do a popcorn run and bring back a box of popcorn from Sears.

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  3. That coffee shop photo brings back a wave of memories, it is identical to the sears of my childhood

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  4. It's amazing how fresh these department designs seem fifty years later. There's not a lot of clutter or excess, but it's not austere either. It seems just right.

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  5. Didi - I'll have the answers to all of your questions in my next post. I promise. :)

    Oh, forgot they were rhetorical. Whew!

    Anonymous and Peterb: Glad these photos brought back some good memories!

    Steven: I couldn't agree more. It's great, classy design work of a nature that has been so rarely seen in recent decades.

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  6. I think Steven's decription hit the nail on the head.

    Well, can someone at least answer the Starbucks question? Inquiring minds want to know!

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  7. Do those pink suits remind anyone else of Jackie Kennedy's suit when JFK was assasinated? It's right around that time frame as well. 62-63

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  8. Pika23 - Absolutely. Mrs. Kennedy was an strong influence many retailers,Sears included,along with many others up and down the scale from them.

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  9. Didi- I think Starbucks is realizing the problem, but they have a huge task ahead to turn it around. Howard Schultz (founder) is back in charge, and he's commented on how the company needs to change in order to keep customers from perceiving it as a "generic" experience. I agree that the look of the stores (too similar throughout the chain) is something that needs to change.

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  10. It isn't just the look. It is also the quality or the lack thereof of the coffee. I really don't even think it is all that great. Some years back it was but the last few years, the quality has suffered big time.

    Back to Sears, Jackie O was the first thing I thought of when I saw the mannequin ladies. Speaking of mannequins, they seem to be an endangered species. Nowadays you hardly see any and when you do they are mostly headless or arm less or lack some sort of flair.

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  11. Wow. Sears certainly had the architecture back then. Now they are that boring you-could-be-anywhere big-box look. Although I've been in Sears dozens of times this last year, I don't think I could describe their interior. Who could forget that stripped red carpet in the men's section? Although I got a little dizzy, I certainly won't forget that image.
    Scott

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  12. Scott - That's for sure. I'll bet people who shopped in the mens' section of that Sears saw the stripes for 10 to 15 minutes after they left the store.

    BTW, I re-added your site to my links section. A few weeks ago, I deleted the whole links section by mistake (Argh!)and forgot to add yours back in.

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  13. Even in the 60s, corporations had to heed their legal department's advice. There probably a lot of lawsuits from customers tripping over those red stripes.

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  14. Weird chord progression. Dm7 in the first bar, Dm/G, Gm7, C6. Why all the minor chords, and why end on a 6?

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  15. Sears today, at least, the one near here, has a pretty pitiful selection and is slated to close. The departments I remember include some heavy appliances (refridgerators and washing machines), Craftsman, no optical (I think it did until a few years ago), clothing (of course) for men and women, Portrait Studio, Auto Center, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics (maybe) and electronics (mostly TVs it seems).

    I wish I had a list of departments Sears had, even back in the 1970s (especially the 1970s, actually)

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