Growing up in the mid-20th century, I remember when the place to buy clothes was in the downtown department store with their intricately hand-painted mannequins in the front window.
In addition to well-known chain stores such as Montgomery Ward and Penney’s, Vancouver, Washington was serviced by a former locally owned DC department store. CC’s was the type of store that closed on Sundays and was known for its “best” merchandise.
CC’s was almost a museum even by 40s and 50s standards. Bad gentle and somewhat scruffy, it had crisp bare hardwood floors, wide wooden staircase, and high ceilings, but what really set CC’s apart from other shops in the world. Downtown Vancouver was how shopping transactions were conducted.
When customers made a purchase in CC, the clerk handling the transaction placed the money in a metal container the size of a soup can and sent it along with a sales voucher, navigating by electronic wire to a central teller on the second floor. . The cashier made the change and returned the transaction in the same way to the clerk so that he could close the sale with his receipt.
CC’s is the only store I remember shopping at that handled its “cash only” transactions this way. Grandma was a regular shopper at CC’s and chose the store especially for its selection of matching Cinderella brand dresses for my sister and me. I remember buying clothes back to school and Easter there too.
In those days women “dressed” for shopping expeditions downtown, and customers like my grandmother knew the store employees by name. This was a time when personalized service was the norm. Knowing what Grandma liked to buy, the clerks sometimes kept Cinderella dresses in our sizes for her to come in and choose.
In addition to buying dresses for my little sister and me, Grandma would sometimes buy a suit and a hat. CC wears a fine line of women’s hats. These days, hats and gloves were one of the ideals of womanhood and a necessity for Sunday church attendance.
Standing on a corner of Main Street, CC’s was a huge part of downtown Vancouver. It was also part of a more polite era, an era in which everyday shopping was much more formal. People got dressed, got on the bus, and took their time exploring the store’s merchandise. If you walked into a store, the owners were chatting with you and wanting you to spend some time. It was all part of the local flavor of a bygone era.
