The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-09-15
SHOPPERS MISS
MIRRORS IN
WINDOWS
Advancement In Decorating
Art AboIishes Former
Convenience

No longer do tousled shoppers
emerging from bargain--or ms
one disheveled participant said, a
scrimrnage-sale,a repair the dam.
age to complexion and toilette by
utilizing the show window as a
looking glass. At least not before
windows where reflections OF those
on the street have been dissipated
by Illuminating the inside Of the
window to an intensity Of light
lpproximating the daylight Of out
If doors.
For standing in front Of such
windows one can only look through
The glass, not at it--as IL 1t were
\ mirror. And proof that shoppers
appreciate this, even though at
he expense of losing their emer.
yency mirror, is furnished by the
astonishing increase in the number
that are intrigued to stop and
gaze into such windows.
BY over hundred carefully con.
ducted tests made by the Society
Of Illuminating Engineers, 1t has
been established that sufficient
additional illumination within a
display window will cause upwards
OF 70 per cent more passersby to
stop and peer into the window,
assuming the window to have been
no better lighted than the average
at the start.
Experts Use Light.
Window dressers who are expert
in thus making use Of light to
enhance their displays and attract
attention quite frequently, es.
pecially in the big cities. command
salaries as large as some bank
patronage Is at the root Of all this
advancement in lighting, is scarcely
aware of the tremendous potency
of light in attracting their atten.
ton and influencing their moods.
Yet increased illumination in
show windows frequently has been
the chief means and most potent
factor in Transforming an erstwhile
dead" side of a shopping street
into one OF throbbing activity. Pa
tronage has been drawn from one
side OF a street to the other oy
this device in many notable IT.
stances and the shopping habits
of the public altered accordingly
Prior to 1920 or thereabouts, the
| ordinary clear or white light in
gradually increasing intensities con
stituted the window dresser's chief
means of Turing peoples attention
| to his work. In many instances
| this illumination was crude and
garish. 1t was a glare of light
which attracted, only later to repel.
Ideal as a signal to shipwrecked
mariners perhaps. but a. little hard
on would-be customers eyes. Also
| 1t attracted attention to itself
rather than to the merchandise on
display.
Public Awakcs
Then along about 1920 the pub.
| lie awoke to the discovery that
shop windows of the most progress.
sive stores had suddenly become
works Of art Gowns. lingerie and
| luxuriously furnished home interiors
appeared lighted in delicate rose
and amber tints. Displays of sill
yer and nickel ware and winter
| backgrounds acquired added attrac-
| tiveness because of the presence q!
a cold blue light that automatically
put the observer in the proper
/ mood to appreciate the display. So
all along the line.
Then a couple of years later the
shopping public was given a new
| thrill by the introduction of spot
| lighting, in both clear white and
colors, for window displays. Many
were the Obs! and Abs! that
greeted the first displays II eve
ming gowns and the like seen by
the charmed radiance of colored
i spot lights.
Now the observant shopper who
finds pleasure in Analysing her
own emotions and seeking out their
mainsprfngs may expect to sense