Window into the world of retail merchandising

At Macy's in Downtown Crossing, Chuck Connors has a half-dozen types of mannequins to work with for window displays, ranging from real looking ones in flesh tones to abstract ones painted silver. (George Rizer/Globe Staff)

When Chuck Connors works on a Macy's window display, the mannequins might need a little help - if it's a bad hair day, he adds a wig; if the clothes aren't hanging quite right, he rearranges the fabric with pins.

As a window dresser and the director of visual merchandise for the Downtown Crossing department store, he uses a glue gun, hair spray, and brush as tools of his trade, as well as six to eight pins always tacked to his shirt.

Connors, who has been in the visual merchandising trade for almost 30 years, worked his way up to this flagship store in Boston, and now oversees the in-store presentations as well as outside displays. Connors didn't want to specify a salary range for his position, but many experienced visual merchandisers earn around $42,000, according to Salary.com.

So if I'm walking down Washington Street and look at the window display, what part of it shows your talents?
Recently we had a garden theme, and it was my idea to use big 8-feet-tall frames with topiary wrapped around them. I bought the box of greenery and we made them in the back of the store. Another time we had a cruise theme, and we used huge disks in neon colors, the same colors as the clothes in the windows. For Earth Day, we had live flowers in one window. Right now, we're featuring an urban jungle theme.

What was the most unusual idea that you've ever had?
I had to come up with displays for a safari theme. I purchased metal flashing by the roll - it's the stuff that you use to shingle roofs. We contoured it to the shapes that we wanted. It looked like big silver sculptures, but it was actually material from Home Depot.

Have you ever had merchandise stolen from the windows?
No, but we worry about that happening, especially when we're using loaned items, like the valuable quilts from the Smithsonian that we displayed for Black History Month.

How often do you change the displays?
Christmas stays in the window from early November to January, but otherwise we change the windows every month. Inside the store changes more frequently, maybe twice a week.

Who decides what the mannequins wear?
Macy's corporate office in New York gives us directives and trend reports, and we base our displays on that. For example, it might be the season of the jacket and wide leg pants.

Those mannequins can look awfully real.
We have six or seven different mannequins that we use only for the windows; some of them are realistic, with eyelashes and flesh tone, others are abstract, like white and silver.

I saw a dress that I liked in the window, can I try it on?
You're not alone in asking about window display items. We get 15-20 calls a day from customers who have seen something in the window they want. They ask if the clothes can be taken off the mannequins and purchased. We accommodate them whenever possible. And for people who are wondering, the mannequins wear size 4 or 6.

What advice would you give to someone who wanted to get into this field?
The best way to get into retail merchandising is to get a job in a store and see what it's all about. There's a lot more involved than you think, including a lot of heavy work, taking props out of the storage area, moving fixtures, and more. You don't necessarily need a degree in fashion, but it probably helps. I studied fashion merchandising at Rhode Island College.

You must be quite the fashionista yourself.
Well, our company dress code is black, so one-third of my closet is black.

Do you ever find yourself talking to the mannequins?
If I ever did talk to the mannequins, it's a good thing that they don't talk back.