Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus--But He's Gone High-Tech

It had to happen: New York’s famous holiday windows have gone high-tech. Department stores have caught up with the digital age, no longer content to feature mere winter wonderlands or smiling Santas. Here, a look at the must sees:
Over at Bloomingdale’s (59th and Lexington Avenue), happy famous couples fill the windows, from Batman and Robin to Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Check out the Smile-O-Matic, in which passersby can see themselves on a screen surrounded by digitally remastered versions of famous art work, such as Botticelli’s “Venus.”
The perennially hip Barney’s (Madison Avenue and 61st Street) has bypassed holiday themes altogether in favor of the 35th anniversary of "Saturday Night Live.” You’ll find The Coneheads, Wayne’s World, even The Church Lady, in a bizarre blizzard of paper mache ornaments.
The children’s story ”Twinkle, Twinkle Little Flake” gets a digital boost with the help of 20 video monitors that animate scenes from the book at Saks Fifth Avenue. (Yes, Windows 7 powers the windows…) Shoppers can even tweet their wish list and have it appear in the yes, windows (It's at 611 Fifth Avenue.)
Over at Bergdorf Goodman, it’s not space age as much as it is surreal, with a nod, perhaps, to Tim Burton’s upcoming film "Alice in Wonderland”: watch for the receding staircase and the edgy guests dressed in fashionable Alexander McQueen.
Macy’s (34th Street and Herald Square) also goes interactive by letting shoppers assemble letters to Santa with ready-made phrases that pop up on touch screens.
And even the goody-goody Lord & Taylor (424 Fifth Avenue at 38th Street) has recognized the computer age this year. Nothing too risqué, of course, but the Victorian skaters in the windows move on a screen, while pelted by a digital snowstorm.

Craving a New Lipstick? Bloomingdale's Has Made Over Your Makeup

In a recession, big-ticket items like houses by the beach and Fendi purses may be shelved, but often, it’s the little luxury items, like lipstick, that do well.
Maybe that’s part of the thinking behind the major renovation of New York City’s Bloomingdale's’ BWAY, the famous makeup area, a few weeks ago.
The department store’s flagship store has added six new cosmetics brands (yes, a big deal if you’re a makeup junkie); and completely transformed the 25,400-square-foot area; the renovation began in 2004.The new brands include Jo Malone; Sisley; and shu uemura.
The cosmetics and skin care department has been transformed from one gigantic open space to three separate rooms. The point? Each shop has been raised in height, and black glass trim has been added above each shop up to the ceiling. Each room now has a separate look and feel--one has black and silver leaf; another, white glass; and the third, black glass. Oh, and you can breathe a sigh of relief: The famous black-and-white floors remain.
So where did all this extra space come from? Sorry, guys—some of the menswear department was moved to the lower level, thus adding an adding 4,400 square feet of space. This round goes to the ladies.
Large aisles also make movement easier.
Lest you thought this was all for show: Vanity, they name is not Bloomingdale’s (well, not entirely): The moody diffusion lighting eliminates shadows on the floor and creates a drop in electric consumption.
Bloomingdale’s, you're not just pretty, you’re energy efficient!