Recreational Shopping, Blame It on the French

In Deborah Davis’ book Strapless she describes Paris, the “City of Lights”, of the 1870’s.  Emperor Napoleon III had hired Baron Georges Haussmann to tear down the old neighborhoods and build a beautiful modern city worthy of a French emperor.

 A part of this Paris facelift is the building of the first “grand passage” a multi-floor covered shopping arcade.  Shopping had always been a key to Paris’ economic wellbeing.  Now a retailer could make more money from one piece of property.

 

These arcades or “passages” offered several stores under one roof, sheltered, comfortable, and safe.  The merchandise was diverse & abundant.  The arcades extended from block to block, with brief interruptions for street crossings, shoppers could avoid weather by strolling from one protected corridor to another.

 

Parisian women were seduced by these “jewel-box” arcades which introduced the concept of recreational shopping.

 

Emile Zola’s character “Nana” shows signs of addictive shopping:

 

“When she walked through the corridor of colorful shops on her way to work, she was compelled to buy something, ANYTHING, to satisfy her desire for material goods.”

 

Sound familiar?  We all know that feeling.

 

The “grand passage” was a good idea.  The department store or “grand magasin” was a great idea. Instead of lots of small stores with many owners, the Bon Marche, the first department store, was a large store owned by entrepreneur, Aristide Boucicaut.

 

Zola presents the interaction between the store and its customers as a seduction. The owners entice the customers by creating a relatively private and comfortable setting where women could spend time as well as money.

 

“Inside the department store, ladies could sip wine cordials at a buffet, or write letters in a large room stocked with paper and pens, and furnished with lounge chairs,  Their notes, including clandestine communications to lovers, were quickly delivered by messengers while the women stayed in the store to await a reply.”

 

How things have changed.  Nordstrom’s just offers a great shoe department.  But perhaps a great pair of shoes is all we want today.

 

The Bon Marche was so modern it offered “personal accounts”, shoppers didn’t need cash and you could return any item you bought. This policy “encouraged them to buy more because they knew they could always change their minds.  Women who shopped just for the thrill of shopping were liberated from their conscience; they could tell themselves they would return the merchandise even if deep down they knew they never would.”

 

“Kleptomania” another Parisian creation.  In 1883, psychiatrist, Henri Legrand du Saulle, describes respectable women who would never consider breaking the law, stealing from department stores.

 

“When questioned, they claimed to have been overcome by dizziness and an almost sexual feeling, incapable of resisting the impulse to take what they wanted from an overwhelming array of merchandise, they surrendered, despite knowing it was wrong.”

 

And now we have to control our “online shopping”.  The “grand magasin” of the internet.

 

Which is more dangerous?