Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-07-11

cept a fashion just when it is shown to
them they prefer TO have what they have
been accustomed to for years past, and 1t
is rather difficult to make them understand
that they must try to change their habits.
l will give you an example. We once
made long cloak, with gathering
round the neck and on the back, open at
the sides and back, and with about ten
founces. The first season We only made
two or three of these cloaks. What a
peculiar thing 1t is + said each lady when
she saw it for the first time i shall new
er wear cloak like that But the next
season we sold from two TO three hundred
of them, and three years later every wo-
man you saw in the street had one, and
the second-rate establishments put these
cloaks forward as novelties Then, a.
gain, Il is the fashion TO dress in gray at
the present time, but there are many Ia
dies who would not wear that color. It
is alo the fashion to have q dress very
high at the shoulders, but, would you
believe it? we introduced that style a.
bout six years agol 1t was found that
when the seam on the shoulder was too
high or too low, according a. the cloth
had been cut, crease formed which
caused lump when the lady held up her
arm. Little by little dresses were made
with an intentional lump, until it became
the fashion to have the shoulder OF tho
dress high. So you see how fashions are
made. But it is not possible to say what is
going to be worn. II you go into any
place Of amuementor fashionable salon.
you will ask yourself il some Of the wo-
men you see are not two or three hundred
years old. What they wear makes them
look like composition Of Old Mother
Hubbard, lady ofthe time OF Louis XIV.
or any other lady OF any other period
you can mention. The fashion OF to day
is indescrlbable. 1t is not Greeck, nor
Roman, nor Medieval, nor Renaissance
and, mind you. there 10 the same deca-
dence in dress as in painting or srchitec-
ture-it has no definite character it is a
mixture. salad. For the painters Of the
future it will be- very difficult matter in
deed TO decide the period to which the
women of the present time belong"
Thus did M. Worth, Jr., calmly describe
the nondescript character Of the lady Of
the period in the matter Of dress. speak
ing almost unintsruptedly just as though
he had been delivering lecture before
the members Of dress reform association
Whether he would have spoken his mind
80 freely had some representative OF the
weaker sex been present is question not
to be decided here. "Who creates the
fashions, then ?" asked. "Who con-
ceives those wonderful combinations Of
form and color and material Am
right in supposing that there are artists
or designers who devote their time and
talents to the invention OF new styles OF
dress ?" "Well, q great many new fash
ions have first seen the light in this estab-
lishment," replied NJ. CASTOR Worth.
IN. Worth, ST., created them. We have
large staff Of ladies who do q great deal,
but NJ. Worth himself makes our fashions.
There are no artists or designers at all
nothing in the shape of design because
if there we're designers it would lie very
often impossible to make in cloth what
had drawn upon paper, however beauti-
full it might be-" "How many people do
you employ in your work rooms 2 l in
quired. 1--WE have about seven hundred
workwomen, comprising cutters, f1ers,
trimmers, embroiders, skirt makers, sleeve
makers, four hundred in the house and
three hundred outside. Then there are
trimming makers, ETC., who work indirect
ly for u.s." In conclusion, NJ. CASTOR
Worth said it would be great relief to
the dressmakers not to have 30 many
styles which heavily handicap some OF
the smaller establishments.
The success OF the fashion makers art
depends upon the variety OF forms and the
comparatively low price, which allows the
merchant to realize reasoable profit.
Naturally, the persons who buy the cloth,
silk, trimmings and lace must be thor
oughly competent judges. 1t is oombi-
nation of all these articles upon roughly
cut-out pattern In muslin that are born
those wonderful dresses 80 much sought
after by our lady compatriots. When
the Paris season closes, quantity OF
clothing always remains, which 10 sold at
reduced price and shipped to South Am
erica, where it is sold again as q novelty
the following year.