It's been quite a few years since I've been to this mall, and it will be even more until I go there again. Most of the stores a subset of the high end outlets that cater to people with too much money to burn, and I have little interest in burning my money there. Luckily, I tend to buy most of my clothing online, and can avoid the experience of this mall.
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When I moved to Northern Westchester county, there was a small local mall called "The Westchester Mall". Although some stores were in an outdoor section of the mall, most people considered the indoor section to be "the" mall.. Alexanders (remember them?) was the lone anchor store, with several small stores in this section of the mall. When Alexanders shut down, so did the rest of the stores in the indoor section. About the only trace of the old mall that still exist is the unused indoor entrance to Alexanders, which now is unused by Mattress Firm. Walmart replaced Alexanders long ago, and another section of the property was developed for a bookstore, a supermarket, and a couple more big box stores. As a result, the current complex no longer goes by the old name, leaving the mall in White Plains with the name on the sign in the above photo - they were very careful NOT to use someone else's mall name when developing the White Plains site.
Why is this so important? To me, the lower and middle economic classes have much less money in real terms to live on than they did 40+ years ago. The high upper middle class and the rich still have excess money to spend. This may mean that malls that once catered to the lower and middle classes are dying out while malls that serve the upper classes will still survive. But what is the defining characteristic of stores in the upper class malls? Service. People with money need to feel pampered. Money buys them comfort. Once one reaches a certain level of wealth, one often wants to be attended to. One doesn't want to manage the little things that take up a large part of other's lives/
Luxury is essential to the wealthy. They can buy anything they want. And that includes being pampered, having every desire met - even before it is desired. Exclusivity is associated with luxury. We see that in modern cruise ships, where people with money to burn are able to buy the "Ship within a ship" experience. Although I have had small tastes of this kind of luxury, I am solidly in the middle class. Yet, I wouldn't mind burning some money for this kind of experience - as long as it is a one time experience. It would be nice to be able to get another taste of true luxury while I'm able to enjoy it.
PS: One thing I noticed while in the mall was a sign at the Eileen Fisher store that noted that they support all people who want to wear their clothes. Even though most of their clothing is way out of reach for me, I plan to buy things from their "Renew" store once I am in a size where their clothing fits me.
