Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-07-11
HOW FASRIOTS ARE MADE IN
PARIS.
An Interview with VI Worth.


More than two hundred years ago,
when Louis XIV. sat on the throne of
France there was enmity and strife be
tween Il certain section OF Frenchmen
called faiUcWs-w whence the English tail
W and body of Frenchwoman, to wit,
the cOaturierS, who claimed to make
ladies' garments 1t was precisely be-
cause they ''claimed" to fashion the cloth
ing of their own sex that the war began.
The tdihcU's, representing mouopolizing
man, had hitherto had the exclusive
privilege of making the national dress of
the French people, and resented the in-
trusion Of female poachers upon their pre-
serves. 1t is hard to say what might not
have been done by these excitable French
ladies' had not the "Grand Monarqne" is
sued an edict in 1915 for their relief, ICON
sideriug that it was in the nature of things
aud becoming the decency and modesty
Of women and girls that they should be
allowed to have their clothing made by
persons of their own sex. The coutttr-
i,rcS were rot yet dressmakers, however,
as they might not make the bodies of
dresses until 1871, when they obtained ex-
elusive permission to undertake, cut,
sew, adoin aud sell all sorts of dresses
Even then the vindictive tailors succeeded
in inserting i'll the statutes of the Dress
makers Company an "Article A." which
prevented the women from keeping or
selling any kind of cloth in quantity. 1t
seems to have been about the same period
that the French began to make known to
other countries their new styles for ladies'
dresses, by means of large dolls which
,v.ra cont ol,rno1 Iracca1 oonor1ipO 10 tba
--latest Paris fashions" of the time. 'It
was in this way alone" says Larouse,
"that France succeeded in imposing upon
other nations her laws relating to femi-
nine dress. Royal edIcts, however, 80
lmpeded international commerce that the
doll proprietors almost despaired of doing
business We have as proof of this
the pour-parlers which during the war of
the Spanish succession took place between
the cabinets of Versailles and St Jamess,
when the said cabinets very Rravely e1-
changed notes and notes, the one to obtain,
the other to grant, safe conduct for q
doll which was to bring to this side Of
the channel the latest frivolities of the
French court" With later years have
come more favorable conditions for the
safe passage of dolls and fashions between
France and other lands, and the fashion
makers have increased and multiplied
throughout the country There are mod
jSteS, bOrdeiaiseS, n,Odistes of Toulouse,
and modjStcS of Lyons but it is the
0'Odjstc parisiennc who looks down up
on all the rest. Besides, does not the
dressmaker herself occupy the first round
of the social ladder of working women :?
Chemise makers, body makers, giietieres
/ and tn
down before the mOdiste. The French
fashions are known, esteemed and follow
ed in every civilized country in the world
just as France is the native land of the
only true mode for the ladies of creation,
80 French is the mother tongue of the
fashions. 1t would as difficult, or at
least dangerous, for me to attempt to
written pure English on such subject.
II | have wrongly translated some terms,
lady readers, forgive.
Having visited two of the first fashion
makers in Paris, | am able to put forward
what follows as authoritive information.
The names of Worth and Tainturier are
given III the Bottin as experts admitted by
the Commission of Ministerial Officers fol
the Department of Justice and Religion
and their opinion is sought for the settle
ment of legal questions in which tn
modes are concerned. 1t will interes
English readers to know that NJ. Worth
70 ST., is IN Englishmen, and was born a
Bourn, in Lincolnshire He went h
Z Paris IN 1916, at the age OF twentyone
d worked in connection with the fashion
makers for twelve years, and then estab
D ished a business on his oun account
r That he has succeeded is evident. sine
every one has heard of Worth. 1t is no
= m ensy matter to obtain information a
70 bout the paris fashions" and how the
Y are made. The modistes are slow to ex
pose the secrets of their art to the curious
i in fact, one fashion maker told me plain
y ly that they preferred to keep their in
f formation to themselves"
j After several visits to M. and Nine
G Worth's establishment in the Rem de |
PaiX, ! succeeded in obtaining an al
i dience of NJ. CASTOR Worth. In reply I
Y my wish that he would tell me"all about
e the Paris fashions, he said; at is extreme
# ly difficult to say anything precise on tn
o character of the fashions now, becaus
y there is no fashion at all. There are q
+ many dressmakers, each one having he
s own IDEAS that the result is sort {
T. salmagundi which prevents the fashio
= from having any definite character, sue
II AZ il had in former centuries The rel
a. son why there have been so many mi,
j. lures of every kind is because commun
). cation between nations is now 30 easy an
in rapid that new fashion has not time
be worn by everybody before another OF
it comes. In reality there are very few /
s dies who dress absolutely according
/ the existing fashion. Women will not q