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1976: When Bloomingdale's Was A "Sexual Meeting Ground"
By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 26, 2014
Modified Feb 27, 2014
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 26, 2014
Modified Feb 27, 2014
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In this 1976 report on Bloomingdale's (or Bloomie's, if you're In The Know), the department store is painted as a pick-up spot—"It ranks just after the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a sexual meeting ground."
The Village Voice's Blair Sabol tells the viewing audience, "There are certain departments that, if you are in to cruising, the men's department is very big, the active sports department, because you can always get a free ski trip... the cheese counter, because someone's buying 12 lbs of brie... at night there's a party somewhere." One customer agrees, saying, "I have met more people at Bloomingdale's than I have at any singles bar on the Upper East Side."
But who are they meeting? Sabol says of Bloomie's People: "I think of a couple, and they live on the Upper East Side, and they have chrome and glass furniture, and they've got the brie cheese, and they're wearing the Famous Amos t-shirt, and they've got the right patch jeans".......... and you see them on the elevator, and his hand gently touches yours, just for a moment, was it an accident? No, now you feel her hand, and she's looking into your eyes, and together they ask, "Do you like brie cheese?" The next morning, just before dawn, you find yourself on an unfamiliar floor, staring upwards through the glass of their coffee table, you turn your head and catch your reflection in the chrome leg. Your mascara has run, there's hardened brie clinging to your hair, ABBA's "Fernando" is playing somewhere in the distance... you should have gone to Bergdorf's.
Tagged
1970s
1976
60 minutes
bloomingdale's
cbs
flashback
original
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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