Pioche daily record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1872-1876, 1873-11-16
RORROwED PLUMAGE.
N. Bu,iness Of Renting Dresses.


The New York Sun publishes q report
., an interview held with lady engaged
IN the business OF renting dresses:
II am the inventor OF this business"
che said. 'sIf you know anything about
women you know that the most of them
have moi only passion for dress, but
xaakpess for novelty. The woman with
ana calico dress wants two, and the
woman with ten silks wants eleven. This
mia ;s good with the owners of the most
eomnlete wardrobe. Another thing you
nav not know, women don't like to wear
,be same dress to more than one or two
narties in one season. Now, it is upon
these female characteristics that thrive.
You would naturally guess that only the
moor ladies' hire dresses; but that isn't
50 Rather the reverse is the case. A
GOOD many OF my callers ride within a
Few blocks Of here in their carriages, and
walk the balance of the way. 1t wouldn't
Jo bless YOU, to be caught hiring q
dress. but | can assure you that many
a borrowed one is worn at fashionable
Gatherings. Sometimes. too, a lady from
ont town wants to go to party or to the
onera. She has only travelling dress
with her and borrowed tinery is her only
recourse The business, however, is not
entirely confined to renting party dresses.
There is an occasional call for street
dress. somstimes by shop girls, who
want TO indulge in an afternoon walk on
broadway. Once in while an actress,
suddenly called upon to play part out
of her line, or from desire for greater
variety than her wardrobe affords. rents
n dress for week but they usually want
dresses that are too SNOWY, or too pecu-
liar or pronounced in color and makeup
for my business.
"How is that? Well, III tell you. 1t
would half kill lady to be caught wear
ing a hired dress. To protect them
against such terrible catastrophe l
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 a little ingenuity manage to dis
guise my goods so that they can't be
recognized. As l 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, aud the next night with
another kind, and worn by different
lady in different gathering, you would
not be apt to recognize it simply because
the cut and color were the same. Be-
sides, 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 pur-
pie silk skirt and two waists. One is
Iow-necked aud very short-sleeved. That
is large enough for tolerably plump
lady. The other is for a 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 0the other. If all my pat.
rons would grow of size it would save a
vast deal of trouble. Scarcely do l ever
rent dress without having to let out oi
take in the waist. Now, here is one that
was at work on when you called. Blue
silk? No, no; that is satin, not silk
The waist is small now-if you were q
corset clerk you would guess at sighl
chat it didn't measure twenty inches. II
was worn last night by young lady
whom | know to be in more than COM
Portable circumstances. She concluded
rather suddenly to so to party, ant
had nothing to wear. That is to say,
she had nothing that hadn't previously
been worn at gatherings where the sam.
people had seen her. The dress is en-
gagged for tomorrow night by lad,
slightly stouter, and l am letting it ou
and altering the trimmings.
What do l charge? Well, from s;
to s. for the party dresses, and less fol
street dresses. If they get spotted
torn or damaged beyond reasonable
amount of wear, l charge for that Yor
see nice dress is an easy thing to spoil
spilled cup Of coffee, or a big greas'
spot, and it is gone; but l have an ad
vantage that dress-coat renter hasn t
| can make over my damaged goods ant
often turn them out as good rs new
Yet. with all the expedisnts, nice dres
Is done for in about one season, so yo'
see the profit isn't so great, after all
when you consider the constant work o
altering and retrimming. 1t is awful.
worrlsome, too. Women are SO particu-
lar. A dress never exactly suits, o
course, and the patience of, what's hi
name-Job? thank you--is needed t
please them. A great many, too, com
out of pure curiosity, just to find out
dresses are really and truly rented. PEI
haps they expect to catch some Of thei
friends hiring one. They always pick ou
address, though, and say Keep that for m
until next Wednesday, or IN make n
my mind tomorrow I never look on
bargain as made with q woman until tn
money is in my hands, and I always ge
my pay in advance.
What security do I have against los
ing the dress? Well, if the lady give
her name and address I insist on send
the dress home for her. That gives m
an opportunity to learn whether she hi
given her right name, and if She ha,
why that is security enough. The e'
cuses that my callers give are funn
enough. One says she has plenty
dresses at home, but will hire anoths
Just for the fun OF the thing; anothe
hasn't time to get one made; anotht
can see why it is any worse to hire
ballroom dress than masquerade CO..
tune. As if l cared why they patronize
hoNei uoh any inOAc 4uoossoA
than can help, and SO l seldom kno
where tue dresses are worn unless the
volunteer the information. Now here
new white silk that was hired To-
week by a girl who had been invited t
fashionable wedding. She was youn
and pretty, and imagined that she VT
apoor relation OF the bride or groom
Anyway, she was 80 nice and sweet thl
ltook pleasure in fixing her up for Il
occasion. I'd have given the price 81
paid to have seen her rich relations sta
and wonder.
Am l ever unable, to fill AN orde
Oh, yes-sometimes. An awful b
lady came in one day, and wanted nit
street dress. She lived somewhere
the suburbs, and wanted to make fasl
ionable call. But / couldn't fit her
hadn't a waist that would go more th'
two-thirds around, and she had to
away without dress. had call Ia
week for seven mourning dresses for
funeral, and couldn't fill it. You see
nadnt anticipated any demand in u
Unk-