Before Amazon, there was this!

Before department stores had endless aisles, and long before Amazon had endless pages, well-dressed men shopped the haberdashery. Often confused today as meaning only hats, in early 1900s America a haberdashery was the place to find all the refined finishing touches of a gentleman’s wardrobe. Crisp detachable collars, silk ties, gloves, suspenders, ribbons, lace trims, buttons, and all the elegant necessities that completed a dapper look.

The beautiful oak cabinet you see here is a perfect working example of how a true haberdashery operated. Clerks arranged small goods by color, style, and size in its tiered display drawers so customers could see every option clearly without handling the merchandise themselves.
This clever design solved one of the major retail challenges of the era, which was how to display everything while keeping delicate stock clean, orderly, and secure. The result was simple. Items stayed spotless, stock stayed sorted, and shopping remained a charmingly polite exchange between customer and clerk.

For the past 30 years, this incredible piece of history lived at The Little Kitchen Shop in Leavenworth, Washington, where it faithfully displayed kitchen tools and gadgets. In their careful restoration they preserved the original handwritten notes on the underside of the drawers, each one listing what was once kept inside during its early life in a haberdashery.

Today it is happily back to work again, adding its timeless charm to our holiday display and showcasing all the little delights of the season.