In Paris, the La Samaritaine shopping center has reopened. It was founded in 1860 and is one of the city’s historic department stores. The oldest is Le Bon Marché (1838). In the middle of the 19th century they became an oasis of freedom for women. In these places they were finally allowed to act independently. How was the concept of shopping born?
Democratization
Its origin was the result of the commercial and industrial revolution. And it caused profound social changes. His clientele was clear: women. Any commercial strategy had to extend the woman’s persistence at the point of purchase. The story of a place with an atmosphere of freedom emerged. A magical place, longed for, warm.
Common women seldom left the house alone. But going to the department store alone was normal. Shopping became a leisure activity for industrial society. I could go to any social class. It is the beginning of the democratization of fashion. It was no longer easy to tell who was who from just clothing.
Émile Zola tells it in his novel Au bonheur des dames (1883). It describes with millimeter precision how the visual universe of department stores was designed. It was a palace of the senses, full of brightly colored fabrics, ribbons of all fabrics, perfumes. Until then, the clothing shopping experience was pretty cool. A couturier would go home or it would be done in a small shop. Here you could touch and try on different items of clothing.
Future business women
The shop assistants showed an image of decency and neatness. Dressed in uniform, they had to be neat and tidy. His demeanor was reserved and exquisite. They learned the manners of the bourgeoisie in order to be able to serve them naturally. It was hard work; they could not sit at any point during their long hours at work. They also had to be constantly on the move. In return, they received their salary and had board and lodging in the department store themselves.
It gave them security, a steady income. In some cases, their savings enabled them to quit this job. Then they opened their own businesses and became entrepreneurs.
Women always had problems out of the home because they couldn’t go to the bathroom. It was difficult to take off alone with so much petticoat, corset, etc. Le Bon Marché was aware of the obstacle. He had some elegant Art Deco toilets built.
Freedom deep inside
It was found that women shop with friends more often than with husbands. For this reason, Le Bon Marché has set up a reading room. He had books and newspapers where the men could read and smoke.
At a time when women’s freedoms were suppressed, warehouses emerged as free space. Women could move around on their own to see, touch, want, and buy. It was a place where her daydreams finally materialized. Everything there revolved around satisfying his whims. They were listened to, pampered and coveted. How was the concept of shopping born? Strangely enough, among other things, from the desire for freedom.
