Gene Moore and His Magical Windows

The holidays are almost here, and store window dressers everywhere are gearing up to wow holiday shoppers. Shop windows will be bedecked, festooned, decorated, and fluffed with vignettes that are fantastical, edgy, traditional, and magical. So I thought it was a fitting time to show the work of Gene Moore- truly the most famous of all window dressers (or as the New York Times called him, a window display artist. This might be a more appropriate term.) Moore began his career as a window designer for Bonwit Teller, I. Miller, and other legendary department stores in New York. He joined Tiffany & Co. in the 1950s and set the bar for excellence in window display with his amazing mini-sets. Moore's windows ranged from the surreal to the sweet. His windows were oftentimes humorous. But most importantly they were never boring. Oh, and the merchandise that was featured was never overshadowed by the decoration. Moore struck the right balance between creativity and commerce. I suppose that might be why he stayed at Tiffany's for almost 40 years.

Here are some of my favorite images from Windows at Tiffany's: The Art of Gene Moore. The book is chock full of Moore's windows through the years, and I think that many of you will find it quite interesting- even if you are not a window display artist!


A Valentine's window from 1959. The knitted heart was made of red yarn.


I just love the humor of this window, and that trompe l'oeil needlepoint placemat is divine! This vignette was from 1969. Note the classic All-Purpose Wineglass which was designed by Van Day Truex.


The gumdrop watermelon is a perfect backdrop for the fancy jewels. Designed in 1966.


A witty window circa 1965. The partially unzipped zipper frames the simple vase with iris and the gorgeous jewelry perfectly.

Image at top: This window was part of a series of windows with a geometric theme. Moore felt that the sphere would only work with pearls, hence the broken pearl necklace.