West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1886-02-05
LADIES' HATS.
Fashionable shapes Controlled nv an
Amcrican-F Preach Combination

FAshionObie shapes Controlled nv sn
'American-Frcnch Combination.
The fashions for ladies' hats. like
those of almost anything else worn by
,hcm, all come from Paris. " said a gcn-
lcmm who is interested in the manu-
lactme OK hoad-gcar foe the fair sex 20
a Nous reporter
There /, "a combination in New
York of all manufact lrers of any inn
portance, without an order from whom
no hat dealer can purchase a block i'm
Paris for amy OF the Now styles Each
year. as the STYLES come out i'm th,
fashion metropolis, "a few of each arc
sent TO the association i'm New York
These arc us jealousy guarded "a, the
revised edition of the Bible was. and
are not allowed 10 be seen by any one
butmembrrs OF The association
'cn their arrival a meeting is called
and attended Uy-reptt rtutf,-csU of cut,h
Of the Interested tirms. who spread out
the samples and select number of the
best styles Some ot the shapes need "A
little change i'm order Go suit the tastes
of the American ladies that is. some
crowns may be- made lttlc lower or
higher on wider or moro peaked. and
some brims curlcd little moro on "a
little less, or. maybe, one crown would
look better with another rim After
these little matters are all settled upon
by the importers the style, selected are
picked ont and the others stored away
under lock and key.
From each OF these pattern u block
/, made for each firm Then bcpins
the serious part of the business. sup
pose they arc the sprna STYLES; these
arrive from Paris about n4ccmbcr of
the previous year. and the mauuiact-
urcrs 20 right tuwork, and for month
keep their factories running night and
day making up their stocks The goods
arc watched like bauk-notcs i'm the
Treasury, for "a single hat i'm new
style would bring an cmplovc two
hundred dollars or tlucr hundred dol
lars from some firm not iu the combi-
nation. Al certain time carly i'm
January the members OF the ussocia-
ton are notified to send out their sales
men and i'm a few DAYS thousands of
hats I'm the spring styles are thrown on
the market. That is the way the STYLES
are controlled 10y "a monopoly.
'Ihe blocks referred TO are made of
plaster OF paris, which is nodded in the
exact shape and size of the hat This
block is then covered with shcllac var
nish and then creased. More plaster
Is then mixed and heaped up all over
the first block and is allowed to harden.
II Is then lifted of and forms q mold i'm
which the original hat just fits About
three siNtecnth- of an inch is then
scraped of the first block and the hat
mold is ready for use.
"A fiat piece of tclt of the required
size is Thoroughly steamed and laid over
the block. the mold is then pressed
down over it (the plaster scraped of
leaving ."-GVs 5h-,,sslt butween the
two), the whole thing is put into a
drying oven, and i'm "a few minutes is
taken ont dry and a perfect hat shape.
Each workman has about a dozen
molds of the same shape. 50 that bv the
time they are all filed the first one is
dry.
The manufacture OF these plaster
mods requires an experienced eye The
orkman is called a whittier and com
mands a high salary. There are few
export whittlers' in the country, and
Chicago claims two Of them as citizens. 3"
- CbtcUgO NCtUS