Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-19
The HQSkin Letter 81 r : 2ss2"
WAX LADIES AND WINDOW DISPLAYS.

Washington. d. c., Aug. 16:--Have
you noticed the wax ladies' in the shop
windows lately? That is really a trick
question, because the wax LADIES' take
a long vacation every year; Beng
was they simply cannot stand the mo-
summer sun for any length OF time.
But when YOU do see the patricians
of the show windows on display again
take a hard look at them. Ten to ope
they are entirely different from your
mental picture of a typical wax model
The fact is the typical wax model
with its saccharine smile. its baoy dol
expression. and it's eyelashes thick as
tooth brushes, is now declasse. In lts
place has come a wax figure that is
still sweetly beautiful, but much more
human looking. Each one has the PINK
cheeks and ruby lips that come out OF
q bottle for wax as well as huma1
faces. But each figure is modelled
from life. as a statue is and the fea-
lures of the model are faithfully re-
produced. One figure offered to the
display men this year is a wax bathing
beauty modelled from a champion
swimmer with Mary Pickford curls:
In the property room of a big de,
partment store a score or more OF
these highest types of waxen pulchrl-
tude may be seen. In one small case
a window trimmer pointed out about
$1,000 worth of wax.
There was one head Of a Spanish
type of beauty. This wax lady would
rank high in any beauty contest, and
dressed in an expensive frock she
would undoubtedly be a triumph. Yet
she had rather strong features, n a
nose that was a trifle irregular when
| viewed at close range.
Her neighbor in the case wore gray
hair to represent a woman of about
50 years. This matron was even more
unusual for a wax figure than the
black haired debutante. She had the
perfect complexion and the elaborate
couture of a carefully groomed society
woman. But she also had two distinct
chins, and there were ridges on the
sides of the nose where eye glasses
bad pressed against the bridge. This
model usually wears glasses when she
appears in public to show how a ma
ture woman should look at a bridge
party or on A motor trip.
Other types that rubbed armless
shoulders in the case were a short
haired high school girl. a curly haired
little girl. and a young man with fea-
lures that any movie hero might envy.
All the figures. however. were life
like. Some had even been given ex-
pressions suggesting intelligence.
Cold Also Bothers Them
Between appearances and in very
hot weather the heads of the depart
ment store wax works spend their
at an ever temperature. The wax
models are ~exacting in their choice
of climate. Extreme cold is as fatal
to their delicate constitutions as ex-
IRENE heat. They cannot be put in
cold storage lest the wax crack.
In spite of their sensitiveness to
climate the models are almost always
dressed unseasonably. If you are an
habitual window shopper you know
that the poor things blossom forth in
Palm Beach sport clothes and bathing
Futis after Christmas, regardless of
the snow that may be piled around the
window.
In blustrey March the models hurry
into summer clothes, and when the
weather is just cool enough to be safe
for a wax complexion they have to put
on winter overcoats and furs.
Being a wax beauty is a hard life
with no rewards. With all of her
charms. a wax lady is merely a clothes
rack. She must be beautiful merely
because if she were homely the
passerby would notice her defects and
ridicule her instead of studying the
clothes she wears. Her well groomed
beauty makes her an unobtrusive part
of the picture. and the shoppers, who
know that the dress is the thing to
look at. see the wearer of the fine
feathers only vaguely.
The property room, where the wax
models stay when they are off duty.
is an interesting part of q department
store rarely seen by shoppers. This
room. on the top floor or in some
out of the way part of the establish
ment, is like a glimpse behind the
seem in a theater. AS a matter of
fact. the display windows really are
draperies and other properties similar
to those used in the theater.,
One main difference is that in show
windows the touches that make one
inhabited room unlike another are
rarely used. The little things that lend
realism to a stage scene would dis
trict the attention Of window shop
pers from the articles featured in the
display.
Another difference between the
theatrical stage and the shop window
stage is hat the shop windows are
subjected to close scrutiny. Flowers
used for window decoration are usu-
ally silk whore for theatrical %
cheaper and more durable materials
might be used.
Properties for Show Windows
Special firms make properties for
shop windows. All sorts of ingenious
ceded to them the day they walked