The art of decorating dry goods windows and interiors

by L. Frank Baum

Some people have said that cheesecloth is not appropriate for backgrounds, and recommended richer fabrics. A few trimmers for large and wealthy concerns have obtained permission to use expensive drapery in the place of cheesecloth, and are covering their backgrounds with plushes, raw silks, satins and upholstery goods. These make the windows appear rich, but not especially attractive. They are stiff and unpliable and must hang loosely in draping. The risk of loss in soiling will not allow of using light colors, and the dark shades and figured goods soon become tame to the spectators. They are not nearly so effective a foil to merchandise as cheesecloth. Only the richest goods can be used with such backgrounds, for ordinary goods would look very cheap by comparison.

It is true cheesecloth is a flimsy, cheap material, looking very coarse upon close inspection, but it is an ideal cloth for decorations. It lends itself to puffing, pleating and all modes of draping with great pliability. It is made in every tint and color. It has a way of rendering itself unobtrusive while serving as a capital foil for almost any grade of merchandise. And it is cheap. Find any other material which has these qualifications, and trimmers will readily adopt it. Many houses cannot afford more expensive material. Cheesecloth has figured prominently in the evolution of show windows. Had merchants been forced to adopt a more expensive material for backgrounds and floor coverings, it is probable that many of them would not be decorating their windows even to-day.

Then, its bright and varied colorings allow of many combinations and perfect harmony. It makes a window attractive enough to stop pedestrians, who, glancing at the display, unconsciously note that the goods on exhibition are thrown prominently into the foreground, while the coloring that made them pause has modestly retired, and serves only as a foil for the articles of merchandise.

Jewelry, bric-a-brac and silverware assuredly need a richer background to display them harmoniously; but cheesecloth is appropriate for nine-tenths of the window trims throughout the country, and there is absolutely nothing to take its place.

FIREPROOF DECORATIONS.

Not infrequently we hear of a bad fire occasioned by draperies or decorations catching from a lighted match or other similar cause, the inflammable nature of the material used causing a rapid spread of flames and consequent damage to property. Whether this occasions great loss of life, as was the case at the great bazaar in Paris, or is a minor blaze, such as often occurs in a window when a lighted gas jet approaches too near the trimmings, such accidents are desirable to avoid.

Quite recently a method has been discovered of treating material used to decorate halls, booths and windows, which absolutely precludes the possibility of a blaze. The material is simply dipped into a solution of tungstate of soda and allowed to dry. Bunting, cheesecloth and other material so treated are slow burning when ignited, and never blaze up. Therefore they are easily extinguished and cannot readily set fire to woodwork or other substances. No hall or booth where people congregate should be decorated without using this simple and effective precaution against fire, and all loss in a show window may be avoided in like manner. The solution does not injure the fabric.

CHAPTER VII.
PLANNING A WINDOW.

There are two ways to plan a window. One is to draw on paper a diagram of your framework and lay out your plan as carefully as an architect will design a house. Another is to plan as you build, and gradually add to your window until it is completely trimmed. Both ways are practiced by the best trimmers, and each method has been defended by its votaries as the best.

At first thought it would seem best to make a plan of your window, but sometimes it will not look as well when completed as the plan would seem to indicate. And, again, if you build up a window without any forethought, it is just as liable to be a disappointment as a success. Perhaps it is best to have some plan formulated if only in your mind, and then work as closely to it as your window and your material will allow. If you see a chance to improve it as you work, you may easily do so. Often I have carefully thought out a window, and, after fairly starting, changed its plan by degrees until it was totally different from what I had first intended.