St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-02-22
PRETTY GAR MENTS.
How They Are Made and What Women Pay
for Them.
ShOp-Made Underwear Versus HOme-Made
Articles--The Former Much Cheaper.


Articles--The Former Much Cheaper.
From the Chicago Tribune.
There is now, and always has been a strong
aversion to shop-made underwear, and wo-
men who are not posted on the subject still
continue to shun goods of this class. The
fact of the matter is, the French women, who
are the best dressed in the world, never wear
anything else than the shop-made articles,
and the women of our own country who once
try read y-made underwear garments are so
well convinced of their tn erits that they re-
fuse ever afterwards to get any other kind
The best underwear comes from France, and
is made of the standard qualities of cloth,
the finishing being as neat as ever Il New
England dame dreamed of.
1t may seem strange to the unsophistcated
that merchants can sell good underwear at
about the cost of the raw material. For in
stance at any of the downtown houses a
woman can buy a whole outfit of fairly good
muslin, neatly made and slightly trimmed,
for S1.S0-that is, nightdress, skirt, drawers
and chemise-while if she were to buy the
ing sewng-thread and trim ming, there would
be some difficulty in keeping the cost within
S1.S0. No allowance is made for the time
she would occupy in making them, or the
cost of buttons and tape. 1t requires very
little consideration to see how firms are
slowly but surely taking the family-sewing
out of the mothers hands and driving sew
y. 4 -.
Ia these great concerns all clothing is cut in
dozens, and not a square inch of cloth goes
TO waste. Indeed, the factory people claim
that they could clothe whole family of chill
dreu with the cost of thread and muslin that
are wasted in the house during the sewing
season. They further assert that the average
woman not only bastes with fine quality of
thread, but throws away yard at least after
every seam. In the factory seam after seam
is run without cutting the thread, and the
connecting thread between is frequently less
than one-sXth OF an inch. The same esti-
mate is made with trimming, and where there
might be an inch wasted ON one garment
the piece is cut for another requiring the
whole amount. These may seem triaes to
the housewife, who doesn't mind wasting
quarter of yard of edging, now aud then,
but IL is Just this saving of triies and the
wholesale cutting of pieces that enable the
manufacturer to turn out goods ut the pres
ent low rates
ADVICE To WOMEN.
Few women can find a plausible excuse
for not providing themselves with nice I'M
derwear. Years ago they might be par
doned for their shabby garments of thick,
un bleached muslin or cotton flannel, as the
cares of family prevented trim ming up
Now, so cents will buy neat underwear
garment, except night dress, which can be
bought anywhere for So cents. To wear
nice dresses and wraps and coarse, homely
uudergarments is an incongruity which no
true gentlcWoman should tolerate.
CHEAPER THAN EVER BEFORE.
There never was time in the history of
dry goods when women's furnishing goods
were as cheap as they are now, or as well
made. the seams are all filed, button-h holes
have neither beginning nor end, and raw
ed ge can not he found. The work on a
81 garment is in every respect as good as
that put on one which sells for S13, the
difference in price being altogether due to
the quality of the cloth and the amount and
making women's underwear is so we'll es-
tablished that manufacturers now look to
reputation, and only the best grades of goods
are used as a rule. One may buy night
dress trimmed with edging for 80 cents, but
the trimming is 50 good that it will last as
long as the muslin, and an entire years
wear can be had from both.
PRETTY SKIRTS.
-. T. i
for flannel skirts, which are made scant and
short Haud-em broidered flannel NAV be
purchased by the yard, but ready-made
skirts are offered so cheap in the downtown
stores that it does not pay TO make them.
Plain flannel skirts with hens and tucks
stitched with silk are sold for S1.35, and
others with scalloped edge, hand work, can
be bought for sl.55. More elaborate ones
have the seams frather-stitched, and the
bottom Of depth Of six inches beautifully
embroidered with stars, leaves and flowers,
and are sold at from $2.1j to gil. 4 beau
tiful garment for 50 is made of crimson
flannel, and the work at the bottom would
take a woman a month to do, provided she
made an evening task of it. All are fin
ished with 4 yoke, and have a running
string By which they can be drawn closer to
and insertion than muslin. the latter being
scarcely third Of the length. Some of them
have q plain yoke to which short founce
is attached. This forms the basis Of con-
struction on which lace and cambric inser-
tons alternate till the desired length is
reached, when slightly gathered ruffie COM
pletes the garment. Unlike the skirt fash
ionabIe few years ago, this Is not a difficult
one to laundry. Puffs ars not at all used,
nor are there any linen ruffles to flute. Short
skirts usually match sets, but are sold siBgly.
The array OF walking skirts, such as are
used for street wear, Is characterized BIZ
plainuess and excellence Of muslin. The
popularity Of thick, tsilOr-msde dresses mas
relocated superfiuOus underclothes 10 the
linen basket, aud in order TO preserve the
nice effect Of cut and drapery never
more than one underskirt Is worn. This
extends to the ankle and is gOred to the
figure. but usually finished at the foot with
a founce 70 make a high step or broad
mud puddle as little annoyance as possible.
These skirts are offered az prices that are as
Iowa well-Insde skirt with nine
tucks for IS and s. cents. The goods alone
would cost the consumer 10 cents yard,
and IL takes never less than five yards for q
plain petf.ebat French skirts, made of the
best kind Of muslin, are offered for sl.These
skirts are made with deep founee on the
bottom, which is scalloped By hand with fine
em broidery thread.
THE FIRST GARMENT
4 chemise made Of good cambria, Fith
corded band. can be bought for - cents,
aui IS cents buys an equally good one With
more trimming Handsome ones with
square necks sell ii s1.45- OF this class 100