Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1873-11-20
borrowed Plumage--Renting Dresses
in New York.

in New York.
The New York Sun publishes report
Of an interview held with a lady engaged
in the business of renting dresses.
~ am the inventor Of this business,'
che said "If you know anything about
women. YOU know that the most of them
have not only passion for dress, but a
weakness for novelty. The woman with
oue calico dress wants two, and the wo-
man with ten silks wants eleven. The rule
Is good with the owners of the most com
nlete wardrobe Another thing you may
not know-women don't like to wear the
same dress to more than one or two par
ties in one season. Now, it is upon these
female characteristics that thrive. You
would naturally guess that only poor la
dies hire dresses; but that isn't SO. Rather
the reverse is the case. A good many of
nv callers ride within few blocks of
here in their carriages, and walk the bal
ance of the way. 1t wouldn't do, bless
YOU, to be caught hiring dress; but l
can assure you that many borrowed one
is worn at fashionable gatherings. Some
times, 100, lady from out of town wants
to 20 to party or to the opera. She has
only travelling dress with her, and Dor
rowed finery is her only recourse. The
business, however, is not only confined to
renting party dresses. There is an occa-
sonal call for street dress, sometimes
by shop girls who want to indulge in an
afternoon walk on Broadway. Once in a
while an actress, suddenly called upon to
play part out of her line, or from de-
sire for greater variety than her ward
robe affords, rents dress for week; but
they usually want dresses that are too
snowy, or too peculiar or pronounced in
color and makeup for my business.
"How is that? Well, I'll tell you. 1t
would half kill lady to be caught wear
ing a hired dress. To protect them
against such terrible catastrophe must
alter the appearance of dress every
time it is worn. So you see the color
must not be too odd, nor the style too
peculiar Women beat the dickens for
remembering what other women wear,
but by little ingenuity manage to dis
guise my goods so that they can't be rec
ognized. As have said, / only use
colors that are not too odd. / alter the
trimming, too. every time it is worn. A
slight change in this respect is enough to
destroy the identity. Of course, if you
saw dress one night with one kind of
trimming and the next night with an
other kind, and worn by different lady
in a different gathering, you would not
be apt to recognize it simply because the
cut and color were the same. Besides, l
usually have two waists for each skirt, so
as to be able to fit different sized ladies,
and these are not cut in the same style.
Here, for instance, is a purple silk skirt
and two waists. One is low necked and
very short-sleeved That is large enough
for tolerably plump lady. The other is
for slender form, and is only cut square
in the neck, and the sleeves are long.
Naturally, the plump ones want the first
kind, and the slender ones the other. If
all my patrons would grow of size 1t
would save a vast deal of trouble.
Scarcely do ever rent dress without
having to let out or take in the waist.
Now, here is one that 1 was at work
on when you called. Blue Silk
No, no; that is satin, not silk.
The waist is small now--if you were
corset clerk you would guess at sight that
it didn't measure twenty inches. 1t was
worn last night by young lady whom /
know to be in more than comfortable cir
cumstances. She concluded rather sud
denly to go to party, and had nothing to
wear. That is to say, she had nothing
that hadn't been previously worn at gath
erings where the same people had seen
her. The dress is engaged for tomorrow
night by a lady slightly stouter, and | am
letting it out and altering the trimmings.
what do charge? Well, from three
tofve dollars for party dresses, and less
for street dresses. If they get spotted,
torn or damaged beyond reasonable
amount of wear, charge for that. You
see nice dress is an easy thing to spoil.
spilled cup of coffee, or big grease
spot, and it is gone; but / have an adj
vantage that dress-coat renter hasn't
can make over my damaged goods, and
often turn them out as good as new. Yet,
with all the expedients, a nice dress is
done for in about one season, SO you see
the profit isn't 80 great, after all, when
You consider the constant work of altering
and retrimming. 1t is awfully worri-
some, too. Women are so particular. A
dress never exactly suits, of course, and
me patience of what's his name--Jobg
thank you-is needed to please them. A
great many, too, come out of pure curl
osity, just to find out if dresses are really
and truly rented. Perhaps they expect to
catch some of their friends hiring one.
They always pick out dress, though,
and say, Keep that for me until next
Wednesday, or I'll make up my mind
tomorrow / never look on bargain as
made with woman until the money is in
my hands, and always get my pay in adj
vance.
What security do have against los
ing the dress9 Well, if the lady gives her
name and address / insist on sending the
aress home for her. That gives me an
opportunity to learn whether she has
gwen her right name, and if she has, why
mat is security enough. The excuses
mat my callers give are funny enough.
one says she has plenty of dresses at