Department Store Shopping Floor

A department store floor under a coffered ceiling and skylights, its cast-iron lift cage standing at the centre with a spiral stair curling behind it. Hanging boards name the departments along the aisles. Mannequins in a red gown, a green dress, a tweed coat and a blue suit stand on the tiled floor beside tables of folded fabric and rolled bolts. Hats in pink, blue, green and straw fill a display table at the left, with scarves and ties folded below. Glass cabinets and shelves at the right hold jugs, lamps with fringed shades, plates and stacked books, and a table of wooden toys — trains, cars, a horse — sits in front of them. Shoppers browse between potted palms. Each department keeps a colour of its own, so the floor divides itself into blocks.