Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-07-09

| after the European table dhote fashion and all
OF the dinners are full dress affairs.
FRANK g. CARPENTER.
LAY FIGURES MADE OF WAX.
Dudes With No Consciousness Of Being in
Shop Window.
THE FOUR MOST ELEGANTLY ATTIRED
u gentlemen in Washington have regularly
two new suits Of clothes every week They
have plenty Of time for dress because they do
no toll of any sort for their living At this
season Of the year they may be seen at all
hours playing croquet, reclining in hammocks
In pajamas and otherwise amusing themselves
appropriately to the character Of the weather,
In winter they spend their time in promenading,
clad in the richest OF fur coats, when they are
not in evening dress at supposititous parties or
receptions. 1t is the misfortune OF these per-
sons-for such chronic gorgeousness and ease
were never intended by nature to be the por-
ton of real human beings-that they are not
alive. They are merely dummies, set up in
window on Washington business street for
the purpose Of showing how far the costume
will go to make the man, no.with standing hack
neyed assertions to the contrary.
The first thing that strikes the casual observer
about these individuals is that they represent
distinctly foreign type. One might imagine
that they belonged to one OF the legations here.
They are palpably Frenchmen, which il very
natural, inasmuch ~ their heads We're made in
France. Their bodies were manufactured in
New York city. but art in this country has not
yet been applied successfully to the modelling
OF heads and hands for such dummies Accord
irgly these latter are imported from abroad.
1t is the same way with dolls. The heads are
cast in wax and painted in alleged FISH tints,
the hair being human. both that of the scalp
and the mustaches. Wax is likewise the nm
terial Of the hands, the original models for
which were cast from real hands, and the blue
veins are indicated with surprising fidelity by
lines drawn with the brush beneath the super
ficiai paint.
WHERE THE DUMMIES ARE MADE AND RoUGaT.
All things considered, it is net surprising that
the really costly parts Of a first-class lay figure
OF this description are the head and hands.
They are imported BY firm in New York city.
which makes dummies an important feature of
the supplies l: manufic cures and sells for the
purpose OF what is called window dressing"
The latter has come to be an art in thes sc days,
aud men who are expert in i. command vers
considerable saiarIes-as high 1t Is said sc, 900
u year. dummy OF the best make can be
purchased for Si25. 1t has ball-and-socke.
joints at the shoulders, hips, elbows, knees,
wrists and ankles. so that It c.n be placed in
any attitude that u real human being is capable
Of assuming.
This Is tbs price for adult dummies; children
similarly constructed cost less. However, for
most OF the purposes Of the shopkeeper who
employs such forms to show his good, less elab-
crate mlniklns serve we'll. For examine, to
display trousers only pair Of legs is required.
Thee are either In standing pose, with the
cally to- med attitude" The customer wants
to zee no. only how he will look when erect aad
stationary. hut also what the aspect of his lower
limbs will be when his admirers of the opposite
sex zee him approaching on tho street. Per-
sons who pretend to understand the sen tinaeatal
cast OF the female mind ASSERT that woman
impression of man is very largely modified by
the shape OF his lower limbs. bid ever any ono
know OF lady killer who was bowlegged!
VARIOUS SECTIONS REPRESENTED.
So the best dummies for legs are made in the
walking attitude. There are others which rep
re ent the upper part OF the masculine frame,
for only male lay figures nre spoken OF here, on
which shirts or coata may be shown. The new
est thing in thi. line Is a body aud legs which
may be used together or separately as happens
to be desired. The bodies OF the lay figure,
are composed Of papier mache, the arms and
legs are of wood and the fee. are Of iron, this
Las: for tho purpose OF giving them a strong
and heavy foundation to stand, upon. Asa
rule the trunks and lower limbs are clad tightly
IN jer5sy cloth. or coarse tho mlnikins are
dressed Just rs helpless people would be, their
shirts being pulled over their heads, their
trousers being drawn over their legs and but
toned and their toilet adjusted in all other re-
spects to suit propriety ss well as fashion.
THE WINDOW paxssEn's PETS.
The expert who dresses the show window in
which the four French gentlemen SO con-
stantly appear regards them all as personal
friends. taking the keenest interest in their well
fare, having always an anxious consideration
Tor the becomingness of their attire, and not
infrequently resorting to the paint pot for the
Improvement of their compIexions. Uufortu-
nately, they are not able to brush of any casual
Ny which may afight on their noses. and 1t ia
not possible to wash their faces with soap and
water when they are soiled. Wax, too, melts
readily, and care has to be taken that no direct
ray OF the sun shall strike them through the
glass. Such a misfortune occurred tbs other
day and the result wns that q rosy-cheeked boy
Of ten short winters and late spring who was
going 10 school with satahsl over his shoulder
q o'clock in the morning was taken out Of
the window ut pm. With his visage 80 dis
torted that he looked like victim OF goiter in
! an anatomical museum.
When the foreign gentlemen and relatives Of
theirs, juvenile and otherwise, are not on exhi-
biton their heads and hands are taken OF and
put In . cool place. The latter are very Rpt to
get broken, in which case little cement l. used
70 unite the psrts and vaFnish y put on with
goldep-haired child in kits was knocked over
bys careless customer, and his head wns 90
fractured all the way up the back that he win
not b OF any use in future.
=x9--s..s---.
u