Bloomingdales is a department store that sells clothing, shoes, bedding, furniture, jewelry, cosmetics, beauty products, kitchen goods, and housewares. They were founded in 1872 in New York's lower east side by Joseph and Lyman Bloomingdale.http://www1.bloomingdales.com/media/about/history.jsp As of 2010 there are a total of 40 Bloomingdales in the United States. They are currently owned and operated by Macy's, Inc.http://www.macysinc.com/investors/storeinformation/squarefootage.aspx

Bloomingdales flagship location is on East 59th street and Lexington avenue in New York City. That location is one of 11 more in the greater New York and New Jersey area. The only other states that have more than 4 stores total are California with 6 , and Florida with five. Their bags all say "Big brown bag" or "Little brown bag" depending on the size.http://www.bloomingdalesjobs.com/bloomingdales/about/

Bloomingdales has been featured in several movies and television shows. In the longtime running television show F.R.I.E.N.D.S., Jennifer Aniston's character Rachel Green worked at Bloomingdales as a buyer and personal shopper.http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0007142/bio

In 1872 the Bloomingdale brothers opened a ladies notions shop in New York's lower east side. Back then most fashion stores would sell just one specialized type of garment. Bloomingdales however had a variety of options to choose from, making them a pioneer in department stores. In 1886 they moved to 59th street and Lexington where the store would expand in both size and selection.http://www1.bloomingdales.com/about/company/press/detail.ognc?newsID=70

In the very early 1900s Lyman Bloomingdale decided to beef up the marketing, using print ads in as many places as they allowed him, including billboards and delivery wagons. In 1947 Bloomingdales would become the location for gala events and fashion shows, using a different form of marketing. In 1961 they came up with the first ever designer shopping bags.http://www1.bloomingdales.com/about/company/press/detail.ognc?newsID=70

In 1973 Bloomingdales launched an intimate clothing apparel line, which included stamping their name on every pair of panties. They didn't stamp the full name however, but instead used "Bloomies". Shortly thereafter New Yorkers would refer to Bloomingdales as simply Bloomies and the store would become the city's second most popular tourist attraction, after the Statue of Liberty.http://www1.bloomingdales.com/about/company/press/detail.ognc?newsID=70