Holiday Windows 2014: Bergdorf Goodman

Last year I blogged about the holiday window displays and declared Bergdorf Goodman the clear winner. Without having seen any of the other big displays this year except Bergdorf's, I can say with certainty that they will remain undefeated for another year. That being said, I do think that last year's theme "Holiday's On Ice" was more interesting than this years "Arts" theme, but some of the windows this year are just unbelievable.

My two favorites were the Architecture and Literature windows, followed closely by Theater and Music. Even the mini window Cartography display was kind of mind-blowing with its intricate paper cutouts and vintage map graphics.

Speaking of paper cutouts, the Architecture window was full of them, from the 3-D buildings to the fur and mane of the lion, to the feathers of the bird—some poor Bergdorf's intern must have bloody claws for hands after all of the insane handwork it must have taken to create this year's windows. The Literature window is full of embroidery—embroidered portraits, huge fabric books and typewriter, busts of famous authors, and an owl and a dog made entirely from yarn.

The men's windows are much more subdued and I don't know how I feel about them getting the "science" theme (the feminist in me wants you to know that women can be smart and science-y too!), but some of the details were pretty charming. It's hard not to love a squirrel in a space helmet or a chemistry window that revolves around crafting the perfect fragrance, but its the ladies that really steal the show.