The Huffington Post has a great article on 1950s fashion shows which were performed for select customers. These shows were smaller, more informal, with design meant to be purchased for everyday wear.

The Guardian describes one such department store model: "That luck allowed an 18-year-old Mullen to trade in her hated beauty-parlour job for a life as a department-store mannequin, showing clothes to Bergdorf Goodman's wealthy clientele." and "Ordinary girls in wonderful clothes – it's a contrast we take for granted now. Before the 1950s, though, fashion models had largely been society women – the kind who would have been buying and wearing couture. Mullen arrived on the scene at a time when extra-ordinary-looking ordinary girls were suddenly being discovered at Bloomingdales, like Evelyn Tripp – or on the street, like Dovima."

The department store aimed to transform the shopping experience into a leisure activity.In other words, you were not heading to a shop because you really needed a dress, but that you needed a distraction. Many stores provided pampering services, refreshments, and top of the line customer service. Some events in which clothes were modeled were organized by the store in advance and an audience was attracted by invitation (loyal, wealthy customers). Other times, the customer could request that some of the salesladies model clothing for them in one of the private dressing or show rooms.

It is also a great point of interest that the department store was one of the earliest businesses to really target women as its main employees. Owners and managers felt that having a feminine charm would attract more customers, male and female, and add an element of class to their establishment.

Emporium of glamour and sanctum of scientific management: The early twentieth century department store by Ingrid Jeacle