The Daily Missoulian., 1912-08-07
Modern Window Dressing

| side. tho one who had been standing
to exhibit the style retired, to he dis
robcd and enjoy brief rest period,
and the third one entered the window
and acted as lay figure for another
demonstration Of draping. Managed
In this way. the task Of standing was
not arduous for any one of the models
ard the window dresser was so en-
thuslastic over the effects that the
use of live models is To bc one OF the
topics discusse dat the Chicago cons
veniion. VsvV
! In a large New York store living
models were used at a recent opening.
They appeared not only In the win
dows but walked through the show
rooms of the store There were about
dozen young women employed In
this manner Each was dressed In
some imported confection and they
formed slow procession walking
across the show windows and down
the showroom from whore they passed
into the dressing room to change their
costumes, In this way nearly 200
gowns could he exhibited to the pub
lie In the most effective way possible
by showing their actual appearance
when being worn. The windows kept
crowd In front OF them throughout
the day and the window dresser was
most gratificd with the experiment.
While II might seem hard task for
the models. II II really less arduous
than the long hours of standing. often
In almost the same position. for tho
fitting of suits and cloaks In large
manufacturing establishments.
The back grounds for tho window
decorations are n most important
matter calling for no small amount of
artistic skill. Frequently window
scenery is painted more carefully than
for the scenery OF a theatcr. In the
spring a spring landscape often is re-
auired while In the winter good re-
scnblancc of frost and snow must be
produced as "A back ground for furs
and winter clothing Sometimes the
effect of several rooms is produced as
back ground for furniture. Tn
June. a popular feature IL a wedding
scene and frequently this exhibition
VIII represent thousands of dollars Of
expense. OF course every store at
christmas gives various scenes from
the life and activities of Santa Claus
ana each must possess some original
touch from the window dresser.
Tho prime object of the window
dresser Is To help sell the goods IN
the store and however effective and
artistic the design. II js of no value
II II does not In some way secure this
result. During the dull season, a
clever window dresser will often bring |
sfut,In nrti Ia.
mand by his window exhibition. One |
of the clcverest designs Of this kind |
on record showed n saw horse, several !,
buck saws, a collection OF axes and |
hatchets, a pile of railroad ties and an
other pile of neatly split wood. A
large card In the window bore the |
following words: you need kindling |
wood Your boy needs exercise and |
we are prepared to supply you with !
both at low cost. We win sell you
one of these railroad ties for s cents
and will give you more kindling
wood than you gould buy for dol
lar. Our hardware department will |
supply you with the needed tools at |
low price. Let your boy develop his !
muscle for the good OF his home" The |
sales of the tools for wood cutting |
during the next week exceeded thnt OF |
any month In the history of the store |
and while the load OF old railroad ties |
secured for the purpose were sold at |
cost the profits upon the hardware
more than compensated.
The window dresser nut be an ex- |
pert at designing attractive signs and |
price cards as these enter largely into |
the value of his decoration schemes. |
The schools give special instruction |
In these matters and there are In
Vulnerable helps being placed upon the |
market In the way of extra brushes,
new colors. and endless varieties of |
papers and cardboards A certain |
knowledge Of construction IL also nee
essary. One window in n large store
at the beginning of the season repre-
sented tier Of boxes In the opera. |
These had to he constructed as cheap
~ ms poss" md at the same time |
be stro"~ to sustain the weight |
OF III lied figures OF men and |
women who were occupying them and |
exhibiting the latest and most ef-
fective ideas In evening tollcttes.