Of recent years there has been a tendency to press into the service of this class of work devices of a mechanical character. While the mechanical centrepiece, or figure, has always been a popular novelty in window dress ing, it is possible to carry this taste for mechanism too far. Certain mechanical devices for window displays have been so amusing that they have concentrated the attention of the public exclusively on the device without reminding them of the existence of the speciality. The best rule to observe in calling in the aid of mechanical, scenic, and lighting effects is to consider the broad question, Do they emphasise the subject of the show, or do they override and dwarf it by their own intrinsic interest ? All window attractions should serve to throw up the goods displayed and focus the eye of the public upon them, and fixtures should never be allowed to occupy the centre of interest.
The whole cost of these displays is usually borne by the house 'interested in the specialities they advertise, and they provide all the necessary fixtures for showing their specialities in the complete window form. These include the right kind of fittings for effective grouping, the necessary drapery and the appropriate background. Window display of this character, carried on extensively, is by no means a cheap adjunct to the publicity department. But there is no doubt, as a supplemental scheme to a general scheme of publicity, the practical experience of firms engaged in such work shows that it gives a handsome return. See SHOP DEMONSTRATIONS.
WINDOW-DRESSING.—For some years now up-to-date traders have realised the value of window-dressing in retail enterprise, but though some of the most eminent firms of retailers have seen its advantages, the tendency. to excellence is by no means general. The business expert lays particular stress on window-dressing from the advertising point of view, and there can be no doubt that he is right. The value of a window in a crowded thorough fare, past which thousands of people must go each day, cannot be over estimated ; whether the window be in Oxford Street, or in one of the other great shopping centres in London, or whether it be in the main street of a great provincial city, or even when it is in the central street of a thriving country town, the potential value of a window is a matter of great moment to the trader who occupies it. This is almost an elementary factor in business conduct, and yet one can go through the main London streets, the main street of a provincial city, or the main street of a thriving town or suburb, and find that only one or two traders make the most of their windows, while the street is lined with displays which demand no particular attention, the work of traders who do not realise a fraction of their possible value. From the advertising point of view it should be remembered that
while advertising itself can almost compel people to visit a certain shop or business premises, when they do arrive there they largely judge the shop by its outward appearance. Nor should it be forgotten that there are thousands of people who do not see advertisements, or would not be influenced by them, constantly passing up and down the street, who are susceptible to impressions from the window itself.
To-day increasing attention is being paid to the shop window, a fact which is largely due to the way store competition has been quickened up. The big store nowadays makes the most of its windows, and even goes so far as to employ a staff to fill them artistically. As years go on the window is changing, and to-day there is a distinct tendency towards an elegant simplicity which was not a feature of most window displays even a few years ago. Certain traders 'have' demonstrated that the window can be made a most practical selling force, and there are even traders who depend on the window show as the only selling factor in their business. To a draper who wishes to see first-class window display the work done by the dressers at Selfridge's new store is a happy object lesson. The old-fashioned draper was fully alive to the value of his window, and did not hesitate to make use of it, but judged by the newer idea he made too much use of it. He was too apt to crowd it with the best of his things or the choicest of his bargains, his great aim being to get as much into the space as he could display. As a result, one found drapers' windows, fifteen or twenty five feet •high, packed from floor to what represented the ceiling, and a full half of the goods would be so high that they were outside the average vision of the pedestrian who casually inspected them. To-day this tendency is being considerably revolutionised. The modern trader does not seek to crowd his window and make its dressing a problem as to how much he can get into it, and he is less and less inclined to display goods very much above the level of the eyes of the passer-by.