View from second floor of La Rinascente.Fashion is quite obviously tied into consumerism; clothing choice is (potentially) a manner of self-expression as well as a marker of social/socioeconomic class. Although the concept of the department store may present itself as universal (or we might perceive it as such), there are different dynamics in the places where consumption occurs, even within the seemingly homogenous realm of department stores.
Today I visited two department stores in Rome and observed evidence of these differences-UPIM and La Rinascente. UPIM "[offers] moderately priced medium quality clothes and a variety of household goods," whereas La Rinascente "[is] good for ready-to wear clothes . . . household linens, and haberdashery, and [has] well-stocked perfume counters" (Wild 335). The differences in clientele are not easily observable (to be discussed in a future post!), however, the aesthetics and geographies of the two stores reveal quite a lot (also points for further posting). A quick scan of the chains' respective websites demonstrates what I would characterize as their "accessible" versus "sophisticated" atmospheres. Specifically, see the "About Us" section of La Rinascente site and "Discover the New UPIM" on the UPIM site for the ways in which the stores have posited their respective "missions" and who their target customers (audiences) are.
Wild, Fiona ed. Eyewitness Travel: Rome. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2007.
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