Macy’s on the Move: Department Store Fashion, Mail-Order Magic, and Ocean Travel (1906–1911)

📌 Explore how Macy’s revolutionized American retail and fashion accessibility through onboard advertising aboard Cunard Line ships from 1906 to 1911. A key resource for fashion historians, educators, and researchers.

Macy's and the Magic of Mail-Order Fashion – 1906–1911

As Seen Onboard the RMS Carmania and Other Cunard Line Voyages

📍 Fashion, Retail Innovation, and Ocean Travel Unite for Teachers, Students, Historians & Genealogists

🧵 Fashion, Innovation, and Transatlantic Commerce: An Educator’s Perspective

This compelling collection of advertisements and historical insights about R. H. Macy & Co. offers a snapshot of early 20th-century consumer culture, fashion, and the growing intersection of global commerce and ocean travel. These pieces, all originally printed aboard Cunard liners like the RMS Carmania, tell a larger story about the evolving American lifestyle—one shaped by innovation, affordability, and fashion-forward thinking.

For teachers, students, historians, and genealogists, this article isn’t just about shopping—it's about the mechanics of modern retail, the fashion journeys of transatlantic travelers, and the early democratization of high-end style.

🛳️ Why Macy’s Was Featured on Ocean Liners

As the largest retail store under one roof in the world at the time, Macy’s wasn't just a New York destination—it was an international institution. Featuring Macy’s in Cunard’s onboard daily bulletins offered travelers, especially women crossing the Atlantic, a gateway to the fashion capitals of the world, with New York at its helm.

Ocean liner passengers, many of whom belonged to the upper and upper-middle classes, were precisely the clientele interested in mail-order fashion catalogs, European styles, and “dressing better at lower cost.” Macy’s leveraged its direct supply chain model to appeal to American consumers hungry for quality at a fair price.

This Is an Excellent Photograph of the Macy’s Building in New York From 1906. Parts of the Charming 1947 Christmas Movie Miracle on 34th Street Were Filmed in This Building. (Cunard Daily Bulletin, Carmania Edition, 7 June 1906) | GGA Image ID # 2248d637db

Macy's Herald Square

Broadway at 6th Ave., 34th St. to 35th St. New York

The Largest Retail Store Under One Roof in the World

Floor Space— 24 acres, equal in an area approximately to ten city blocks.

Number of Employees— Over 5,000 in the building and over 10,000 in the building and in various manufacturing enterprises that serve as feeders for the Macy store. Among these enterprises:

• A Glass Factory in Bohemia
• Cut Glass Factory in New York City
• Pottery Works at Rudolstadt
• Porcelain Decorating Plant at Carlsbad
• China Decorating Shop at Limoges
• China Decorating Shop in New York City
• Handkerchief Factory in Belfast
• Shirt Factory in Poughkeepsie
• Muslin Underwear Factories in New York, Brooklyn, and Carlstadt
• Silk Waist Factory in New York
• Mattress Factory in New York
• Candy Factory in New York
• Baking Powder Factory in New York
• Harness Factory in New York
• Chemical Laboratory in New York

Particular attention is directed to the splendid service rendered by our Mail Order Organization. Catalogs issued twice a year.

R. H. Macy & Co. New York, N. Y.

1906 Advertisement for the R. H. Macy & Company, New York. Printed on Board the Rms Carmania. (Cunard Daily Bulletin, Carmania Edition, Thursday, 7 June 1906) | GGA Image ID # 2249023441

The New Under Price Floor and Macy's Herald Square, New York, ca. 1912. (Dry Goods Economist, 17 February 1912) | GGA Image ID # 2249d7ffb3

1908 Advertisement from the R. H. Macy & Co., New York. Macy & Co.'s Attractions Are Their Low Prices Campaign. (Cunard Daily Bulletin, Ivernia Edition, 22 July 1908) | GGA Image ID # 22492233fd

R. H. Macy & Co.'s Attractions Are Their Low Prices

Broadway at Sixth Ave. & 34th Street to 35th Street, New York

Apart from the splendid displays of merchandise in the ninety-odd departments of this great store, visitors will find much interest in the store conveniences—parlors, Writing Rooms, Public Telephones, and one of the largest Restaurants in the world. Store hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Macy's Low Prices Are Marvels of American Merchandising

A straight line is the shortest distance between two points, so a straight cash business is the shortest route from the merchandise producer to the consumer.

For fifty years, this has been strictly a cash store, and its underselling supremacy has been conceded.

Today, it is the largest retail store under one roof—a store with 2412 acres of floor space, over 5,000 employees in the building, and over 10,000 in the various manufacturing enterprises that serve as feeders for the Macy store.

These Macy's enterprises produce more merchandise than is manufactured by the combined organizations of all the other department stores in New York City.

New Yorkers know the store and appreciate its fair system. The size of the store and the facilities for taking care of its patrons are evidence that they manifest their appreciation. Once they visit this famous establishment, non-New Yorkers are like New Yorkers in that respect.

The Macy Mail Order organization levels the playing field between non-New Yorkers and New Yorkers by sharing Macy's advantages. Catalogs are mailed postpaid upon request.

R. H. Macy & Co., New York, N. Y.

1908 Advertisement for R. H. Macy & Co., New York. Printed Onboard the RSm Etruria. (Cunard Daily Bulletin, Etruria Edition, 11 September 1908) | GGA Image ID # 224954d3b6

1911 Advertisement from Macys, Herald Square, New York. Dress Better at Lower Cost. Macy's Prepaid Price For This Fine Coat Campaign. (The Modern Priscilla, November 1911) | GGA Image ID # 2249572984

Dress Better at Lower Cost

Your money will go further this Fall than it has in several seasons, owing to the very unsettled conditions in the textile trade for several months. We have been fortunate in our purchases of raw materials and made-up goods. Then, too, the new styles for Fall are extremely beautiful and more attractive than ever.

You will be delighted with the stunning garments designed for the Fall and Winter season. Rest assured, these high-quality pieces are available at very low prices from the esteemed Macy's store in New York City.

Many of our buyers have returned or are now returning from the fashion centers of Europe, bringing with them the newest and most unique things produced by the style creators of the old world. These designs are not only fresh but also exclusive to Macy's.

You will definitely want to explore the new Macy Catalogue, a treasure trove of diverse merchandise. Each item is beautifully illustrated, fully and accurately described, and attractively priced, offering you the opportunity to elevate your style this season at a significant saving.

Macy’s Prepaid Price For This Fine Coat will surprise you.

This beautiful garment is only one of thousands of ready-to-wear garments illustrated in the Macy Catalogue for Fall and Winter. If you write for it, we can send you a free copy. The new book is larger and better than ever.

It is easily the largest catalog issued by any retail store in New York, the fashion center of America. It contains 636 pages and shows a wonderful variety of dependable, high-grade merchandise—everything for the family and everything for the home—all priced at the same low prices that have made Macy's the largest and most widely known store in New York.

Then, too, our new policy of prepaying transportation charges for thousands of articles enables women in California to buy just as cheaply as women in New York City. We are prepaying the transportation charges on all ready-to-wear apparel except shoes and jewelry. There is nothing more for you to pay. Simply send us the price we ask for any article of wearing apparel except shoes or any piece of jewelry, and we will deliver it free anywhere in the United States.

Remember that we manufacture more of our merchandise than any other store worldwide. Our merchandise passes from first hands directly to you, with just one small profit added. We cut out the profits and expenses of a host of middlemen and pass along the savings to you in the form of lower prices. On thousands of articles, we also pay all the transportation charges.

Therefore, before you buy anything to wear or use this Fall, please write to us or send us a postal card and ask for a copy of our new book. We will send it to you by mail, free and postpaid, the day we receive your request.

Macy's

604 Macy Building, Herald Square, New York

✨ Most Engaging Content Highlights

1. 🌆 The Macy's Building (1906 Image)

📸 "Excellent Photograph of the Macy’s Building in New York From 1906"

A rare and clear photograph of Herald Square’s iconic Macy’s location, featured in Miracle on 34th Street decades later.

Relevance: A valuable visual resource for students studying urban development, architecture, or retail history.

2. 📦 Mail-Order as a Social Equalizer

Macy's used its mail-order service to reach beyond Manhattan, giving rural or small-town women access to the same fashion as New Yorkers.

“Simply send us the price we ask... and we will deliver it free anywhere in the United States.”

This was revolutionary. For historians and genealogists, this speaks to the widening reach of consumer goods, a shift that empowered women economically and socially.

3. 🧥 Dress Better at Lower Cost – The 1911 Campaign

Macy’s claim: "Your money will go further this Fall than it has in several seasons…”

Detailed descriptions of seasonal fashion trends

High-quality garments available via prepaid shipping

Featured: Stunning coats, feathered hats, and French-inspired designs

This ad reveals the global sourcing of goods, as Macy’s buyers returned from European fashion centers with the latest styles for American women.

4. 🏭 The Behind-the-Scenes Empire

With a workforce of over 10,000, Macy’s controlled much of its own manufacturing:

🔹 A handkerchief factory in Belfast

🔹 A china decorating shop in Limoges

🔹 Factories for candy, mattresses, and leather goods in NYC

This vertically integrated model gave Macy’s a massive advantage and offers a lens into industrial labor, global supply chains, and business innovation.

📸 Noteworthy Images

🖼️ 1. 1906 Photograph of Macy’s Building in Herald Square | GGA Image ID # 2248d637db

Links fashion to urban history and cultural memory (think: Miracle on 34th Street).

A visual anchor for exploring the evolution of American department stores.

🖼️ 2. 1908 Macy’s Advertisement Aboard the RMS Etruria | GGA Image ID # 224954d3b6

Great example of the Macy’s value messaging: cash-only pricing, elimination of middlemen, and their “Marvels of American Merchandising.”

🖼️ 3. 1911 “Dress Better at Lower Cost” Campaign | GGA Image ID # 2249572984

A stunning image of a fashionable fall coat and an introduction to Macy’s prepaid shipping policy—cutting-edge for its time.

🖼️ 4. The New Under Price Floor and Macy's Herald Square, New York, ca. 1912. | GGA Image ID # 2249d7ffb3

The photograph captures a moment in time, providing insight into the merchandise arrangement and pricing placards.

📘 Brief Dictionary of Terms

Bertha: A wide, often lacy collar that lies over the shoulders, popular in 19th–early 20th-century fashion.

Crinoline: A stiff fabric used to shape full skirts or a frame worn under dresses for volume.

Limoges: A French city famous for fine porcelain and china.

Prepaid Price: Macy’s term for including shipping in the advertised cost—very modern and consumer-friendly.

Vertical Integration: Macy’s business model of owning both the retail and manufacturing processes.

✨ Relevance for Educators & Researchers

📚 Teachers & Students

🔹 Ideal for units on fashion history, consumer culture, industrialization, or women’s roles in early 20th-century society

🔹 Connects well to American literature themes from the Gilded Age through the Progressive Era

🔹 Great source for visual analysis and primary source interpretation exercises

🧬 Genealogists

🔹 If ancestors lived in rural America, they likely used Macy’s catalogs—which preserved both fashion trends and household purchasing behavior.

🔹 Also helpful for understanding the economic status or lifestyle of individuals.

🕵️‍♂️ Historians

🔹 Offers a case study in retail globalization, industrial labor, and class consumerism

🔹 Illustrates the rise of the American department store and its impact on cultural identity

💭 Final Thoughts

The Macy’s advertisements printed onboard luxurious ocean liners like the RMS Carmania reveal a lot more than seasonal sales. They highlight a transatlantic shift in fashion, technology, and accessibility, as women—regardless of class or geography—began to shape their identities through global fashion trends delivered straight to their doorstep.

📖 Students and essay writers: Use these original materials from the GG Archives to explore questions like:

🔹 How did ocean liners promote consumer culture?

🔹 What did accessibility to fashion mean for women’s independence?

🔹 How did Macy’s help build the modern concept of global retail?