Target

301 Veterans Parkway, Normal, IL 61761

For my last blog post, I decided to take pictures at Target. I've noticed lately that they've been paying more attention on their inside merchandising, and I am loving what they're doing with their visual displays. On the left side of this blog post is the display featured in the women's section. I love this display because it looks like a runway, and it doesn't take up an room with with outward appearance. All three of the mannequins are posing the same way and same direction, but the customer can clearly see what each of them are wearing and what brand it is based on the signage towards the back of the makeshift "runway."

On the right side of this blog post, there is a display featured in the men's section of Target. These two mannequins are also representing a specific brand. They are elevated at different levels, giving the customer two contrasting looks and poses. Similar to the women's display, the men's mannequins take up almost zero room within the men's department.

One of my favorite things about these displays is that each of them have the merchandise on the rack right next to the display. So if the customer likes what they see, all they have to do is take a few steps and grab the garment that is being shown on the mannequin. It is such a smart idea to have the merchandise more and more accessible and ready to be bought.

Dressbarn

314 South Towanda Avenue, Normal, IL 61761

Dressbarn's window looked pretty similar to a lot of the women's retail stores in the College Hills Mall area. They incorporated a simple signage of their current sale promotion, along with a few mannequins displaying their new spring merchandise. I really liked how Dressbarn labeled each side of the window "misses" and "woman." This lets the customer know what kind of sizes the carry, and what side of the store each size range is on. People really appreciate this kind of information that is provided at the very front of the store.

The window display is very simple. On the "misses" side, there was the obligatory signage along with two mannequins that displayed short cocktail dresses. On the "woman" side, there was almost the same signage along with one mannequin displaying a longer sundress. The proportion of each display is utilized, and the rhythm is very even throughout both windows.

Champs Sports

7200 Harrison Avenue, Rockford, IL 61112

Once again, I am impressed with a sporting goods store having an amazing window. The obvious focus of this display is Nike. Each mannequin is dressed in Nike merchandise, and the signage suggests the promotion of Nike shoes. I love this window because the signage is the center of attention, and the mannequins are all consistent with what they're wearing. The placement of the mannequins are symmetrical, yet some have different poses. I really love the mannequin that is sitting down because it brings my eyes closer to the ground, thus closer to noticing the shoes that they're all wearing. The proportion of the window is also perfectly utilized. They didn't waste space at all, but it's not too crowded.

H&M

7200 Harrison Avenue, Rockford, IL 61112

H&M always has the biggest windows, and they never use up all of the space. I chose the men's side of the display because I think that men's clothing gets overlooked a lot, and I'm all for the underdogs in fashion.

Despite H&M's blank spaces, they continued to appeal to the masses by using David Beckham in their signage, and also including their GQ involvement along with an advertisement of David Beckham's H&M campaign film that can be found online. The signage also provides a couple of illuminated boxes that inform the customer that all of the outfits on the mannequins were personally selected by David Beckham, thus bringing more attention to the actual outfits. This makes the customer feel like the outfit they choose has been personally approved by David Beckham. It is a great marketing plan.

Looking at the window display, the first thing I see is David Beckham (not complaining), then my eyes wander to the symmetrical mannequins placed on both sides of him. I personally don't think that the display is proportionate to the window dimensions, but their marketing strategy certainly makes up for it.

Maurices

7200 Harrison Avenue, Rockford, IL 61112

When I visited Rockford at the beginning of April, I dragged one of my friends to come take pictures with me at the mall, and I came across Maurices. I really liked their signage - it was refreshing to NOT see something that mentioned spring. "Street Style Starts Here" keeps it short and sweet, and it still gives customers an idea of what merchandise they're carrying.

Within the actual display, Maurices loves having a clean, white backdrop, and leaves it to the clothes to bring the color. With the white wall, mannequins, and walkway, it becomes the clothes' responsibility to bring the color and excitement. Their background signage is consistent with the street style theme and it matches the clothing that is displayed.

Maurices used proportion and rhythm because of their placement and elevation of the mannequins. The tennis shoes in the middle don't take away the attention from the background signage, and they happen to be some of Maurices' signature colors, which is great that they stayed true to their brand imaging.

Lane Bryant

305 Veterans Parkway, Normal, IL 61761

When I took this picture a few weeks ago, spring was just arriving. The weather was finally starting to warm up, and retail is starting to embrace spring trends. In this window, Lane Bryant brings visually appealing and simplistic displays with their minimal signage. In my opinion, "Endless Possibilities" lets customers know that their merchandise can be mixed and matched with a variety of things, thus the endless possibilities. Also, in this window, their merchandise is not on a mannequin, but on hangers (literally) hanging from the ceiling.

Within this window, Lane Bryant takes advantage of the dimensions of the window and proportionately places the mannequins and patterned window frame throughout.

Both of these window displays demonstrate proper proportion and rhythm that is very pleasing to the eye. LB did a great job at being innovative without overwhelming the customer.

LOFT

305 Veterans Parkway #200, Normal, IL 61761

LOFT at College Hills provides customers with multiple window displays. Their simplistic and elegant merchandise always shine through.

Their displays are almost perfectly symmetrical, which is very pleasing to the eye. Their use of merchandise flows between the mannequins' arrangements and works well with the signage being displayed just behind them.

Some of the mannequins are elevated above other mannequins, which also contributes to the rhythm and flow of the display. All of the merchandise is also displayed proportionately to the window.

MC Sports

1615 East Empire Street, Bloomington, IL 61701

Throughout this visual blogging process, I've noticed that a lot of the sports retail stores have some of the most unique and interesting way of displaying their product. Depend on the sport, there are many items that are needed in order to play better and comfortably. In this window display, MC Sports features 3 different types of sports attire along. They include the clothing, accessories, shoes, bags, and even protective gear. The three mannequins are placed proportionately in the window case, and they have their separate aesthetics and signage behind them.

The Limited

1615 East Empire Street, Bloomington, IL 61701

The Limited's window displays are always so simplistic and classy.

The signage says "Soften up and play to your strengths." In my opinion, based on the signage and merchandise being displayed, The Limited wanted to portray that less is more. Find what you want to show off or accentuate, and go for it.

The other pictures and slight display of color scheme gives the customer an idea of what garments and accessories look good together.

CJ Banks

1615 East Empire Street, Bloomington, IL 61701

CJ Banks did a great job at displaying their new merchandise for the spring season.

The white flower globes provide a spring vibe along with the light clothing selection within the window display.

The signage is letting the customers know their size range, which can be helpful especially for the older demographic.

Although the window is small, CJ Banks used the perfect amount of symmetry/asymmetry. The two mannequins on the left have one flower globe above them, and the one mannequin on the right has two flower globes. It provides an even flow and proportion to the display without overcrowding and overwhelming the space.

White House | Black Market

303 Veterans Parkway #100, Normal, IL 61761

In this window, White House | Black Market focused on the merchandise that customers could wear to work. The proportion of the window is asymmetrical, but it works well with the hanging merchandise and signage. The sign above the merchandise says "Master Pieces: The pieces you can't work without." WHBM is smart about this because they display the clothes on hangers as if they were hanging in your closet, and they also displayed the clothes on the mannequins. This is smart because some women have a hard time picking what to wear to work, so this display really communicates to the customer that you can most likely wear all of these items together. Showing customers the difference between how the clothing looks on the hanger and on the body is such a clever idea.

Chico's

303 Veterans Parkway #130, Normal, IL 61761

Chico's had quite the variety in their window display selection! Their merchandise directly relates to the new season and warm weather.

"New Style Adventure" is the theme as they present many different styles for different occasions. From daywear to evening wear to beach wear, Chico's has it. They did a great job in displaying these different styles together.

The mannequins and signage were evenly placed within the dimensions of the windows. Besides the adventure theme, Chico's displayed a couple graphics of models wearing some of the merchandise behind the mannequins, which might give a customer a better understanding of how the item would look on an actual person. Their windows were huge! The bigger the better, and Chico's used the space well.

Francesca's

307 South Veterans Parkway #515, Normal, IL 61761

Francesca's always gives me a younger (and cheaper) Anthropologie vibe. Their soho chic styles and unique trinkets are so adorable, and their merchandise is clearly presented in their windows.

As Easter is quickly approaching, Francesca's decided to add a few Easter bunny ears to the windows. Little details like these can make a customer smile by simply adding a humorous aspect relating to this holiday.

As far as proportion and symmetry goes, the two mannequins on each side of the main focal point is a good way to split up the customer's viewing of the window. The main focal point provided a few trinkets that could be found within the store, which could be great Easter basket gifts!

J. Jill

303 Veterans Parkway #110, Normal, IL 61761

J. Jill's window display at College Hills immediately caught my attention with its bright spring colors. I am slightly obsessed with watercolor artwork, so I was so excited to see that J. Jill used a couple pieces of artwork as the background of their window display.

I also loved their even proportion and symmetry. Four mannequins were evenly placed within the space, and the two pieces of art were displayed evenly between the mannequins. It was very pleasing to the eye.

Their signage had a simplistic design and message, "Welcome Spring." Spring has definitely arrived, and it is now time to shop!

Churchill's Formal Wear

422 North Main Street, Bloomington, IL 61701

Churchill's Formal Wear caught my eye when I was walking downtown last week. I have never paid much attention to formal wear boutiques because of my lack of need or interest. But when I walked past this boutique, I noticed their displays on the inside that intrigued me. It dawned on me how much formal wear retailers rely on mannequins and pictures to properly display their merchandise in the manner they are meant to.

Because of their wide variety being presented to the customer, it is apparent that they can provide an assortment of different styles to almost everyone's unique style.

These particular displays present consistency with how the mannequins are placed. It lets me as a customer know that while a suit is a suit, there are different suits that can be put together for my preferences.

Gigi Bottega

413 North Main Street, Bloomington, IL 61701

Gigi Bottega is one of the only women's fashion boutiques in Downtown Bloomington. It gets great reviews from all of the locals and students (especially fashion students). And because some of our very own fashion students intern, of course the window display is great. It looks like the mannequins are all friends that are about to go have a girls night. The curtain in the background and the white ottoman remind me of a chic, city apartment. Not to mention the merchandise on the mannequins are very chic as well. This display offers a plethora of what Gigi Bottega has to offer, including their different styles of clothing. Everyone has their own unique sense of style, which is why it is important to recognize the individualistic qualities in each mannequin.

Modkid

109 West Monroe Street, Bloomington, IL 61701

It is hard to see the merchandise in this picture because of the glare, but I promise there's a display in there!

Modkid is owned by Patty Young, who designs fabric prints for Joann Fabrics. Her prints are used mostly for children's clothes, which is what this window presents. There are a handful of mannequins showcasing her colorful and vibrant fabric prints that are styled through different clothing designs. Modkid's window and studio are separated by hanging string lights that weren't lit at the time that I took the picture. Lights are such a good way to distinguish the window display from the store/studio.

Crossroads Handcrafts of the World

428 North Main Street, Bloomington, IL 61701

About a week and a half ago, my Economics of Fashion class took a field trip to Crossroads Handcrafts of the World because we were learning about fair trade practices. Our meeting took place inside of the store where we heard the owner of the store speak about the affects of fair trade, and then we were able to look around the store to see which countries the merchandise came from. It is such a colorful and visually appealing store. Everything is completely unique and specially made.

The outside of the store is painted in different colors, which accurately represents the mood and aesthetic of the inside of the store. Within this particular display, Crossroads was able to present different merchandise according to their country and culture. The bottom of the window explains what the store is all about - most likely related to their mission statement. It says, "a non-profit volunteer staffed shop providing vital, fair wages to artisans in need."

Gap

1615 East Empire Street, Bloomington, IL 61701

Gap is known for having a simple, classic design within their merchandise as well as their marketing campaigns. Their focus with this window is their denim line with "the jeans you've been dreaming of" - we all know how hard it is to find the perfect pair of jeans. This window display has a large amount of space, which gives Gap an opportunity to present more merchandise and bigger signage. Gap proves that with their classic simplicity, less is definitely more.

Foot Locker

1615 East Empire Street, Bloomington, IL 61701

In my hometown's mall, the Foot Locker has a smaller store with an even smaller display that often gets overlooked. So when I turned the corner and saw this, I was amazed. Even though there isn't much to it, they're displaying what they sell. It's all about shoes. It looks completely randomized and clean with all of them facing the same direction. I almost think that the display would have looked more interesting had they been colorized, but nonetheless, the window looks great!