Service with respect has become the foundation on which store loyalty stands. Women want bargains, to accomplish a lot in one trip, and interesting items, but if the level of service and respect is found wanting, none of that matters.

More than just service, it's the respect, rapport, ambience that engages customers so that price becomes the last thing on their minds as they walk around stores.

We've actually tracked a percentage decline in that category going back to 1996,

Maybe the future isn't so bright. There's a lot of comfort in wrapping ourselves in a simpler time, and also in clothes less demanding of the perfect body. And perhaps it's a bit of a bow to a boomer population that has a little bit of a hard time with spandex.

The clothes of that era are all about the fabric and the lay of the fabric, and the body was inside as a hanger. For the majority of couture shoppers and high-fashion shoppers, they don't remember the '40s and everything's new to them. Cinema is their window on that period.

Lots of business opportunities come out of tragedy. It's the capitalist way of life. I think the a market for airport-friendly merchandise is a good thing.