Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1904-08-25
BUYERS MOSTLY WOMEN.

BUYERS MOSTLY WOMEN.
Principal Customers in Mems Fur.
I nishing Stores Clerks Dread
Their Approach.
Women used TO go past the atsles
where mems furnishings were sold,
with timid steps and averted eyes. At
Christmas time they did grow bold
enough to advance in schools on the
neckwear and muff1er counters and
/ make splendid spoil of all grades and
styles, but during the rest of the year
the aisles of the mems furnishing de-
partment echoed only to the voices of
men or perhaps occasionally to the
thick, sweet tones Of, some old-fash-
toned house mother who was bent on
taking good care Of cher man."
All this is changed now, says the
Chicago Tribune. Women are fast be-
coming the principal buyers in this
department. More than half the GUS
toners are women and their number
is increasing every day. The increas-
! ing dependence of great numbers Of
! people on charge accounts encourages
women to buy for the entire house,
, hold, including their men folks. Then
| women have more time as rule In
which to do shopping and certainly
in a general way women know more
about shopping than men do.
The clerks dread the approach of
woman in the mems furnishing de-
partment. When a woman leads her
husband up to the nechwear counter
with the triumphant intention written
! large on her face Of buying him an
"arristic'' tie, the salesman Is apt to
sigh and square his shoulders for hard
work.
Perhaps the man will pick out a
nice black satin with big red polka
dots on it and then his wife will say:
20, John, red is so common! This
black and white is more refined look
ing. Don't you think so?"
Or perhaps she will insist on having
the clerk examine the thread of green
in her husbands coat sleeve. II want
q gros grain four-in-hand just the
color of that" she announces The
clerk shudders. He must match that
wooden thread in silk tie! Only q
woman ever sets clerk such a task as
that.
The man who comes in with his wife
/ to buy tie is really a victim. He al
most invariably gives up his own
choice and buys what pleases his wife.
Once in awhile a man will assert him
self so far to refuse to buy anything,
| leaving the counter with the remark:
"I'll come back when my wife isn't
along and pick out something" It is
q rare man, indeed, who actually buys
tie that his wife frankly disapproves
! of-that is, while she stands at his ell
bow eXpostulating.
One woman whose husband thinks
he couldn't buy tie without her real
~ doesn't know at all what Is becom-
ing or suitable 4or her husband, but as
she relies on the salesman she gets the
credit of buying all her husbands sue
cessful ties. But it is rare woman
who does not use her prerogative
when she gets chance.
Women who come in alone to buy
mems furnishings usually know what
they want and make good selections.
Once in awhile a woman tries to buy
underwear without knowing what size
she wants; some of them seem to
think the clerk can tell them the size
of mans shirt by his weight or his
age or even the color of his hair.
There is one counter where the
woman who doesn't quite know what
she wants Is welcome-at the neck
wear counter. She, wants "gentle-
mans tie," but she doesn't know
whether it is for morning wear or
evening, puff or string. She is
really the salesman's delight, for he is
sure to sell her something. Ninety-nine
times out Of hundred even the most
inexperienced clerk succeeds. All he
has to do is to fix her preference. The
woman they all dread is the one who
has her mind all made up to find some
impossible combination of color, style
and material.
But the woman who draws all eyes
Is the young bride. She bushes. She
Is shy, uncertain. She, is buying 'un-
derwear or hosiery for her. husband for
the first time, and whether she is
, proud of the privileges or really pain
fully embarrassed, she is equally in
teresting. OF course, the clerks make
believe they think she is an old hand
at buying masculine attire, although
she is too preoccupied to perceive
their covert looks of amusement. Be-
sides being interesting she is a good
customer from a practical point Of
view, for she usually buys what the
clerk recommends. 49,.
u, The Japanese Baby.
Babies in Japan are carried on the
backs of their mothers, much as the
frIion ho hioo uporo oorr3aH IN tho dove