New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-07-23
New Styles Urged
By Producers to
Avoid Reductions
Seek to Get Away From Com
parison by Public With
Present Prices; Shoes to
Undergo Great Changes

Manufacturers of cottons. silks, wool
ems, shoes, apparel and other articles
that are in common use by people in
their daily lives are endeavoring to
bring out new styles of merchandise
in an effort to stimulate business.
There are several reasons working to-
ward this development, which is be-
ginning to become apparent as new
lines of merchandise for fall and spring
are being opened for inspection of
the buyers for jobbing and retail es-
Establishments.
One of the most potent reasons for
a radical change in styles for the fall
season, according to prominent manu-
facturer of women's shoes, in which
the style change is most marked, is
the possibility it possesses for upset
ting the calculations of the public,
which is beginning to figure retail
values upon the basis of present cut
prices.
"The war. with it's restrictions on
the use of materials in many lines,
he said, together with the wild scram-
BILE for merchandise following the armi-
stice during which manufacturers could
sell all the goods they could turn out,
regardless of styles, has produced a
surfeit Of shoes, clothes, fabrics, ETC.,
d
The public has seen values in these
lines drop considerably in the retail
esta Adjustments they patronize.
although there have been some re-
auctions in raw material costs, labor
is still high and in some measure off,
sets these declines. All in all, it APP
pears impossible, from the manufac-
turing standpoint, to produce new
goods at price that will enable the
retailer to continue offering merchan-
disc to the public on the price basis
established in the last three months.
If there is to be an upward trend in
the public will balk at paying more
for the same thing that has been Of
fer ed to them so freely during the
present summer. The only thing to do
is to bring out something entirely new,
for which there can be no basis of
price comparison in the public mind
AS a result of this trend many shoe
manufacturers in Lynn. Mass, have
turned to French patterns for their
fall models. The French patterns
have been adapted to the slen-
lar 342 inch vamp. The "pluggy"
effect of the French last has been elm
mated, but the variety of stitching,
underlays, cut-outs, etc, which has
characterized the "dressmade" shoes of
PARIS, has been copied. The making
of dressy shoes is new development
in tho Lynn section, where production
heretofore has been along fairly staple
Sines. Openfront and cut-out boot
models are being shown with a variety
of fastenings, such as fancy tabs and
buttons, buckles and ribbon }aces. A
few manufacturers have gone to the
extreme in boot heights and have de-
veloped 10-inch tops with irregular or
broken lines.
One of the speakers at the meeting
of dress fabric jobbers this week limited
a new development in woolens, some
thing which we have never seen be-
fore" The new lines of cotton wash
goods for spring, 1921, now being
shown by converters here. contain fab
rics of fancy weave and design, en-
tirely different from the patterns dis
played last year.
The struggle to produce something
new has only begun, in the opinion OF
manufacturers in various lines. and
while some worthy products will re-
suit and gain popular favor, it is also
expected, in the light of past expert
ences, that many freaks" will result