What Is The World Coming To????????????????????????????

                            We may be years away from the actual Apocalypse, dears, but a cultural one is happening, and in a city where, once, everyone fled to, for that particular reason.

                              First, the news was that Lord And Taylor would keep the first floor of it signature New York store, while selling to some corporation organization called WeWork.  What the hell is that?  And who cares???????????  Now, the decision has been made to turn over the entire building to WeWork, so, after the beginning of next year, Lord And Taylor will be history.

                               So, this will be the last year to see those classic Christmas windows on display.  Meaning that department is obligated to come up with some show stopping finale, and tourists will flock in even bigger throngs, just to witness the end.  Including myself.

                                When I was young, and slender enough to dress in stripes, as though designed by Cecil Beaton--this is the living truth, girls!!!!!!!!--Lord And Taylor was my store of choice.  I found better quality things at lower prices than at MACYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   Remember the opening shots of "Moonstruck" (1987) when Cher is first seen, in her long winter coat, walking down the street, as Loretta?????????  I had to have a coat like that, after seeing the movie, since I related so much to Loretta.  I ended up buying a beautiful camel haired long coat--my evening and theater outerwear, at least in Fall and Winter, which lasted me for about twenty years.  These days, one is lucky if something lasts twenty months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     The Men's Department was so glamorous!  And the designers!  The things Ralph Lauren created for me, back then, that I bought!  Oh, my God, fashion, thy name was Lord And Taylor.

                                       And now it is all going down the tubes!  History, culture, fashion, everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Of course the store will maintain an "online presence," but where is the fun in that?????????????  Nothing beats walking though the Lord And Taylor store, smelling those fragrances, and coming out feeling more elegant than when you went in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        I cannot think of a better way to symbolize this cultural decline than depicting the burning of Myrtle Snow (the brilliant Frances Conroy!) at the end of "American Horror Story: Coven."

                                         Heed her battle cry--

                                         "Balenciaga!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"