The Portland daily press., 1874-08-04
[From Letter of Oliver Logan's in Harper's Bazar
The Empress Eugene and her Corset
Makar

Maker.
During the period OF the Emperor's reign
| over France,i pleased his beautiful spouse to
| touch with her fairy wand the house of Grin
| goiIe, and Gringoire became at once the cor
set maker of Paris; and not of Paris alone,
for does not her sign to this day read, 'Pat-
ented Furnisher to H. r. FL. the Princess OF
| Wales ?' No one could pretend to be well
| corseted who did not Datronize Grinooire.
Her prices rose like the mercury in its tube
on hot day. She made no corsets for less
than $50. "We always charged the empress
$40 for hers, said my corset maker, scientf-
cally bending my bones--my whaIebones--
make them flexible.
Madame Gringoire was a pleasant-man-
nere1 lady. Summoned to London about six
months ago to attend III. r. H. the Prin-
cess OF Wales, Gringoire found that her own
body was more in need of attendance than
that OF her noble customer, and in foggy Lon
don, Gringoire bade adieu to the world of
"false vain show'in feminein outlines as well
as all other things. Her former forewoman
continues her business, and "Gringoire' still
glares its gold letters at you from black mar
bic sign. 1t stands TO reason that all the
workers employed by Gringohe were good
corset makers.
81 never should have left madame if mad
anne hadn't died." said one of these Young
women, as she took the number of my waist
inches and wrote them in her book. .'Mad-
anne liked me 10 wait ON the English custom
ers, as l am English Oh, such fine ladies
ures Did you ever see the marchioness Of
Hastings, madame?''
'sNever."
ooh, how beautiful her figure is! only
eighteen inches around the waist,such bust,
and such sloping shouldersn'
"Indeed, then," exclaimed the book-keep-
er, fine-aooking French woman with posi-
tive manner, "she must be very different
from the most of English women. The gen
erality of them have waists 50 long that they
reach to the knees, and busts fatter than
their backs"
''The empress was beautiful figure, was
she not ?" l asked the corsetiere.
Magnificent. Very stout, you know"
''Stout! had seen her often, but never
thought her stout.
''She is so beautifully proportioned. She
measures twenty-seven inches around the
waist, but her bust is so very large that her
waist looks very SMALL"
'sWhat sort Of corsets did you make for the
empress %
"Always coutils, madame-never silk nor
satin, as many ladies ordered"
II suppose she scarcely chose coutil for
economy's saSe?' / asked.
''No, madame; but she liked coutl best.
Then we made night corsets for her."
Night corsets! That is something never
heard off,
They were rather funny looking. All lit
| tie tiny bones not thicker than a pin, and
with straps and buckles in front instead Of
| busks."
"What was the object in wearing night
| corsets ?'
''To keep her figure always right. Her
! bust was so large that she was constantly in
| fear Of losing her shape"
| "Who had the next pretticst figure among
| Gringoire's customersr'
'sThe Duchess of Mouchy, the Emperor's
cousin. She was the princess Anna Murat
| you know"
'.Did you ever wash the empress's cor.
sets?''
cob, yes, madam, frequently
"Please tell me how il was DONE"
"We removed all the steel busts in the cor
sets, then ripped out what we call the fans
those little clusters of silk threads which arr
| at top and bottom of all the bones; all LACE
| aad embroidery was taken off, OF course, ani
the whole carefully washed by special laun
| dresses. We put in the fans again in new
silk, rearranged the lace and embroidery, an6
| then the corset looked exactly like new. We
| charge her four dollars for each pair of stay;
washed"
''Does her ex-majesty still order her stays
from Gringoires@'
''She has never had new pair since she
left the throne, Madam Grngoire went and
called on her once at Chselhurst. She fount
| her dressed in plain merino dress with lin
! ell collar and cuffs. She told Madam G.. tina
she was very poor"
'She is a good deal richer now than sh'
was wheu she was Mademoisee De Montjo
think" in:e polated the black-eyed, rosey
checked French booS-keeper. "She is goot
deal richer than most of us poor French are
whom her husband ruined by his toolisl
war;"