Pressure Cookers and The May Company
Hello dearies! Boy, have I missed you and am glad to be back. As I’m sure with everyone else, life during a pandemic has been odd to say the least. It is easy to get caught up in deadlines, craving productivity, and feeling as if you are not doing enough. I’ve been plagued by this feeling which causes me to go in the opposite direction that I should. Instead of being productive, I begin to procrastinate due to the pressure that I put on myself. This is a long winded way of me explaining my absence and I hope that you all understand. I love each and every one of you who tune into this blog, who have supported my shop, and who share my content on social media. I cannot promise you consistency all of the time, but I can promise you that I will make great effort in getting this blog back on track!
For my outfit of the day, I kept it super simple. I wore a few familiar items—my favorite black short shearling coat with big beaded buttons inspired by the 1950s. I wore a y2k black knitted tank top that cinches at the waist with my old H&M pale pink pleated skirt and old Payless ankle boots. The emphasis today is on this marvelous hat that I cannot wait to talk about!
I rarely wear vintage hats anymore, but want to bring the tradition back! This hat has very interesting history and design. The label reads “The May Company” and I purchased this hat at Chelsea’s Costumes who source most of their vintage items right here in my hometown, Cleveland. The May Company was essentially a mid-level department store chain whose inception began in 1988 in Denver, Colorado. Locations opened in Cleveland, Ohio the first being in 1899 near Public Square. I believe this hat was originally purchased from one of The May Company department stores based in Cleveland, Ohio and I will include photographs of the department store from Cleveland Historical at the end of this blog.
I believe the hat itself is a 1950s hat and it has all of the drama and flare of the time period. It is a rounded hat with a wire structure to hold the frilly pale pink marabou feathers. This hat is silly and fabulous. Think of the scene in the French film Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962) where she shops for hats and picks out a selection of unusual hats. I could see her sporting this hat up and down the Parisian city streets in a simple black dress.The craftsmanship of the hat is admirable and I will try to include daring hats like this more in my everyday style! (I will ignore the inevitable stares.)
As promised here are some photographs of The May Company stores located in Cleveland, Ohio provided by Cleveland Historical. The photograph above is pre-1915 and showcases the inside of the department store. Shoppers could buy everything from the latest fashions to furniture. There were several dozen departments that one could shop in as well as hangout if desired. There was an auditorium where presenters showcased fashion stylings and cooking tutorials. There was a hair salon for adults and children as well as a children’s playground. There was also Cleveland’s largest soda fountain located in the department store.
In 1931, The May Company in Cleveland expanded the store to a two-level building which increased the sales section of the store by over one million square feet!
This is a photograph of a section of the women’s shoe department. Oh how lovely it is! I wish that stores today held the same level of luxuriousness and attention to design and detail as they did in the past.
This photograph was undated but was most likely during Christmastime in the 1950s at The May Company in Cleveland. Again, wonderful attention to detail!
The last vintage photograph that I am including is from 1957 and showcases the expansion of The May Company in Cleveland. This was a location that opened in 1956 in University Heights right at the Warrensville Center Road and Cedar Road intersections. Mall architect Victor Gruen created this design which truly showcases the direction architectural design was going into which was a more complex, modern, Space-Age approach as seen in the 1960s.
The department store chain decided to focus on suburban areas and expanded to several suburban locations throughout Cleveland, Ohio. In 1993, the company merged with Kaufman’s until 2005. In 2005 the locations became Macy’s! Above is a photograph of the building in December 2020.
I decided to share this blog post today because Cleveland, Ohio has such rich history in the arts, fashion, food, architecture, etc. and is often overlooked due to the fact that it is a small city. I got into vintage fashion and home decor thanks to having access to affordable, beautiful vintage items many of which are pieces from the city itself. I hope you enjoyed this bit of history today and I will see you friends!
DISCLAIMER: Photographs of The May Company are from Cleveland Historical. More in depth details and photographs can be found on their website here.