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[This is the second of three articles in the February 1952 edition of the trade magazine Fashions & Fabrics.]

 

Towards MORE PROGRESSIVE corsetry selling

FOR EXAMPLE: WHICH WAY IN DISPLAY POLICY?

 

Bourne & Hollingworth

Traditional Display Window

Two schools of thought, more and more divergent, seem to be developing in regard to corsetry display policy. One, which is perhaps best typified by the traditional Bourne & Hollingsworth window technique illustrated here (and also by Jax, Etam and many of the multiple stores) is best described as "pavement pre-selection." It shows the merchandise in wide variety, as close as is reasonable, and clearly priced. The other technique, advocated in part by the writer of the accompanying article, involves a closer link between the corsetry and fashion displays, and the greater exploitation of specialised selling features in the particular corset features.

 

Here is a sobering thought indeed for the corset trade. On the one hand, probably eight women out of ten who come into the corset department are women with a real, definite corset problem - whether they fully realise it or not - and they usually have at least the subconscious knowledge that all is not well with their corseting. On the other hand, far too many women (including some of these eight-out-of-ten) are a generation out of date as to what modern corsetry is and what it can do. Some of them even are still wedded to an ancient belief that corsetry actually harms the figure. They remember the heavily boned corsetry which was the only type available until comparatively recently, and they still feel that the figure is made to fit the corset, and not the other way about.

How can these customers be drawn into the department? How can they be made to feel that modern corsetry can preserve their figures, correct faults, and give maximum comfort ? Most women take time and care in selecting a new hat, coat, suit or dress. They must be made to feel that their foundation garments can only be chosen with the same care and forethought.

The ideal corset department is still a dream of the future, but every day corset manufacturers are producing new ideas, and the retailer is the middleman who must get these ideas over to the public. How often one hears the complaint "We are continually experimenting, but what good is it if the public never hears of the results ?" Store directors and merchandise managers are scared of this exclusively feminine department, and the corsetry buyer must make it her responsibility to see that the public are made aware of the tremendous importance of her department.

Perhaps the first step towards making women more corset-conscious can be by greater co-operation between corsetry and fashion departments. Every customer in the fashion departments needs to be told that her new purchase will only be perfect over the right foundation garment. Maybe she can be told that with the right corsetry she could take a dress a size smaller. The fashion departments must play their part in sending women through to the corsetry section of a store, but the corset buyer, too, must give closer attention to the ever-changing fashion line. She must be ready to supply the under-pinnings for any whim of fashion - the "waspie" corset, the plunging brassiere, the halter brassiere, and a dozen other novelty styles. The corsetry manufacturers are modern and go-ahead in their ideas ; they will experiment, and so must the buyer.

Store fashion parades, too, can play their part in making women corset-conscious. A fashion parade can be preceded by a parade of the corsetry worn by the mannequins, or the under - and outer - garments can be shown side by side. Again, the regular fashion and corset windows need a "link-up," and any new fashion line promoted in the store should be shown, both in the window and in interior displays, beside its appropriate corsetry silhouette.

Is it too much to hope that in the corset department of the future all garments will be sold by fitting only A woman never buys a pair of shoes without fitting, yet she will buy a corset or brassiere without any thought of fitting. Too often the salesgirl is eager to catch another customer, or she may be working on a commission basis, and she just doesn't bother to insist, tactfully, that the garment would be more satisfactory if correctly fitted. Often, too, the customer is adamant. She has seen a certain garment advertised or in the window display, and is determined to have it regardless of its effect on her figure.

The duties of the corsetry saleswoman are great, but her responsibilities are greater. She has in her the power to make or mar a customer's health, and she has the power to make friends for her department and for her store. She must realise that in those eight cases out of ten many customers do not know what is wrong with them. The fitter must take the responsibility of choosing the right garment, and be able to persuade the customer that her judgment is correct.

The promotion of a corset wardrobe is another way of bringing extra sales to a department. Again co-operation with the fashion departments is essential, and promotion on price may be an important factor in encouraging young people to buy more than their basic corsetry needs. It must be impressed upon the customer that she needs corsetry to suit the occasion, for sportswear and for evening wear, as well as day wear.

Returns in the corsetry department must be reduced to a minimum. One of the most frequent causes of complaint is the lack of laundering details. Too often a customer will wash her corset or brassiere carelessly, and expect the store to take the blame. In a department where so many fabrics are unfamiliar to the public, it is essential that their care should be clearly explained, if necessary with a printed folder. Such service will help immeasurably to build up the goodwill of the department.

Personal service is the essence of a successful corsetry department. When a woman is buying such intimate apparel, she wants to feel she is receiving the best possible advice and help. She must have perfect confidence in a salesgirl who will sell her a garment which is not necessarily the most expensive, but is the right one for her figure. Special orders are always an annoyance in a busy department, but a customer who receives this extra help will return again and again to the department that has served her well. Give your salesgirls a sense of pride in their work, and make them feel that they are helping their customers to become not only more beautiful but more healthy.

44

Fashions and Fabrics, February 1952

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