The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1922-09-15
FANTL EXPERT
ON ALL STYLES
Spends Large Sum Every
Day as Resident
Buyer.
Ry EDWARD M. rHlERRY

BY EDWARD M. THlERRY
NEW YORK, Sept. 15.-There
Is man In New York who knows
what you are going to wear before
you wear 1t, who buys It SO that
you can buy 1t, who knows what
you like and don't like before you
do-who keeps about two Jumps
ahead Of your pocketbook and
your taste in styles.
He is Alfred Fantl. He spends
more than $1,00010O a day as
resident buyer of several hundred
department stores and specially
shops scattered over the United
State. He ought to be-and is
an expert on styles.
Extremely long skirts ara
merely a brief fad. Skirts are
getting shorter again-the proper
length will be about nine inches
from the ground.
Women can't wear long dresses
with bodied hair.
"Bobbed hair Is here to stay;
switches now being sold are only
temporary.
"The day of the pettlcoat and
shirtwalst Is over permanently.
Modern dancing has taken the
steel out. of corsets.
Earrings will be popular 4
long time. Few women know how
to choose the correct Earrings;
short ones are the better.
Dresses with capes and coats
have the call over suits"
Fantl says he knows these
things, Just as he knows about
prosperity and dull times-by the
temper Of the enormous buying
public he represents.
With a corps Of expert buyers,
Fantl has an organization thai
directly or indirectly handled
SAIL, 100000 In merchandise pur-
chased last year. HIS own buyer,
alone bought $50. 100000 worth, In
addition to tho purchasing power
the organization represents
when you buy for retail stores
you have your finger on the pub
lies prosperity pulse" says FAINT
Resident buying is a new busl-
ness, development OF the last
few years.
More and more merchants are
coordinating their buying, close.
ly following our system In which
tho enormous purchasing mower
Of chain store method cuts down
costs. -
Fantl predicts a steady decrease
Of retail prices during the next
five years. He says business con-
ditlons throughout the country
are improving. with only sporadic
injury from the coal and railroad
strikes.
People are down to q better
merchandising level" he said
During our war prosperity We
bad a luxury splurge; now there
is a larger luxury class, and csr
tain thi2gs that used to be luxur.
les are now considered necessities
such as silk stockings-bat gen
orally people are buying a better
class Of goods"
,Ntnety-fIve per cent Of the
goods Fantps corps buys is fol
women. Here's the way he divides
up the buying dons by women.
40 per. cent dry goods, cottor
goods and piece goods.
10 per cent hosiery ana under
wear.
40 rer cont ready-tO-wear cloth
is per cent notions and fame,
GGahs.
styles come and go in cycles
SAP. Fantl. ut IS almost n:alhS
nat.ta calculation. Different
CITIES ave dift ron signs that II :
dicate the passing # an oil st?le
:ha taking up Of new ore first
by what we call Class A stylists
tho advent Of mass buying In this
style, the progress OF the CLASH 4
woman to something new, and &C
on.
MEMS styles change very little
though there are fads. Men are
vain enough. but one Of their bis
troubles is that they know little
about color combinations.
"The vainest woman Is the
stout woman. Women generally
are going to cling to bobbed hail
and short skirts because these
things add to their youth and
looks; they will prevail no mat
ter what manufacturers try to sci
them"
Fantl is Sc and came to Amer.
lea from Czccho-slovakia 81 years
ago. He served a long appren-
ticeship In department stotts and
was one OF the pioneers in resi-
dent buying. He regards is as i
science as well as a business.
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