Holiday (Window) Magic

When I was a girl my grandmother took me to see the holiday windows at Macy's every year. She was a seamstress and worked in Herald Square and I would go to work with her on the subway, play with buttons and sew little patches of random fabrics, have lunch at Wendy's and then go right to Macy's. I remember looking at the stories in the windows and watching the reflections of all of the people behind me in the glass. I was so small that I fit right underneath where everyone else was and my grandmother, probably having a bit of a nervous attack that I would slip away, held my hand tight. I felt so safe knowing that she would never let go. Those were my favorite days.

I fell in love with every detail..the mannequins, the clothes, the toys, the stories that were being told and even the reflections. I'm not sure why I loved it so much but I have a distinct memory of looking at the way the light shone off of the buildings in Herald Square. After her lunch hour was over, my grandmother and I went back to her little corner of New York where she would sew and I would recount what I had just seen with all of the other seamstresses. I think they enjoyed it as much as I did.

Earlier this week I was going to Central Park with a friend to photograph the snow left over from last weekend's blizzard but before we entered on 5th Avenue, we stopped at Bergdorf Goodman to look at the windows. I felt like that little girl again and just as before I was mesmerized by what I saw inside and outside: the mannequins, the stories, the artifacts, the stunning garments and the shapes of the buildings across the street reflected by the blinding light that was shining down the avenue. Those pictures of New York and the people living in the city were a part of the windows and the stories unfolding behind them. All of it combined was like magic.

I love this city full of energy and whimsy and simple surprises. And I love moments that take me back to being that little girl with the same crazy hair and wild imagination.

















All of these images taken by me at Bergdorf Goodman. Perhaps I will post the color versions another day but the black and white are timeless - just like my memories aren't.

December, 2009.

Today's Soundtrack:
Seal - Get It Together