Business owners offhandedly call it window dressing, but it's more like the haute couture of merchandising.

An attractive store window not only attracts casual passersby, it also attracts serious buyers. Some Cape Girardeau retailers have perfected the art over generations of styles. Others, like Curious Goods' attention-grabbing groupings on Broadway, are more recent additions to the city's shopping environment.

The "curb appeal" of window displays is an important part of retailing, said Dr. Paula King, chairperson of the Human Environmental Studies Department at Southeast Missouri State University.

King, who teaches a display design class at the university, said size doesn't matter. Whether it's a huge double window display at Cast-A-Ways downtown or just a small display space at Westfield Shoppingtown, it's what's up front that counts.

"We start out with small displays in our display design class," said King. "Later in the course, students go into the community and create displays for merchants."

Students in her class include those involved in fashion merchandising, interior design and even historic preservation, King said.

Window displays, like everything else in merchandising, have changed dramatically over the years, she added.

"Large display windows have become a thing of the past," King said. "Merchants usually figure their profits on square footage and can't afford to give up selling space for big displays."

But many of Cape Girardeau's retail stores still create large and often dazzling window displays. Hecht's at 107 N. Main St. has been displaying its wares to the public for more than 80 years in three large, architecturally interesting windows.

"Our decorators and window trimmers always have something pretty and eye-catching in the window," said Marty Hecht, chairman of the board of Hecht's Stores. "The windows change with the seasons and with the styles. It's not surprising to see people lingering at the windows just about any time of day."

And having the right display can make the difference between a shopper continuing down the street or stopping to buy.

"We definitely sell out of the window," said Rosetta Colley, who owns Brick Street Gallery of antiques and collectibles at 5 N. Main St. She has been working with window displays more than 20 years and is the most recent winner of Old Town Cape's new Glass Act window decorating award.

Old Town Cape is a non-profit group established to promote downtown Cape Girardeau.

"I'm an artist, so working with window displays is a natural for me," Colley said. "Just as you do with a painting or anything involving art, it's important to come up with an arrangement and composition."

Anything goes

New fashions, antiques and everything in between can make a good window display, as demonstrated by Ella Dowd, owner of the Cast-A-Ways consignment store at 502 Broadway. She said she watches the trends and builds around them in her two big windows.

All merchandise used in the displays is at the store on consignment.

"We make do with what we have. Our goal is to try to keep the windows decorated and looking good," Dowd said. "I pay attention to the newspaper. I note the trends and go along with what's in at a particular time."

Stores at Cape Girardeau's Westfield Shoppingtown use displays in a number of ways, said Joyce Hunter, marketing director at Westfield Shoppingtown. Many of the mall stores are corporate-owned, and display decorations are determined at the corporate level. Regionally owned stores tend to create their own original displays.

One of those is American Country Home Decor. Barbara Bender of Cape Girardeau, a partner in the business with Chuck Medlock of Farmington, Mo., masterminds displays for the store. They currently include an autumn look in one window and a nostalgic John Deere theme in another.

One of the most unique window displays is at Curious Goods. It features two mannequins, one taking a bath in an antique wash tub and the other washing clothes.

"We used the display in our We're Cleaning Up Our Act' ad campaign," said Charles Kent, owner of Curious Goods, an antique and collectibles store.

"More people than you think window shop," he said. "Designing a window takes time, effort and thought, but it can generate business."

Kent is chairman of the committee that selects the Glass Act award winner each month. It was established to encourage decorating of store windows. The contest, now in its second month, has been well received, said Catherine Dunlap-Stock, executive director of Old Town Cape.

Patricia Ann's Gift Shop, 130 N. Main St., was the first winner. Brick Street Gallery currently displays the handsome stained-glass traveling trophy.

rowen@semissouri.com