The Washington herald., 1920-11-18
SMART SHOPS,
| SMART TRICKS
.Suave Clerks, Sleek Man
ners, and, They Do Get
Your Money.
ny o. o. MINTYRE.

NEW YORK, Nov. T.-Those
smartly upholstered shops catering
to the vanity of man and dotting
the side streets running of either
side of Fifth avenue seem to have
the stage set for every customer. A
man may enter to purchase a scarf
and come out In a haze of bcwilder-
ment with the realization that he
has spent several hundreds OF doll
ldrs.
Suave clerks with drawing room
manners and tmpeccable styles in
dress are in waiting. But hrst the
customer is met by an oyerlord, q
uper-fioorwalker. who bows with
an art that tssonly acquired in del
sarte schools, He inquiries the wants
then turns the customer over TO the
salesman.
II the customer asks to see q
scarf and shows q preference for
one pattern he Is asked, as 10 It was
nothing. II he cares to have the en-
tire set of dozen made up or just
trial order" of half dozen. The
poor boob generally falls for the
entire lot. How do l know? None
OF your business.
And then there is the refined way
of inquiring about ones wants In
underwear. Coming from a COM
munity where one is not necessarily
churched for inquiring for a certain
sized shirt or drawers, II IL sur
prising how mean and small you
feel to ask for underwear and have
the clerk look amazed. And then
"oh. you mean nether-w
Then the department of morning
RAl. =
lation. Salmon pink. orchid timed
mauve and various other colors that
speak OF the morning dew and the
sun family aslant the stately elms.
There are no robes for the fat" and
stout" but many, as, Is the genteel
way OF putting IT,. FOR those ''oi
somewhat generous outline"
The clerks have a way of paint
Ing halo about a sock Certainly
there is nothing about a sock to In
spire the wearer. But the clerk
first places black velvet mat under
light that gives the light of day
and then brings a pair Of sox al
time. commenting upon their tex
ture, their sheen and even the con-
tour. And before one has left he
has probably fallen for having his
sox monogrammed Then he spends
days of terror fearing his friends
will hear about Il!
The American rush to Paris. the
craze for amusement and the gen.
eral gayety in the French capital
following the war have provided a
rich field for several New York
amusement promoters. Henry Pill.
Ger. the East Side dancing partae,
of Gaby Deslys. and Gilbert Miller
son OF Henry Miller, the actor, have
opened up a replica of the Midnight
Frolic a la Zie-feld and are reported
to be coming money with il. Charles
Cochran. the London promoter. ID
over here trying TO take entir,
theatrical companies to Paris and
London. Every boat leaving New
York carries a flock of stage folk
who are being offered fabulous sal.
aries. and with the prospect of q
dull theatrical year here the chang,
is nightly welcomed.
Twilight in Central Park has in
spired countless poets-but aftel
twilight it is getting a bit danger
Gus. A nice young man and
stranger fen in with two younl
ladies on Broadway and II was sug
| gested that the Park would be
wonderful place from which to eaz,
at the moon. They sat on the bench
II looked like an ideal autupnal
| idyll. One of the young ladies sug.
| Gested that he remove his hat. bet
/ ter to drink the beautiful scenes
! He did. And the moon went out
He awakened an hour later strippe,
of his valuables and about all tha
remained of the magic moments
was an ache that his head couI,
hardly hold. 1t developed that
twelve young romanticists have me
the same fate.