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Dimmey’s offered for sale a wide range of goods, which to my untrained eye, appeared to have been thrown into huge metal cages or bins, or else hung badly on overcrowded racks.

Larger goods were scattered about the floor with little arrangement.  At first glance, the seemingly apparent lack of effort to provide customers with attractive displays was somewhat disconcerting to me.

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Cushions with an Animal Design to tempt the Browser

Dimmey’s has a history of catering not only to working people and to those with little money to spend, but also to anyone looking for a bargain.

Couches, Colourful Children’s Desks, Beds & Fluffy Mats were On Sale

I hope that I do not appear to be a snob when I say that Dimmey’s offered a number of goods that perhaps one would not necessarily want in one’s home ……. this is a question of personal taste, of course ……. But allow me to add that should the customer take the time to look beyond the outrageous sculptures, lamps, objets d’art and most of the garish coloured garments for men, women and children, I could guarantee that one would, without doubt, find a number of bargains waiting to be uncovered!!!

Ladies Garments for Sale

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One of the major problems about living in Paris is that one gets used to the care that is taken, even with the most simple of shops in the  less fashionable Arrondisements, to display the goods for sale to their best advantage.  This means not cluttering the shop window with too many goods and arranging them in a pleasing manner guaranteed to catch the eye of the passerby.

However, let me quickly add that despite window shopping being a delight in Paris, the actually task of shopping itself can often be far from this.  This is mainly due to the often-found snooty behaviour of certain Vendeuses and Vendeurs.  Still, armed with a little knowledge of the French language, preferably some slang terms, these folks are soon put in their place and the experience can proceed with more joy!

Once I saw the care that was taken with presentation here, I have never been able to understand the lack of similar care that seems to prevail elsewhere in such matters.  Evidently shopkeepers have not realised that their goods would sell better if they took more care and so achieve a certain elegance.

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The same viewpoint may be applied to the arrangement of food on a plate.  Look how appetising Japanese food appears, as a result of its careful presentation on a beautifully decorative plate.

However looks are certainly not everything, for no matter how delightfully presented, even on a plate that may well be a work of  art, Tofu is still Bean Curd and, sadly for me, remains unpalatable to say the least!

Tofu

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When I moved to New York City, there was no Big-Box Store (also known as Superstore, Supercentre, Megastore) or Warehouse Membership Clubs there.  It took a few years more before Walmart, K-Mart, Ikea, Costco et al were to open their first stores there.

Big-Box Stores

Warehouse Membership Clubs

I remember that while I was discovering the City, I came across 14th Street.  The street is one of those cross town roads that is wide enough to allow two-way traffic.  Part of the street on the south side had been given over to clothes shops, which had large bins in front of them, which were being rummaged through by women of various ages with their young children in tow.

West 14th Street, New York City during the 1970s

At first sight, these shops were quite a shock to me, as the shop windows and interiors were remarkably ugly.  There was no apparent attempt to make the window displays and interiors attractive in any way.  The décor of the interiors, as such, were sparse.  Most walls had seemingly been painted some years earlier with either a pea-green or yellow paint that had now faded and showed numerous signs of the passage of time along with the odd cobweb where ceiling and walls meet.  The  clothes for sale were either heaped on long trestle tables and many had spilled onto  the floor, or else were in large overflowing bins.

My first impression of these shops was one of horror!  How could anyone buy these ghastly tasteless clothes made in such gaudy colours, I wondered?  I was ready to leave the shop when I noticed that the customers were busy rummaging through bins filled with children and women’s clothes and that the men’s clothes were still un-rummaged through at the back of the store and, so far, had not been attacked by the marauding crowd.

An Attempt at Organising Chaos

I moved to the back of the store and started to examine some of the samples in a bin.  I have to admit that it did not take me long to find a number of garments that were of interest to me.  What I found was not gaudy in colour or badly made and what surprised me most was that the goods were offered at an attractive price.

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This was my first encounter with such a purely functional store, but it was not to be my last, and I was to return there on numerous occasions to both look and buy.  Good value is good value, and a bargain is a bargain!  We live in a world where many have sacrificed elegance for a bargain.

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Today, of course, such stores exist all over the world.  Where I live now, and sadly now closed and sorely missed, was a delightful store known as Roses, one of a chain of discount stores founded in North Carolina in 1915 by Paul Howard Rose (1880–1955).  Although Roses, as a company, is still in business, the remaining stores are too far away for me to visit, more’s the pity.

Roses once provided the people of my neighbourhood with a wide range of goods including clothing, electronic appliances, sweets and tinned food.  Most products, although not exactly of the highest quality, provided a means by which the poor and the bargain conscious were able to clothe their children and themselves without breaking their banks.

Although Roses stores are no where near as chaotic as those shops on 14th Street in New York City, their décor is minimal, but attempts are made to display their goods to attract customers, but alas, this is not always successful.

When I visited Roses, it would be on Wednesdays, since Senior Citizens were given an additional discount on all sales.  Although I did not generally buy more than a few sweets, I liked to go and talk to the sales staff, who were always very kind to me, many of whom were old European ladies.  The Wednesday Discount always attracted hordes of people looking for a bargain.  I also liked to visit the store at the end of each season, as most of the previous season’s clothes were now being offered at ridiculously low prices.

Inside Roses

Sadly, the branch close to where I live closed down about two years ago.  It is still sorely missed by the people of the area, including me.  The shell of the store, like so many other buildings in the area, was quickly turned into a Medical Centre.  Our complaints over the closure was greeted by our being told that we, the aged, was in need of more Doctors’ Offices to cope with our demands.  Despite our apparent need of another Doctor’s Office, the building has remained completely empty since being completed and sits, like the other such Offices, and awaits occupants!