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A display window, most commonly called shop window (British English) or store window (American English), is a window in a shop displaying items for sale or otherwise designed to attract customers to the store. Usually, the term refers to larger windows in the front façade of the shop.

The first display windows in shops were installed in the late 18th century in London, where levels of conspicuous consumption were growing rapidly. Retailer Francis Place was one of the first to experiment with this new retailing method at his tailoring establishment in Charing Cross, where he fitted the shop-front with large plate glass windows. Although this was condemned by many, he defended his practice in his memoirs, claiming that he:

sold from the window more goods...than paid journeymen's wages and the expenses of housekeeping.^[1]

Display windows at boutiques usually have dressed-up mannequins in them. Putting a window display of merchandise in a store's window is called "window dressing", which is also used to describe the items displayed themselves. As a figure of speech, "window dressing" means something done to make a better impression, and sometimes implies something dishonest or deceptive.^[2]

References

Notes

^ Patrick Robertson (2011). Robertson's Book of Firsts: Who Did What for the First Time. Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved 2013-02-07. {{cite book}}: line feed character in |title= at position 28 (help)
^ Pearsall, Judy (2002). Concise Oxford English Dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.

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[1] Patrick Robertson (2011). Robertson's Book of Firsts: Who Did What for the First Time. Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved 2013-02-07. {{cite book}}: line feed character in |title= at position 28 (help)

[2] Pearsall, Judy (2002). Concise Oxford English Dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{for|drapery, shades, shutters, etc|Window covering}}
 [[Image:Chanel Display, Rue Cambon, Paris April 2011.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Display window of a [[Chanel]] shop, [[Rue Cambon]], [[Paris]].]]
+A '''display window''', most commonly called '''shop window''' ([[British English]]) or '''store window''' ([[American English]]), is a [[window]] in a [[retailer|shop]] displaying items for sale or otherwise designed to attract [[customer]]s to the store. Usually, the term refers to larger windows in the front [[façade]] of the shop.
-[[Image:Tarnogród Gablota w Domu Handlowym.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Display window in a [[department store]] in [[Tarnogród]] during [[People's Republic of Poland|Communism]]]]
+The first display windows in shops were installed in the late 18th century in [[London]], where levels of [[consumer revolution|conspicuous consumption]] were growing rapidly. Retailer [[Francis Place]] was one of the first to experiment with this new retailing method at his tailoring establishment in [[Charing Cross]], where he fitted the shop-front with large [[Flat glass|plate glass]] windows. Although this was condemned by many, he defended his practice in his memoirs, claiming that he:
-A '''display window''', most commonly called '''shop window''' ([[British English]]) or '''store window''' ([[American English]]), is a [[window]] in a [[retailer|shop]] displaying items for sale or otherwise designed to attract [[customer]]s to the store. Usually, the term refers to larger windows in the front [[façade]] of the shop.  Such windows were invented about 1780.  Display windows at [[boutique]]s usually have dressed-up [[mannequin]]s in them.
+:sold from the window more goods...than paid journeymen's wages and the expenses of housekeeping.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2TEEaCrPiWsC&dq=Robertson%27s+Book+of+Firsts:+Who+Did+What+For+the+First+Time&hl=en&sa=X&ei=C1QjUpCfHbCg7AaoqIDoDA&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAA|title=Robertson's Book of Firsts:
+Who Did What for the First Time|author=Patrick Robertson
+|year=2011|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|accessdate=2013-02-07}}</ref>
-Putting a '''window display''' of [[merchandise]] in a store's window is called "[[window dresser|window dressing]]", which is also used to describe the items displayed themselves. As a [[figure of speech]], "window dressing" means something done to make a better impression, and sometimes implies something dishonest or [[deceptive]].<ref>{{cite dictionary|author=Pearsall, Judy|title=Concise Oxford English Dictionary|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press, Inc.|location=New York}}</ref>
+Display windows at [[boutique]]s usually have dressed-up [[mannequin]]s in them. Putting a window display of [[merchandise]] in a store's window is called "[[window dresser|window dressing]]", which is also used to describe the items displayed themselves. As a [[figure of speech]], "window dressing" means something done to make a better impression, and sometimes implies something dishonest or [[deceptive]].<ref>{{cite dictionary|author=Pearsall, Judy|title=Concise Oxford English Dictionary|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press, Inc.|location=New York}}</ref>
 ==See also==