A lifelong obsession with an artist, enabled by digital technology, led to what eventually became my defining activity in retirement: photographing holiday windows in (mostly) New York City, and sharing them with family, friends and (former) colleagues. Here's a look back at two decades of favorites, 57 images drawn from a conservative estimate of more than 3,000 taken over 20 years.
2006
To say that I was gaga when Simon Doonan, the creative director at the now defunct Barney's New York on Fifth Avenue, proclaimed "Happy Warholidays" would be serious understatement. This window features children's drawings of Andy.
And here's Edie Sedgwick wearing Campbell's soup can earrings. Nobody dressed windows with more sass and class than Doonan. We met once in Central Park and had a delightful chat about Imelda Marcos and her shoes, recorded in my journal of course. He's now married to Jonathan Adler.
At first, my holiday photos project was pretty casual. Tradition, creativity or humor were the primary criteria.
2008
I only wish I'd been more diligent from the outset about identifying the stores or places where I took the photos. I'm pretty sure these were Louis Vuitton windows.
2009
I actually had this photo printed as a holiday card. So analog!
2011
Simon Doonan at Barney's again, this time celebrating
Lady Gaga, then at the white-hot peak of her musical fame with the release of "
Born This Way," a rockin' anthem for the new millennium.
Bergdorf Goodman's windows are always spectacular even if usually devoid of tradition.
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| Lily Pulitzer, Madison Avenue |
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| Macy*s Herald Square |
Tiffany never lets size ever become an impediment to the display of its costly jewelry. Their exquisite windows dominate my favorites.
2012
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| Tiffany's |
Retirement gave me a lot more time to hunt down windows all over the city and to organize the photos into categories. I called this collection "Where's Santa?" because it seemed the season's jolliest man was MIA.
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| Madison Avenue |
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| Saks Fifth Avenue |
For a significant indicator of "inclusivity" (and disposable income!), male couples had to look no further than Tiffany's. New York State had legalized gay marriage in 2011; the Supreme Court would follow suit four years later.
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| Bergdorf Goodman |
Seeking a DIY approach, I expanded my search to Williamsburg for the first time.
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| Soho |
There's a reason tourists love to visit Manhattan during the holidays. It's truly magical.
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| Madison Square Park |
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| West 57th Street |
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| Rockefeller Center/St. Patrick's Cathedral |
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| Rockefeller Center Skating Rink |
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| Upper West Side |
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| Brookfield Place |
Thom and I took Magda and Joe to Howard Beach, a Queens neighborhood known for its Christmas decorations.
You can't beat Hermes for stylish weirdness!
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| Barney's |
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| Madison Avenue |
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| Lower East Side |
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| Coach, Fifth Avenue |
Saks Fifth Avenue, which faces the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, projected the same light show on its facade for many years . . .
but even the simplest decorations can mark the season.
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| Greenwich Village |
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| Tiffany's |
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| Madison Avenue |
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| Central Park |
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| One World Trade Center |
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| Louis Vuitton, Fifth Avenue @ 57th Street |
The pandemic force-fed me my future
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| Lake Worth Beach, FL |
