Is that what "vibrant" is supposed to look like?

I'm really going to miss those displays. how disappointing.

this is a tragedy. why does seattle feel like corporate identity somehow equates to modernity?

looking at that made the batteries die in my vibrator...sad.

Old Seattle is gone and dead. Get over it. We're moving in a new direction now and we'll have better restaurants, more vibrant lifestyles, and raising real estate values. Don't get stuck in the past, the future is going to be better.

Not exciting, not interesting, not engaging, not funny, not the least bit sexy. How can anyone think this is a good idea?

The Gap uses more creativity in their displays. However, this is more "kid friendly" for all the families working to gentrify the area. Maybe the shops in the Castro will do the same. *shudder*

Hey dewsterling, check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngEp2H86i7w&search=daily%20show%20castro

Thanks, Russ. I adore TDS. The sad thing is that people really feel that way about the Castro and are actively trying to force businesses and gay people out.

Are they building new condos on the site? It looks like a sales center for new condos.

As one of the former (sniff) window creators, I must admit that it is a bit of a shock. RIP old skool windows displays. First the Infernal Noise Brigade and now this. Farewell, Seattle of old.

its a sad, sad day. i was just remarking to an out-of-town guest the other day how much i love the old babeland windows. while i approve of the toys in babeland to babeland switch (and i even like the little +- logo, which makes me think of batteries, which is cute), the dildo schematics up last weekend are way better than this bland sign. ugh.
not sexy at all.

That looks entirely awful. "Sex Toys for a Passionate World?" Zzzzz...plus, it looks like they changed the name of the store to just Babeland. Double-ZZzzzz.

Stores try desperately to have the cool edge and they've actively decided to forgo the fun, which is the whole reason people like the store. There's no reason to go in there if it's no fun. People will just order their toys over the internet.

Ya Thoroughly Boring.
Look like a Gap sex toy shop.
Hands on individually crafted is in. Generic "Branding" advertising is out.
If that is your signature that you are known for then don't change a good thing.

The new Seattle will be sleek, chic and lovely. The old windows were tacky, these new ones could be in Tokoyo, Rome, or Paris and I love them. Here's to the new Seattle. Old Seattle is finally dead and I for one am not going to miss it.

Seattle used to be a lot more exciting because of it's independent way of thinking, it needs to get back to the basic ideas of it's local artists and forward thinking, passionate people that call it home. Some still exists but it only takes people like "New Seattle" to turn it into a boring generic city without character.
Bland cities like Paris and Rome are examples of how a city can be ruined and it's old character be reduced to boring tourist traps designed to gouge tourists that think it is so quaint and beautiful.
Keep it real.

This truly has nothing to do with the “old Seattle” vs. “new Seattle” controversy, though a relevant topic it is. The windows are changing in the New York stores also. What this speaks to is a company (alas a good one) trying to brand itself consistently on your brains. It wants to dig deep into your psyche and imprint the new logo. It wants you to look at the bright colors and feel blinded for a moment, while you reach for your pocketbook. It’s an American Apparel, frappichino sucking, i-pod Nation, suckers.

It is true it has nothing to do with new and old Seattle it has more to do with feeling safe where ever you go knowing that the same advertising and windows will be seen in any city giving you a feeling of safety.
Recently I was working in a Mall in Vancouver Canada painting a store front and tourists came through (yes they were American) the women were clutching their shoulder strap bags close to them and they traveled closely through this strange land ( a mall in Vancouver Canada???) like it was threatening to them. Suddenly on woman saw a "Starbucks" and they all broke into conversation thick with relief. They had seen something safe and Generic that they recognized.
Now I am not saying all these older women and husbands were going to look for a safe recognizable Toys in "Babeland". But it works on the same concept. If you are in Paris and see a Gap or strarbucks just like the one at home on Seattle then you will feel safe. It does not have anything to do with a quality product it has to do with feeling safe buying clothes or coffee from something you recognize.
Personally when I travel the last thing I want to do is shop in a store that has the same advertising and product world wide. I need to experience local home grown businesses. I have to try to speak the language and get an experience based upon the differences of each city. The store "Toys in Babeland" should not have shortened their name to "Babeland". I can only assume they are going to go in a different direction other than "Sex Toys" so they dropped "toys". They should have completely different windows than NY and be proud of it.

Buying anything strange in a strange land from a bunch of strangers using strange tongues scares the crap out of me, so I go with familiar branding. It might be cowardly, but does that make me evil? And does this mean I should stop buying my vibrators from babeland.com?
...
There are certainly a lot of complaints here akin to old men reminiscing about the modern lack of dueling or the (semi-)demise of the virginal maiden trope.

Right on, B. Enough with the Precious Provincialism, folks.

Why is it, of all the cities I have visited or lived in, Seattle is the one that has the most trouble letting go of the past?

Don't most people purchase their sex toys off the internet these days anyway?

Seriously, though, it's benign, but it's designed to attract the attention of mainstream sex-toy-seeking society, which it probably will. The types of folks who seek out sex toys probably aren't swayed significantly by storefront design anyway.

It's loud, and its pink, and it looks like Barbie.