The San Antonio light. (San Antonio, Tex.) 1883-1886, 1883-04-06
THE LIVING PROBLEM.
A Clergyman's Daughters Manage to
Dress Elegantly on n LIMITED Income.


am the daughter Of poor clergyman in
This city, who allows my six sisters and myself
5 500, equally divided between us, for dress. |
Each one, therefore. has ST. az for dress,
which includes everything we wear. | am
obliged to go into society to certain extent,
and my calling list is quite extensive. hold
that woman is we'll dressed if her gloves
and shoes are irreproachsble. generally
have half-worn pair Of shoes left at Easter,
and these wear on rainy days or long walk
ing expeditions. buy new pair OF neat
walking shoes with low heels and moderately
heavy soles for 81. Sometimes | pay less,
never more. Then at the same time l buy a
light pair OF shoes with high heels and two
pairs of slippers, one pair being for the
house and the other to wear at any
dancing party or evening entertain
ment to which l may be invited. For my
summer shoes l pay So, So for my party
slippers, and ST. for the other pair. gener-
ally purchase my shoes in Sixth avenue,
where the same shoe is 50 per cent less than
at fashionable shoe stores. My shoes, there
fore, cost $40 year and my feet are always
well shod. My gloves, of which have to be
very careful, cost me SIS for the year. l
bought last year one pair of Isle thread for
common use, with six buttons, for 5 cents; one
pair of tan-colored Mousquetaire gloves,
coming quite up the arm and OF an excellent
quality, for So. These | wore at church, re-
ceptions, lectures and the like all winter; a
pair of tan-colorsd silk ones, costing ST. so,
doing the same duty during the spring and
summer. For evening wear, that is for par
ties, etc, | purchased a very dainty pair
of tan.colored undressed kid for ST.. You will
observe that all my gloves are of the same
color. Tan is a most economical shade, as it
can be worn with any dress and look well.
When my gloves become somewhat
soled clean them with little milk and COM
mon soap, first putting glove on, then taking
in the other hand over the first finger a clean
flannel rag, dipping ii in the milk and rubbing
a small portion of the soap on it. then apply
it to the glove, rubbing gently until it is en-
tirely clean in that spot and then take a fresh
portion OF the flannel and go through The same
process until the gloves are clean. This
method is better than benzine, and saves me
considerable money.
bought last year six new dresses, besides
two dark calicoes for the house. A dark blue
cashmere of ten yards cost SIS. The material
is not of the finest, but is serviceable and
drapes gracefully. Ten yards made me
plain dress (which is the fashion, | am thank
iul ~ Soy q JCioC1 Tut JaNhONi nun anu OuG
of those little Iurbans ofthe dress goods which
are SO extensively worn. made the dress
myself with the exception of cutting and fitting
the jacket, which cost me IS cents. The hat
frame cost IS cents the lining and buttons IS
cents, including wadding for Jacket and malf,
silk and button-hole twist 10 cents, making a
total of SO IS for a jaunty and comfortable
costume, suitable for church or Tor walking
My next dress was a black silk, which is al
ways genteel and not wearisome to the eye.
purchased 10 yards at ST. IS per yard on
sixth avenue, the silk being good but not
extra heavy. The lining and buttons cost
me ST., the cutting and fitting another, max
ing the cost Of the dress, which will do excel
lent service next year, Just S22. A gray serge
dress Of eight yards, for general service, cost
mo ST. II, the material at 90 cents, and the
buttons, lining etc, at so cents. A white
nuns yelling, which trimmed with lace
about the square corsage and elbow sleeves,
amounted to IS, the 10 yards of goods cost
ing So so ana the five yards OF Oriental
lace so cents. This l wore at evening en-
tertainments, changing with my black
silk. A white muslin and blue
cambria, both pretty dresses, cost me
resi- ectiyely ST. 20 and 81, each having 10
yards. found buttons around the house for
them and lined the waists with muslin. Two
dark calicoes for home morning wear cost me,
for materials cents per yard, each dress hav-
ing eight yards, and with the buttons both
amounting to ST. 10. My dresses, which |
consider sufficiently good for any girl, cost me
for the year $50 50.
had one hat like my cashmere dress and
another small bonnet made out of piece of
the black silk and beaded with two silk POM
pons on the side, the frame costing IL cents,
the beads IS cents and the pompons 90, maxi
ing a total of 81 cents for handsome bonnet.
My summer hats, two in number, cost me
ST. 50 and ST.. The ST. 50 hat was of course
white straw in the poke shape, price rs cents,
trimmed with wreath of ox-eyed daisies.
which were also IS cents. The other hat for
daily wear was poke of yellow straw, very
course in texture, costing IS cents, and the
trimming was piece of soft white null,
price 20 cents, and pin, price s cents. My
hats for the year cost (omitting the turban
CHI uged above) So rs
A good cloth jacket made from one OF
pas old coats, paying ST. TO have il fitted and
ST for some handsome buttons. Every year
| buy some 80 yards of muslin at 10 cents
per yard. This makes me three sets of UNI
derclothing, including skirts, corset covers
and two night dresses, leaving sufficient for
odds and ends during the year. My trimming
of feather-edged braid and rick-rack make
myself, it costing me for materials last year &C
cents. My Undertaking, therefore, amounts
10 So 50 per annum, l having plenty OF
changes.
My fiannels last year cost me SIS, including
two skirts, which | embroidered myself, and
three undervests. Stockings, SIX pair at &C