In 1980s, Pittsburgh department stores had windows on the fashion world | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Post-Gazette.com – As the 1980s economy soared, designers at Pittsburgh department stores created eye-catching window displays during a golden era of retailing when Saks Fifth Avenue, Kaufmann’s, Horne’s and Gimbels competed fiercely for customers. “You had to push the envelope, be a little whimsical and entertain,” said George Arnold, a Crafton man who created window displays at the Joseph Horne Co. before leaving for opportunities at the Boston-based department stores of Jordan-Marsh and Filene’s. He returned in 1999 to work at Kaufmann’s until 2011. Dressed in fashionable, casual clothes, Mr. Arnold runs Modern Mercantile PGH, a gift shop on East Main Street in Carnegie where he and his partner, Larry Scott, sell locally made products, seasonal decor and dog treats. (The store sentry, a pug named Rufus,

Source: In 1980s, Pittsburgh department stores had windows on the fashion world | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette