Miss Manhattan Hangs Out...at Bergdorf Goodman

I only have two holiday traditions: I call my parents on the phone to do the Hanukkah prayers with them, and I go see the windows at Bergdorf Goodman. There are other things I love, of course, but those are the only two things I’ve done with any consistency since I’ve moved to New York.

After a sumptuous dinner of seafood and wine at Fish on Bleecker Street with my friend Caitlin, I made my way uptown from the West Village to the Bergdorf windows on 58th Street and 5th Avenue. Earlier that day, in a gift-buying tizzy, I had trudged from the soon-to-depart Henri Bendel on 5th Avenue to Bloomingdale’s on Lexington and averted my eyes from Bergdorf's, knowing full well I would be back in the evening (in my opinion, the best time to see them) and not wanting to ruin the surprise. And, as ever, it was a beautiful, lavish, decadent surprise.

This year, too, it was especially decadent because the windows were themed “Bergdorf Goodies,” each window offering a different spin on a sugary treat, from chocolate to gingerbread to cotton candy, and more. Each window is designed and assembled by a staff of artisans, and the entire process from start to finish takes about 10 months.

In New York’s dizzying swirl of people and deadlines and subway mishaps, it can be easy to become jaded. But every time I cross in front of those windows, somehow all of my negative energy disappears. I’m sure the wine flowing through my veins tonight also has something to do with it, but suddenly my feet no longer ache, my anxieties about forthcoming travel disappear, and I’m simply immersed in the thoughtful, creative construction looking back at me from behind each glass window.

I like to start at the southmost window on 5th Avenue to see if I can deduce what the theme is without seeing all of them at once. Two mannequins in glittering suits of neon sequins share a glass box with a giant electric blue lollipop. I gasp, “CANDY!” and am instantly excited for what’s in store as I round the corner. A Liza Minnelli-esque mannequin takes a spot behind an art deco chocolate counter, each tiny treat hand-designed; another in black boots laced in white perches atop a gingerbread clock; yet another, in a white feather and rhinestone coat, stares at an giant robot surrounded by ice cream; a Marie Antoinette-style figure features a towering wig of cotton candy; among other feasts for the eyes. With each few steps, a new gasp. The garments that adorn the mannequins in each display are themselves not unlike candy, with their curls of red and white beads, floaty tulle, flashy feathers. Standing in front of these windows, I am a child again. The experience is not unlike seeing the Bergdorf’s catalog that only came at the holidays, in awe of the intricacy and detail and luxury of what’s inside. I’m not just playing Candy Land but living it.

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Window Shopping VI

This year, the windows at Bergdorf Goodman were themed "To New York with Love," dedicated to celebrating beloved New York institutions like The New York Botanical Garden, The American Museum of Natural History, The Museum of the Moving Image, The New York Philharmonic, and more. The Natural History window was covered, but COVERED in zillions of tiny rhinestones; the New York Botanical Garden window featured tons of felt and embroidery, and the New York Philharmonic window grew brighter and brighter as more neon instruments glowed red every second. And, as ever, elegant mannequins in gorgeous gowns and red lips perched in all of them. I had my favorite windows, of course, so I documented them for you below.

Happy holidays and a lovely new year to you all! May your season be merry and your future bright.

Love,

Miss M

Window Shopping V

I stopped a long time ago even bothering to see other stores' holiday displays because the ones at Bergdorf Goodman leave me satiated for an entire year. It's never quite "the holiday season" until I see them, my hands burning with cold as I try to take just the right picture of each window, the lights of Fifth Avenue glittering in their glass, and even the most butch of men walking past saying how beautiful they are.

This year, the theme of Bergdorf's windows is "Destination Extraordinary," and each window features a unique, fantastical location. From a perch of two flying pegasuses to a giant rabbit in a desert peppered with saguaro cactuses, mannequins are glamorously posed in what might quite possibly be the finest garments known to man: intricate embroideries, seas of pailettes, lush furs, laces, jewels. The sight is something out of a fashion dreamland, an acid trip gone terribly chic.

The windows, which took at least six months to produce, were inspired by the dioramas at the American Museum of Natural History and the paintings of Henri Rousseau. All of the backdrops are hand painted, dotted with details like gorillas made of leaves, a tiger painted to be a steamer case, and a two-foot-deep resin pond "swimming" with faux fish.

Below you can watch Bergdorf's video of their unveiling, and scroll below for some detail shots I took. Enjoy, and happy holidays!

Window Shopping IV

Maybe it's because I don't celebrate Christmas, but it never feels like "the holidays" to me now unless I go see those famed holiday windows at Bergdorf Goodman. I've only missed one year so far (see my other entries from 2010, 2011 and 2013), and I have to say, now I know for sure it's just not the season until I stand on the corner of 58th Street and 5th Avenue with my hands and nose burning from the cold, waiting patiently for that single tourist to move out of the way so I can take a picture. And I really mean that, and with love, too. Once I've captured the department store's windows in all their glory, I know my trip home for the holidays isn't far off, so I don't mind the process at all.

In the swirl of Friday night traffic (foot and vehicle), I took my pictures of this season's windows, all themed in "The Arts" category. There were windows dedicated to each facet of the field--music, dance, film, painting, sculpture, photography, gastronomy, cartography, calligraphy, architecture, theatre and literature. As it is every year, it's an utter visual joy to see how the Bergdorf's staff interprets each of these subjects into a single window, the glamorous gowns and intricate details that go into all of them, be they cross-stitched portraits of myriad authors (the Literature window), to scads of paintbrushes, easels, and palettes all covered in white paint (Painting), to a glory of bright, shiny silver tubas behind a raven-haired mannequin clad in a nude, crystal-studded jumpsuit (Music), and an explosion of neon lights that were all handmade specifically for the window (Theatre). I'm not a fickle person by any means, but it seems like every year is my new favorite year of windows.

In an interview on Bergdorf's blog, 58th and 5th, window designer David Hoey said of this year's constructions that "the entire set of windows would constitute a sort of eight-lesson course in art appreciation." Hoey also said the entire Literature window was made from needlepoint, soft sculpture and fabric, while the architecture window was only composed of paper and old blueprints. In reality, the entire design of the windows themselves is an art form, one I feel privileged to have seen and photographed for so many years. Take a look below at my photos from this year's windows extravaganza at Bergdorf Goodman, "The Arts." You can click to enlarge.