Malls, once symbols of American consumer culture, are splitting. Some are dying as others thrive
LIVINGSTON, N.J. (AP) — I wasn't a mall rat. Growing up in the 1970s, I didn't hang out much with my friends at my local mall in New Jersey. The Livingston Mall, which opened in 1972 with stores including Bamberger's, Sears and Hahne & Co., may have been a bustling social scene for my peers. But my mother's trips to the mall were mission-driven: to buy me clothes she called "classic" — loafers and plaid dresses. I called them nerdy. So forget about the era's hottest fads: leather platform wedge sandals, Candie's slide sandals and Puma sneakers. One hot trend my mom let me have? ...
