We went to Paramis, NJ to do our school shopping and we always dressed up. In Atlanta we dressed up to go to Neiman Marcus and we had tea in the tearoom.
Of course, I can remember when people dressed up to fly to Europe, and when Sabena had pullman bunks in First Class... and when babies and the hoi polloi (of which I now am one) never flew because they couldn't afford it.
Society is much more homogenized than it was back then, although back then people were terrified of growing up to be put in little boxes and all coming out the same.
Times change.
Service as gone with the old department stores. My first job in retail was at JL Hudson's{similar to Macy's} in Detroit. The sales ladies kept little books of customers, their sizes, special dates, etc. They would call a customer and let them know something had come in. Now you have to walk around looking for a place to check out.