The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-08-15
PROFESSIONAL "FIGURES."
A Queer Business Carried on in New York.

/ An advertisement in the New York San OF
| last Sunday reads at follows:
"a really good thirty-eight-inch figure
wanted. Apply at The cloak department, 1872
| Church street"
reporter of the samo paper visited the
place next day to ascertain what was meant
by "really good thirty eight-inch figure
1 and for what such q figure was wanted. lie
found the place 10 ~ the cloak department OF
| H. b. CIatlin " Co, and that other persons
| had called there in answer TO the same adyer-
tisement, but hero the resemblance between
the other visitors and tho reporter ceased, for
| they were, without exception women, most
| of them young, and they all seemed to know
what thirtyeight-inch figure meant and
| what it was to be- used for. The reporter soon
| learned that Iii the cloak establishment OF
| GIatin II Co, where not only cloaks but Wo-
mems suits, are made, young women OF good
| figure are employed, from whom measure
ments are taken whereby the suits and coaks
are cut. The young women thus employed
are also employed to try on garments before
purchasers, and young woman with good
figure ~ essential.
''We employ four figures constantly" said
Mr.. William Ferguson, The manager Of the
cloak and suit department. "They call them
selves figures The French call them
models you know, but the girls don't like
the name, 30 speak of them rs figures We
make seven different sizes OF suits and cloaks.
and employ four figures to measure from. OF
course | mean four different sizes Of figure
Our thirty efght-lnch hgure was taken III re-
Gently, and we must get another In her place.
hence the advertisement i'll The SIM. La
answer to this advertisement we have already
this morning had Mt least sixty applicants,
and yet we have not yet found Il really good
figure You wouldn't think a good figure 50
hard to find, but it's SO. We have all manner
Of applicants; girls who are evidently very
poor, judging from their dress. and girls
who come here with their mothers, we'll
dressed, well-bred and lady-like girls who
have not worked anywhere, but who are
compelled to earn money, and think they'd
like to be figures. Now. our operatives on
cloaks and SUITS the girls who work on the
machines, can make good wages, but, for
some reason on other, they all think it's
grade better work to b. figures. OF course,
there Is very limited demand for them, and
most Of them would do better to take n ma
chine. We pay our figures $40 week. but q
machine operative Mt the wages can save
more money, for q figure must dress better
than 1t is necessary an operative should. She
must always be neat and tidy, for she has net
only to serve as q measure to cut garments
by, but also as figure on which to display
garments for customers.
son q good figure, OF course, q garment
looks better, sets better. than on % poor one.
A garment made from the measure from q
good figure Is more apt to fit another person
than one made from q poor figure, and Ii 1t
doesn't quite fit, is usually easily altered. SO
You see how important a good figure is.
Every largo cloak house in the city employs
two OF three such young women. But, as |
said before, good figures are very hard to
find"