Woodies

Saturday laundry time.

One of the few things I rescued from mom's house was sheets. She's got a double bed at her new place, so all the twin sheets were redundant. I grabbed a couple of sets of wedgewood blue that were still in their packages. When I opened them to make the bed, I realized that the price tags were from Woodward & Lothrop. ("Woodies" to long-time Washington residents).

It was a great store in its time, one of the true old-fashioned department stores along with Landsburgh's and the Hecht Company (all gone now). Times have changed. If I want cheap Chinese-made shoes or jeans, I've got Wal-Mart, but a good sweater? Macy's (if I like this season's colors). Men's suit? I think I know of a place in Cleveland that might have them, or perhaps just drive to Washington. Until I discovered Crowe's Shoes in downtown Mansfield yesterday, I didn't know of any place where a shoe clerk would actually measure my foot. (Again, I don't think White Flint Mall in suburban Maryland is exactly local shopping.)

But Woodie's had it all. It was perfectly reasonable to buy a suit there, arrange for alterations, come back a few days later, and buy a belt and shoes to go with it.

When they finally went out of business in 1995, they were still profitable, but had been the victim of a leveraged buy-out. Yet another time when the genius financial wizards used their own greed to screw up something the rest of us really wanted. I think the Wall-E movie may have it right: the future of retailing really is sort of a super Wal-Mart vision where we all buy the same things, look the same way, and it all comes from China. And nobody will measure my foot, find a shoe that looks good, and wish me a nice day.

By the way, that Woodies tag tells me that Mom had these sheets on her shelf, unopened, for at least 14 years. That deserves a post of its own.