The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1885-06-23
DOLLIES LETTER.
Something About Dresses and a
Slasher on the Dressmakers.
DEAR NELL:

10 Write 10 you Tor some weeks ana must
plead this as an excuse without further ex-
plantations. am not dead, neither have i
been sleeping and as for Will and the
babies all are lively and just as charming
in my estimatiOn-as heretofore. Now
guess what / have been doing? Well, of
course il was clothes. Ny summer ward
rob-, Willis and the childrsn's. In the
first place, / am getting to be sensible
woman and have discarded corsets that
is the abominsble trap which passes under
that name, of steel, mes and narrow row
OF cheap lace at the top to "cover up de6c-
fences" L wetr now, a mere waist, shaped
OF course PERFECTLY to the form and very
useful for COMPRISING the slight rolls of
flesh which fall below the waist and also as
a preventative against the bands of the
skirt which usually cut one almost in
twain. Then have left off my-chemise,
actually havn't one to my back, Nell, and
furthermore / am not going to have this
summer. "Why~ Do you ask. Well
because / think that venerable garment of
our foremoiher's introduction m AZ be very
advsntageously dispensed with. II is bulky,
ii is unhealthy because linen or cotton
either are both materials which are good
conductors of heat, bad disorders of moist
ure and dreadful poor ventilators. Now, /
wear
FINE WOODEN COMBINATIONS,
my corset waist and one petticost under my
dress and you don't know Nell, how per-
fectly and rapturously jolly it is. Then my
new dresses, have three. One Is beauti-
full soft, all wool, wide goods called "crszy"
cloth, is sand colored, made with simple
box plated skirt from the waist down, a
small habit basque, nd drapery, a military
vest front with ladders formed of close
straps of narrow silk braid, embroidered in
feather stitch on the points and at the ends.
The shades of the silk and the braid exactly
match the cloth. Then have hat to
wear with this costume which is of the new
"Amazone" shape, high in the crown, not
pointed, and with brim turned up on each
side. The trimming is of the soft silk with
which my suit is trimmed and pompons OF
gold aud fluffy scarlet. Then / have a
besutifnl fine all wool, white nuns yelling,
trimmed with white silk braid Just shot
here and there with silver. This braid
trims the panels at either side and the hre-
telles on the shoulders. The drapery is
caught up at the let side with delicate
chain of the braid and the sleeves are orna-
men;ed to match. With this have hat
of white leghorn, trimmed with
APUFFING OF SILVER GAUzE,
knot of violets and two long falling
white ostrich plumes very much curled.
Ny third dress is my old black surah,
over which which is worn long polonaise
made entirely of black lace with the excep
ton of the back breadth which is formed of
the drspsry on the dress. The corsase is
cut square and sleeveless and the lace Of
course covers it. A broad sash of surah
with wide loops and friDged and knotted
ends finishes the dress. With it is a black
Milan and lace hat with q rolling brim
trimmed underneath with tea rose buds set
closely together.
Ali of these dresses are quite pretty,
Nell, especially as have parasols, fans,
etc, to harmonic, and have gone into de-
tsils about them because i knew that you
like pretty things and also have quick,
bright ideas which you can utalize for your
self in these descriptions. As you have no
children for whom to plan dresses / will
not tell you about those for my babes, nor
yet speak OF Wills, only to say that he told
me l4st night that he was of ''the opinion
that the tailor had done him up" on his
pants, for they are too tight for him to
draw long breath and he is quite sure
that the buttons will fall like hail when he
attempts to eat a square meal.
Will is always trying to make me laugh
you know and pthink he merely said the
above in accordance with that idea.
And now Nell j want to speak to you of
something which occurs to me In eonnec-
ton with my dresses. Yon know that am
just and that lsboring women have not
only had my sympathy but my support
and In saying what / am about to have
no wish to either injure or malign. But
the fact is, Nell, there are dressmakers in
this city, and others as well, who are actual
thieves, for it is nothing else but thieving
of tie lowest sort to waste your material
and then make you get more under the pre-
tense that there was not enough in the first
place, 1t is thieving also to cut yards
from the trimmings you have provided and
adapt to individual use. Why Nell, i
happen to know that certain dressmaker
In this city. never buys an inch of trim
ming, yard Of lace or piece of silk and
velvet and yet she has all her garments
trimmed richly and elaborstely with these
adjuncts. In her "rag baskets" are entire
sleeves, yards of ruffling, bolts of braid,
Innings of all sorts, buttons by the dozen
and spool by spool of thread, cotton and
silk, twist and hooks and eyes. Did she
buy all these things? Certainly not, she
stole them,
STOLE THEM FROM HER CUSTOMERS,
who vaguely knew they were being cheated
but had no proof and were compelled to en-
dure it. This is not an exceptional case
either, as many hundreds OF women who
have been thus robbs d can testify, and the
principle of the habit is an entirely wicked
one. Certainly if one buys material for q
dress it belongs to the purchaser and not
the dressmaker, and every inch of material
left from the actual finish of the garment
should be returned to the owner When
two spools OF thread are furnished and only
one used, the superhous one should be re-
u