A brief history lesson to inspire your holiday shopping With the frenzy of holiday shopping in full swing, department stores sure know how to get you in their doors?or at least staring at their gorgeous windows. Despite the crowds and the commercialism of the season, there?s still something so festive and old-school about the grand buildings that they occupy.
So, before the American mall breathes its last breath?or until it figures out a way to stay relevant?here?s a look at some of the world?s most iconic historic department stores, from Detroit to Moscow to Paris, some of which are still standing today?or, in the case of ones in the U.S., have been taken over by Macy?s.
Harding, Howell & Company?s Grand Fashionable Magazine, London, England
Image via Wikimedia Commons

Opened in 1796 in London?s St James?s district, Harding, Howell & Company?s Grand Fashionable Magazine is considered one of the world?s first department stores. The destination for fashionable women was divided into four departments and sold furs, fans, fabric for dresses, haberdashery, jewelry, perfume, and, of course, millinery.
Macy?s (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) New York City

Photo by Detroit Publishing Co., Copyright Claimant, and Publisher Detroit Publishing Co. ca. 1908, from the Library of Congress

Macy?s began as a chain of dry goods store in Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1843. When all of them shuttered, the founder, Rowland Hussey M...