, 1886-04-27
SPECULATIVE LADIES'.
INGENUITY DISPLAYED IN KEEPING
UP A FASHIONABLE APPEARANCE.

UP A FASHIONABLE APPEARANCE.
Trying to Sell Goods to a saleswoman-
How Feminine Ingenuity Makes Up for
Lack of Ready Cash-The Whole Pro-
ceeding in a Nutshell.
A bright-looking young woman. whose
garments were OF elegant quality and
fashionable cut, was observed talking
earnestly to the saleswoman in one OF the
large stores on Sixth avenue, New York,
the other day. She wa observed with
especial interest by two persons-one the
superintendent of the store and the other
q newspaper man. The saieswoman APP
peared to be showing the bright-looking
young woman some laces; but, as the box
of delicate fabrics remained almost unno-
ticed during the ten minutes conversation
that ensued, 1t was clearly evident hat
the two women were not talking about
lAces.
miss -" said the superintendent, ad-
dressing the saleswoman after the ele-
gantly-attired visitor had departed, II can
not permit you to transact your private
business over the counters OF this store"
"rhe lady asked to look at some %laces,"
replied the saleswoman pertly.
4 1nltAnNtAlla III dDOuL H. Oon L = ~
occur again. responded the superintend-
ent in II tone so sharp that 1t caused the
rebuked subordinate to drop her eyes and
flush deeply. She silently replaced the
box OF laces on a shelf and walked to the
other end OF the counter
ALTrTLE TRADE OF HER OWN.
THAT girl is more intent on building up
a little trade Of her own than serving the
interests OF her employer" explained the
superintendent to the newspaper man.
-lf / did not watch them closely some OF
our clerks would devote half their time
during business hours to their own per-
sonAl transactions"
"Then that bright-looking young lady
was not a customer" ventured the
writer.
"She was a customer OF hat female
clerk, but not of the store" said the SUI
perintendent. perhaps you don't know
that n large portion OF the women who are
employed in the principal retail stores In
New York are either brokers or specula-
tors Receiving a mute acknowledge
ment OF Ignorance on this point, the
speaker continued: swell, such Is the
fact. The bright looking person who just
walked out was trying to sell the elegant
winter wrap that she wore to the sales
woman. l imagine, however, that they
were unable to agree on terms. Each
woman was, Of course, ben upon driving
as good a bargain as possible"
ID you mean to say that that richly
attired lady was In need of money!
Not at all. That isn't the point. You
must understand hat there are hundreds
perhaps t~housands-of women who hold
respectable positions in New York society
by virtue of their ingenuity in keeping up
the appearance OF being fashionable. Their
ingenuity makes up for their lack Of ready
cash. Take, for example, the wife Of a
man whose only income is n salary Of
5000 a year. The wife has managed to
obtain a foothold in what Is commonly
termed good society and she finds that
her husbands slender means will not per-
NIT her to indulge in the e~xtravagances in
the matter of dress. She is bound to re-
tain her foothold in society, however, and
to do that she must not appear in shabby
attire, nor must she fail to keep pace with
the changes of fashion"
THE WAY THEY MANAGE 1T.
"How can she manage i'll Many women
solve this problem by running into debt,
put not so with the class Of women of
which l speak. The ingenious woman
hunts up the female brokers and specula-
tors in the large dry-goods stores and in
vokes their aid. Suppose it is late in the
fall and the ingenious woman wants a
handsome winter wrap. She has been pru-
dent during the summer and saved money
enough to buy a handsome garment. o
sequently she goes to a store, selects just
what she wants, and pays cash for it.
When her husband sees her purchase he
exclaims; Why. Eleanor, isn't this rather
extravagant for usf' She calmy says:
Wait and see.' The winter passes with
Its pleasant social events, and the expen-
sive wrap does good service. At Easter
Mrs. Eleanor goes to church with
a stylish and captivating new suit.
Where did you get money enough
10 buy such a nice spring suiti' asked her
husband. I sold my winter wrap the
wife replied cheerily. In the following
fall and winter Mrs. Eleanor displays a
new and fashionable dolman, and in reply
to her husbands queries she explains that
she was enabled to buy the garment by
adding a little to what she received for her
captivating spring suit. Where in the
mischief do you sell your clothesf' asks
her husband. TO speculative saleswomen
in dry-goods houses says the wife, There
you AVE the whole proceeding in a nut
shell. The ingenious woman manages to
keep pace with the fashionable changes OF
the seasons in the matter of dress at about
one-third Of the expense incurred by her
weather. neighbor. To be sure, her stock
Of wearing apparel is not large, but it Is
always stylish and attractive."-New York
Letter,