The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-02-13
TRIMMING sHow-wlNpows.
A Branch of Advertising Which Fur
nishes EmpIoyment to Many Men.

nishes Employment to Many Men.
The trimming of shop-windows has be-
come a great feature in advertising.
Each large establishment seeks to out
shine its neighbors in the display and ar
tistic arrangement of goods in its win
dows
'The system of window decoration
has grown up almost altogether within
the past ten years in the dress goods line
and within three or four years in the
clothing houses" said a leading ner-
chant. 1t Is increasing constantly, and
heaven only knows where it will end.
Every establishment of any pretensions
employs man especially to trim win
dows. Smaller houses secure the serv
ices of an individual who is not con-
nected with it in any other capacity than
that of window trimmer and who does
the work for three or four different
stores. Others have salesman who is
an artist in the business. His artistic
capabilities demand far higher salary
than he could expect as a mere sales
man. Very large shops hire professional
trimmers who do nothing else but deco
rate the windows. They must be con-
stantly studying and endeavoring to de-
wise something new, and startling, and
public"
Certain forms Of arrangement have
become fxed and ere known by various
names. There, for instance" pointing
to one window where several shades Of
wash materials were drawn into shape,
small at the bottom and spreading out
at the top like fan, is what is known as
the rising SUM- style of decoration. This
manner of folding" indicating piece of
embossed velvet drawn out in a long fold
"is called the double loop But the
trimming of windows must be novel or
it is nothing. Consequently every shop
shows two or three times week some
new arrangement which is due alone to
the ingenuity of the trimmer"
How long does it take man to trim
a window2"
From four to ten hours according to
its elaboration. have known, too, when
windows were to be trimmed for some
special occasion or season, of two or
three men being occupied in one window
for couple of days. One clothing house
in the city showed a window during the
holiday time that 1t required three men
four days to trim"
Are many goods damaged by being
exposed in windows2"
mo for the reason that but small
quantities are displayed. We have dunn
mics so made that a small piece of cloth
can be wrapped around or folded about
them and represent an entire bolt. Then
we do not exhibit our very finest lines in
the windows. A trimmer has to use the
greatest care in getting up window.
He must be able to judge of the effect it
will have from the outside, not how it
appears to him where he stands. He
must be slkillful in his blending of tints,
have an eye to the weather, for some
things the most attractive in one kind of
weather will not draw glance in an
other, and above all possess originality.
By the way, the trimmers are called art
lists now. There are very few American
trimmers. The majority are Englishmen
or Irishmen. Irishmen are the most taste
full drygoods men in the world.
care women ever employed as trim
mers?"
I've never known of any who were.
1t is field of occupation that l think
women have never invaded; but with the
quick feminine eye for color and effects,
there is no reason why they should not be
eminently successful in it"