The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1885-02-10
WOMAN AND HOME.
eREWTIES, ITEMS AND PARAGRAPHS
CONCERNING THE FAIR SEX
Beauty and Dress-IOreisn Maid Serv"
ants -Desirability of Forgetting
tistic Success-'An Understanding"
Deserving the Costumer.


"a waman's street dress nowadays is so
near akin to the dress of the stage that the
business Of the costume establishments has
nearly dial ont, remarked a prominent COS
tuner. "You see, the plain and simple
street dressing that characterized both men
and women is no longer in existence, and the
establishments that were once relied upon
TO furnish fancy costumes are slowly but
surely becoming things of the past. Fashion
has done much to bring this about. As
fashion demands more gaudy or fashy
dress, the business of the costumer neceS-
sarily decrease, The Legitimate work
of the costumar is to step in
between the plain and modest dress OF
everyday life and the magnificent apparel OF
the stage Since, however, the plain style
of street dress has been swallowed up in
more fanciful and attractive habit, this work
has been on the decline, and the cOstumer
has been the loser. There are many street
dresses to-day that years ago would have
been considered magnificent ball dresses
"Do you attribute this decline in your
business simply to a change in fashion,
We'll, rs a general thing do. Tie charge
in fashion from simple TO an extravagant
dress implies a more lavish expenditure Of
money on the part OF those whose purses pro
vide the dresses. II there should occur an
event that demands an extra dress, the
purse strings, drawn already to their utmost
tension, cannot be relied upon 10 meet the
new demand. The dresses worn by soma
women in the streets cost quite as much as
tie richest co TUNES that could be selected
from my establishment A brilliant gather
6 10 HAc
and richly dressed is but an ordinary occur
renee, where, years ago, the common folk
would stand On tiptoe to get even peep
through the keyhole at richly-dres5ei
woman. Even w0m9n themselves who move
in the highest circles of society. are less
enyious in this-regard than were the women,
say, of ten years ago. Then woman wouli
strive to do her utmost to outshine her rival
Hence an appeal would be made to the skill
Of the costuner Now, that the magnificent
dressing of the women has become matter
even of street observation, the rivalry has
died out, and to he in the fashion on the
street is almost to be in the fashion at the
| most brilliant gathering of society.
ITO give an illustration of the decrease in
business: To-day ! am called upon TO pre-
| pare five dresses, where eight or ten years
ago / would think business dull if not called
| upon to fill orders for al least 81 dozen. Il
| used to be that every fashionable wedding
| would furnish Us many customers, but even
| this has run its race, and the most brilliant
and exclusive weddings in Baltimore viii
not send Il single customer to the costumer
| Our main reliance is upon the private par
| ties that take place IN high life, The men
and women who are permitted to attend
| these must OF necessity make some special
| provisions. Being naturally ami daily
associated with rich dressing, they will
| on special occasion strive to appear ii
| soma other dress than the one worn in the
| usual routine of life Here is where the COS
| tuner comes in. The parties are rich, and
no question about the price of the dress i
| raised, and the costumer has things his OWL
way. Even this branch of the b1siness is
not as fourishing as it once vas
Upon there occasions who generally arr
! the best customers
| "WhY, they come from the very best so
ciety in the city. Bankers, lawyers, mer-
chants and professional men in genera
patronize the costumer The biggest busi
ness done i'll Baltimore in the way OF costUm
| ing was upon the occasion of the Martha
| Washington tea party some years ago
| Since then the more legitimate business ha'
besn fat