Lord & Taylor was started as a dry goods store in 1826, and is one of the oldest department stores in America. Its founders were Samuel Lord and George Washington Taylor. The store grew, moving to increasingly larger stores on Broadway and by 1850 had begun manufacturing some of the merchandise offered in the store. They moved to Fifth Avenue in 1914.
In 1932, Lord & Taylor VP Dorothy Shaver became one of the first to promote the fashions of American designers by name. Before this time, many of the best US designers were anonymous, as many preferred the prestige brought by a French frock. As a result of Lord & Taylor ads, names like Elizabeth Hewes and Muriel King became well known.
In 1986, Lord & Taylor was bought by the May department store chain. As a cost-cutting measure, May closed over thirty Lord & Taylor stores. At its height, there were 86 stores in the Lord & Taylor chain.
from a mid 1930s evening dress Courtesy of fuzzylizzie.com
from a 1950s dress Courtesy of coutureallurevintage.com
from a 1950s dress (price coding) Courtesy of morning-glorious
from a 1950s bathrobe Courtesy of morning-glorious
from a late 1950s man's shirt jac Courtesy of fast_eddies_retro_rags
from a 1960s suit Courtesy of listitcafe.com
from a 1960s satin gown Courtesy of bigchief173
from a 1960s hat Courtesy of fuzzylizzie.com
from a mid 1960s jacket Courtesy of coutureallurevintage.com
from a late 1960s jacket
Courtesy of chezmov
from a 1970s dress Courtesy of listitcafe.com
from a 1980s dress Courtesy of tresrottn
from a 1990s man's sport coat Courtesy of vintagegent.com
