Diamond's To Dillard's | A Dillard's Department Store Stuck In The 80s! | Retail Archaeology
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- A video tour of a Dillard's Department Store that looks fresh out of 1984! This Dillard's is located at Desert Sky Mall in Phoenix, AZ.
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This store is delightfully 80s, not like meth den 80s like Kmart, but chic 80s. Excellent! Thanks for getting this on video, who would have known?!
yep , everytime i go into Dillards, it reminds me of a simpler time when mall the place to be
We do not have Dillard’s in the Midwest two much never heard of it is it similar to Macy’s or JCPenney
Things can be old in two ways. One is that no one cared, and it was left to rot as is. The other is they feel they did it right the first time, and it will stay good as long as it's maintained.
It is obvious to me that a succession of Property Managers have invested in keeping this store clean and new-looking, rather than remodel to keep with fashion or corporate standardization.
Tyneras
Agreed, some things are timeless, if done well and I prefer that the good designs are kept and not altered, as long as the property is well maintained .
There are some Kmarts that have never been updated and look so old
I think most Kmarts are dated in some way. :) It isn't uncommon to sometimes see some ancient pharmacy signs inside a Kmart, as well(i.e. New Lenox, IL, till that closed last year I believe).
The "other way" is Apple's thinking apparently
Even though it's dated by 30 years, it still works. I would hope that a remodel isn't in the cards, as it's not needed.
This is by far one of my favorite department stores in Arizona! I love the nostalgic look and that it has never been renovated since it opened in 1984! I hope it stays that way too. The elevators and escalators are also all original too!
Woodgrain and 80's computers? someone call LGR.
Mateus Lopes LGR is one of my favorite TH-cam channels 😁
That's the first thing I thought of when I saw that 80s IBM computer terminal!
My thought as well. lol
A cooperative thrifting episode would be neat.
He should have gotten a closer look at that thing. I bet y'all that probably goes back to the Diamonds days!
I'm struck by how clean and orderly this store is. Look at the shirts on the racks- nicely spaced, and not overstuffed, allowing people to easily take them on and off without making a mess. The cups are all neatly aligned. The floors don't have worn spots or dirt tracks. All of the shiny surfaces appear clean. My only issue is in a few places, you have fixtures (albeit slightly) in the walkway- a bit of a pet peeve of mine. It's obvious that employees at all levels actually care and have some pride- something that is sorely missing from many stores today, and is surely contributing to the reported retail decline.
Stores do that in hopes you'll buy multiple items at once. If you've ever really noticed the fixtures have clothes that would be worn together, having worked retail i know the tactic
im stuck in the 80s,id love it.
I LOVE THE 1980S RETRO LOOK AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVE DILLARD'S.
Nothing screams Arizona like a whole bunch of copper facades.
That is the most beautiful store on the whole damned planet. There will never be another time in history like the 80's.
Or even the '90s!
You 1980s dillards is a solid department store with quality goods
As Dan Bell would say, aesthetic as f*ck
I love malls! I love being baked and finding videos like this. You get a like my good man good job!
This Dillards is now a Clearance Center. No more escalators. Thank God they preserved the elevator for people to still use! I'm so happy the elevator is still there, because its probably one of my favorite store elevators ever! You can only access the restrooms now on the 2nd floor. You should go back and the refilm this Dillards, now that it's a clearance center.
Finally someone knows
I'm 19 years old, and despite spending thousands of hours at the mall throughout my life, I never once stepped foot in a Dillard's
Zach InTheHat looks like you are missing out!
If you've stepped foot into a Macy's you've stepped foot into a Dillard's.
that lounge area is possibly where there travel agency use to be.
I grew up in that area. That Dillards was always busy because after Mervyns shut down in 08, it was the ONLY quality department store along with Sears for miles for the next decade until it turned into a clearance a few years ago.
It reminds me of the stores when I was really little. I was born in '85, so things weren't updated until at least the mid 90's probably.
We have a Dillard's here in El Paso and it looks just like this. It never changes.
I totally forgot about the gift wrapping counter! I used to love to look at that when I was a kid!
This Dillard’s was a big part of my teenage years ! I never really appreciated how awesome it looks ! Can’t wait to go check it out!
mirrors and angles are a 70s design paradigm and this is just continuing it on for a bit into the early 1980s and well done here. Dated a bit but it works. Number one issue that might rule out similar today besides aesthetics would be energy costs ..look at all the general ambient plus merchandise lighting,
Westridge and this Diamonds opened in 1981, about three miles west of were we lived. We were really glad to have this mall, because we didn't have a car at that point, and the nearest mall to us by bus was probably Park Central, a good hour away. We shopped at the Park Central Diamonds a lot - it's probably still my all time favorite department store. Good merchandise, reasonable prices, even had an electronics department (I got my first "real" stereo there on sale in 1983, a beautiful Sony rack system). Used to love having lunch with all the businesspeople and "ladies who lunch" at their Gazebo restaurant upstairs, which overlooked the parking lot and had good views of that North Central district. When I was a tyke I saw a show Wallace and Ladmo put on at the Gazebo with "Raggedy Ann and Andy". Ann did a cartwheel at one point and her wig landed right in my orange juice. Good morning!! Do I get a Ladmo Bag for that? ;)
As the '70s progressed and the bus lines improved we'd venture occasionally to Christown or Metrocenter, the latter in particular, where we bought a lot of back-to-school clothes at Diamonds and would again lunch at the Gazebo. I think I had a taco salad for the first time there (when that was a new thing, in the big fried tortilla bowl). We'd also occasionally drag all the way out to Paradise Valley mall, which had a really cool Gazebo restaurant that was terraced, facing a huge window that overlooked the mall itself below. Hard to believe today, but there was a time when department stores were kind of cool, relaxing places to hang out in, have lunch or a drink, chat and window shop a wide variety of merchandise (including furnishings and electronics), all without leaving the store. And it was typically all well-curated stuff, not a random assortment of whatever crap they were making the highest margins on that week.
By the time Westridge and this Diamonds opened, Dayton-Hudson (Target) owned Diamonds, but it didn't really fit in with their retail plans. Dayton's also knew how to run a department store, but they were coming to focus more on their Target discount brand, which had grown to represent by far the majority of their business, so they sold Diamonds to Dillards in 1984.
We used to call them Dullards. The merchandise got more expensive, but the quality and style wasn't quite the same - it always looked expensive but slightly behind the times. I ended up shopping for clothes more at specialty clothing retailers like Miller's Outpost , which at that time was selling clothes from Levis and other brands as well (they later became Anchor Blue and focused more on their own brands, going bankrupt in 2009 and shuttering in 2011).
Dullards as we liked to call them were always cheapskates, unlike Diamonds or Dayton-Hudson, so I'm not surprised they haven't spent a dime updating the store. I don't recall them ever spending a penny to change the look of any of their old Diamonds properties between 1984 and when I left Arizona over a decade later (not that any of them really needed updating - I always thought Diamonds and later Dayton-Hudson had much better design sense than Dullards, which typically lived down to our nickname). In the case of the old Westridge location their laughable frugality has paid off; that store's look - including earth tones, mirrors and copper - is the height of retro fashion at the moment, and if they just cleaned it up a bit and replaced the dingy carpet with fresher carpet and '80s vintage parquet flooring, would look far more fashionable than the already somewhat dated, '90s-esque mall remodel outside.
Does anyone at the stores ever ask why you walk so slowly?
Dillards North Star mall was built in the late 60s, it’s a neat store too being 4 floors
Dillard's has been and always be my FAVORITE store to buy at. So when I saw this I clicked ASAP
The one by my house is always the best.
Awesome video ❤️❤️❤️
I miss living near a Dillard's. Our store had the same look, but the junior girl department had a trendy look with a large skylight.
i lived in new orleans and dillard's was one of my favorite stores. i was a clothes horse and when they did their seasonal price cuts on men's clothing, i go nuts hunting for men's clothes off the racks. 80% off plus additional 20% off or something like that.
So beautiful! Love Dillards.
I've always loved the mall customer service areas. The Macy's near me had a customer service area on the top floor and it was always scarce. So quiet, and sometimes they would still have the lights off. It was next level comfy.
That wierd lounge was probably Dillard’s Travel. Dillards stores used to have a travel agent in each store. After they shut most were just walled off as storage. They usually had the glass walls like that back when they were in use. Great vid really cool store!
Very strangely relaxing to watch. I can't help but compare to english department stores here. Do you think you'll get the chance to check out malls in other countries one day?
ffishfinger what a great idea!
I like original, old stuff. You don’t have to update everything. Only if it’s broken or peeling etc. . I find this stuff cool :) . Awesome video ty
Always loved the cosmetics section of Dillards. Many have MAC stations.
This was my Dillards growing up, looks just same. The customer service also was a box office. Us kids would line up outside for the big concerts coming into town & they would trek us thru to buy our tickets. Couldn't buy your tickets online back then. Also Travel & Vacation agents working in that area.
Congratulations on reaching 20,000 subscribers 👍
Great videos! They really bring me back to my childhood going to malls and department stores in the 80s and 90s.
I wonder if that little alcove near the end of the video used to be a smoking lounge, although I guess that wouldn't explain the staff access door and all the power outlets, unless they were added later.
Paul Jensen
Probably a waiting area for hiring new employees and others conducting business 2 business with the store management.
It might have been a old optical department the door originally would have led to the exam room for the doctor. it looks like if it was one they took out the display cases.
I'd imagine it's current intended purpose is a place for bored husbands to go sit, quiet and away from everything, or somewhere to go when your kid decides that now is the best time to throw a tantrum.
Jeffy Piatt
Good guess, but I would think that small department store chains like Diamond's wouldn't have had those.
Probably for people to wait who have appointments, like Job Interviews and stuff.
This is an amazing looking mall! Also, thank you for including the name of the tune at the beginning of the video. I've heard it in other vids for years, and not known what it was!
I wonder back before Dillard's purchased Diamonds stores had those amazing skylights. It kinda reminds me of a diamond 😂!
I can see so much in that video that's similar to the Myer stores from the same era here in Australia.
That was nostalgic for sure that store look pretty awesome with its retro 80's look to it loved all the reflective ceilings another great video as always thanks
I can remember diamonds and Goldwaters at Park Central mall. That Dillard's looks similar. You are right it's still 80's . Guess that mall still is doing pretty good. Park central is totally changed. It's now medical offices with st Joseph's right across the street.
Aaron Z In Tucson Goldwater's was bouhgt by dillards
I used to work at Diamonds Park Central in the 80s. A friend worked at the Good Samaritan hospital.
if you don't watch star trek (and if you do you know what i'll say), you should watch some episodes of the next generation: so much beautiful 80s decor....angles...everything is pastel and woodgrain, weird houseplants in every shot and gel lighting...it's soooo gorgeous.
and also I live in Calgary, Canada and we have a Hudsons Bay downtown here that is from like...well I think the building is the 30s and the inside was re done in the 80s and it's super weird...but the escalators are all mirrored brass and red carpet and in one of the upstairs bathroom it's all pink and cream marble with brass mirrored fittings and coloured lights...with windows overlooking downtown, and huge makeup counters with just giant mirrors and caged lights with brass accents it's amazing.
Funny story about a month ago. Me and my sis stopped at this mall and we’re just chilling outside of it at like Claire’s and I needed to go the restroom and I remembered the closest restroom was this one and I was so annoyed at the these twisting turning hallways LOL
Loved this. That place is awesome
I love Dillards. Going to the Houston Galleria one in a couple weeks. It's very retro as well, used to be Joskes
A classic department store, that's awesome.
If a store is well-maintained, then it doesn't matter so much if the architecture is outdated, for it will eventually become retro.
That reminds me: The Dillard's in my local mall (well, its original wing) is even older than your store, dating all the way back to the mall's start in the mid-70s -- I'm in Dillard's home state, so I think it's one of the earliest Dillard's as well. I don't visit that bit anymore because it's only women's and kids' stuff (the men's section is in the new wing), but I really should out of curiosity.
Great video dude
Wow. Much more impressive than the one I work at. Of course the one I work at is mid-70s, only one story, and a clearance center, so of course there would be differences...
Still, it looks very different from the one I work at so I don't feel like I'm staring at my workplace after I've come home from work and is a completely different environment. And it's really cool looking.
Also, the Dillard's I work at uses those old IBM computers too. I kind of chuckle at the fact they still use them but think it's cool that they still work. There's an active one that the employees use to sign in and one back in the department I work in that is never on.
I haven't been inside of a Dillard's since 1984. My girlfriend used to work there the one in Broward County south Florida. That store looks a little less upscale than the one in Florida and it kind of reminds me of a cross between Hudson's and JCPenney's.
It's funny it makes me feel totally comfortable seeing that place because it's exactly how I remember things being when I used to be a mall rat. I'm right at home.
Not shown: Rubik's Cubes, Local Motion fluorescent green t-shirts, and stone washed, pleated high rise jeans. That golden oak pergola ceiling @6:40 is like totally rad to the max
I'm not quite sure why this three year old video showed up in my playlist but enjoyed it.
Come and do the Fashion Show Mall here in Las Vegas, it's really nice, especially on thursdays, fridays and Saturdays during the mid to late afternoon.
Wow the customer service area was so cool. The seating area was maybe for interviewees to go wait.
Wow I thought Dillard's went out of business 15+ years ago. What a trip.
wow. The music used in whatculture videos here. But this is one of my favorite episodes
That picture of the Glamorous Blonde Rich Women was there since the 90s. I Always had a cruch on lol. I wanted to ask them if i could take it home as a poster lol
I used to go to Dillard's when I lived in south Carolina
Check out the dillards at arrowhead man, it's as much of a time capsule!
Admittedly I know nothing about Diamonds or Dillard’s department stores, but the chronology is very interesting: the store opened in 1982 I think when the mall opened, and then became Dillard’s in 1986. So it was only Diamonds for about 4 years, and he said there were only 12 Diamonds when the company was bought.
I have a theory in this late stage American capitalism that the worse company always buys out the better company. I’ve seen it in banking, retail, airlines, or any number of industries. The company that offers the better service or the wider selection, or pays its employees better, or is more philanthropic, can’t compete with the company that occupies the same niche and delivers cheaper.
And that plays out here. It’s said in the video, and in other comments about how everything has held up so well. You can tell they spent a lot more money than they could have. The store was designed and outfitted to last 50 years, but the chain did last more than four.
And think about the economic impact for the professional class: this store was designed totally customized with an architect, not just a cookie cutter design. The fixtures were all custom built, rather than imported from China.
I guess my point is, more competition is better, and consolidating companies, though more efficient, has some downsides that aren’t always immediately apparent.
That area in the end was actually pretty cool looking
I have a feeling that the mirrors and sharp strange edges were originally meant to evoke a diamond, since the store was built by the Diamond's Department Store.
Those ceilings 😍
Man, seeing those emergency exits tucked in the back made me want to sneak back, hit the button, then RUN through as fast as I can. Why? Because I could.
Gorgeous store!
I was in a Dillard's last year that looked like it even had the same decorations and fixtures it had when it opened in 1996.
So it looks like for their "Satellite" stores, ZCMI was clearly ripping off Diamonds or had the same retail consultant. I'm not sure if you remember ZCMI II @Retail Archaeology in Phoenix/Mesa/etc.
Idaho Falls' Grand Teton Mall opened in 1986 and the JCPenney had the same tan carpeting (many locations still do). The ZCMI was the only 2 story department store and Dillards largely left the decor the same after taking over from Meier & Frank (very brief May Co ownership), other than to use former furniture space for apparel on the 2nd floor. They also operated an anchor at Pine Ridge Mall in Chubbuck (Pocatello), Idaho. The top floor of that is walled off so I would suspect it looks similar. The main floor is now a Herberger's so it has Bon-Ton decor. The other smaller ZCMI that became a Dillards was in Red Cliffs Mall in St. George.
Idaho Falls' 2nd floor is renovated but the first is the same as opening for the moment except for some department relocations. Dillards was supposed to finish their renovation this year but has not.
Our Dillard's is JUST like this still...except we don't have a second floor.
Montreal's Carrefour Angrignon is getting a new department store, Hudson's Bay, the first new department store on the island since the failed Le Ailes de la Mode. Any big new retail construction in Phoenix?
Love it! Keep it up.
Remember that I bought concert tickets at dillards
I wonder if the lounge area was a smoking lounge. It's hard to remember that people used to smoke indoors.
I worked at this store in the 80s we would have lunch in the restaurant every afternoon, the food was good and the pay was bad
Never heard of Dillard's. Interesting vid.
Maybe the small sitting area at the end used to be a rental space for other services let's say like those taxes desks you find sometimes during the year, or even a photo service of some kind?
It could have been an optical department based on the size.
Oh good point!
This was amazing, thank you
Dillard's doesn't do a lot of changes to their store. But yeah its edgy.
Joseph Tafur Dillard's doesn't do much period. Their business practices are from the 80s. Only positive ill give them is they own all their own real estate. If not they would be dead already. No growth or progression and an inflated stock value to boot.
mrazcr000 but on the upside they haven’t gone the way of many department stores in the last twenty years with lowering quality as an easy way to grow. their fashions aren’t the most contemporary but they certainly are high quality
I ❤this docu!
it's so weird how it doesn't feel nostalgic, it feels normal because that's what we were used to when we were kids? also, a lot of Mexico stores still look like that, so I guess that's why we can't have nostalgia, I guess? XD
Salt lake City area has tons of 80s stores still.
Reminds me of The Bay here in Canada
Diamonds originally started out as The Boston Department Store
Yeah, they renamed it to Diamonds - after the family who owned it - back in the '40s.
They sure don't make department stores today like they used to! They were a little more grand back then, even in the 1980s!
I don't think this is necessarily too 80s looking, I think the original design was a classic and held up fashionably through the decades.
I also noticed that a lot of your videos were shot in Arizona.
all of my dillards look this way
Nice one!
8:54 Oh hi Mark
This store has since lost a bit of the 80s aesthetic due to it being converted into a clearance center, luckily the actual interior is still the same, mostly just more cluttered
yeah it does bring back memories though speaking of school shopping!! OMG my aunt's and Mom at Hill's lol they'd play in the damn perses all afternoon or so it seemed!! lol but this story does look cool!!
You could have told me this was Parks Belk and I would have believed you without question.
Looks well-stocked, though. Unlike Sears and K-Marts right now.
At 7:18 a discoloration of ceiling tile... 12 where are you.
hella shine
baby update me oh oh oh oh aaaoh aaaoh oh!! my very bad short parody of nu shooz I can't wait!!
The old computer is the time clock.
Will you do any videos about the Chandler mall? Or is it doing too well for a video?
I know I'm late but I'm pretty sure he did at some point
I like your videos
You should center to crossroads mall in Omaha Ne
There are no Dillard's in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic States. The few in Virginia are in southern Virginia. There were some Dillards that were at malls in Ohio that died and have since been torn down. Looks like Dillard's has never updated this store
Davin Peterson there are several Dillard's still in ohio
Maybe that the reason why I never heard of them outside of TH-cam, as I am from NJ.
I have a Dillard’s in my area, I’m not sure how they’re thriving, it’s expensive, even clearance is pricey