FASHION.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Fashion magazines and catalogues from Marshall Field & Co. A collection of issues of Marshall Field's in-house publication, Fashions of the Hour, which exemplifies how the store revolutionized retail. Its peak circulation in the mid-1920s exceeded 100,000, and it rivalled the top national literary and fashion magazines of the era. It featured contributions from artists, writers, and poets, including Emily Post, Peter Arno, Robert Montgomery, and Christopher Morley.Free to customers and with no paid advertisements, it shifted focus from selling goods to curating a lifestyle. Each page was completely devoted to store products, lifestyle essays, society profiles, short literary pieces, and travelogues.Christmas editions provide suggestions ranging from "Christmas Eve outfits" to children's toys for "the machine age". They also offer behind-the-scenes insights into how the company was able to "play Claus – to the millions!", including during the Second World War by supplying "gifts which the Boys away from home have said they want and need". The magazine was issued between 1914 and 1978, costing around $250,000 to publish annually.Marshall Field's other innovations which transformed the retail experience included opening the "world's first full-service restaurant located inside a department store", hiring women salesclerks, and offering liberal return policies (Macy's Restaurants). The store's founder popularized the motto "Give the lady what she wants!" in response to overhearin

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