Description

Bestselling social historian Tessa Boase takes us behind the scenes of Londons lost department stores bringing back to life a vanished era of confidence and style
Todays consumer has little idea of the sheer dazzle of these Halls of Temptation during the golden age of shopping of their sheer theatrical spectacle the overwhelming assault on the senses the astonishing architectural lan From the fabulous Art Deco of Derry amp Toms to the Moderne lines of Simpsons Piccadilly department stores led the way in fashion and design As new social hubs for the independent Victorian woman they engineered social progress They became legendary for their publicity stunts their Christmas shop windows their exotic pet departments their furs as places where you could buy anything
Full of immersive period detail and vivid human anecdote Londons Lost Department Stores unpacks the secret stories behind fifty oncegreat stores