The Darling Shop in 1936. The circular name sign was silver with green lettering, surrounded by neon light tubing. The modern design of geometric shapes surrounding it were black and green.
The Darling Shop, a women’s apparel store providing fashions at mid-range prices, opened at 711 Canal St in October 1934. It was the latest in a chain of shops founded by Maxwell Gluck in 1929. The first two Darling Shops were located in New York and Ohio, and within 6 years, 40 more stores had been opened. Eventually, a total of 140 Darling Shops were opened across the country.
The New Orleans store opened with the promise that women would be able to “find fashions in the middle of a rainbow.” The lobby floor featured a modern design of multicolored tiles, while a patterned rug in green, rose, and blue covered the remainder of the store. The interior walls were a frame of pale orchid and greens, with wavy gold gilt lines to create a light-behind-the-clouds effect. Each chair was upholstered in a different shade, and all the windows were made of frosted glass edged with black.
The modern furniture emphasized the store’s mission of bringing brand new styles to women in a cost-effective way. A “hat bar” was a true novelty, inviting women to sit at barstools around a circular counter, where employees would bring them a cocktail hat (and other types of hats) to try.
The shop moved in 1944 from 711 Canal to 707 Canal, a larger space. Seven years later, in 1951, they reclaimed 711 Canal, merging the two spaces together to double their size and merchandise.
In 1961, after 26 years on Canal St., the Darling Shop announced its closure. The business moved to 1712 Dryades St. where it evolved into a new discount store, The Big D, which featured clothing for all, as well as furniture, tools, toys and appliances, making it New Orleans’ first total discount department store. The Big D operated for 2 years before closing in 1963 when the building was converted to a recreation and bowling center.
The closing of the New Orleans Darling Shop was one of only a large number of closings of the brand. The parent company Grayson-Robinson filed bankruptcy in 1962, shuttering more than half of its 170 storefronts within the next two years.
