Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-04-18
SPEtILlTIYE LADIES.
INGENUITY DISPLAYED IN KEEPING
UP A FASHIONABLE APPEARANCE.

INGENUITY DISPLAYED IN KEEPING
UP A FASHIONABLE APPEARANCE.
Trying to sell Goods to IA >aI->wOman-
How Feminine Ingenuity Makes Up for
Lack Of Ready Cash The Whole Pro-
ceeding in a Nutshell.
a bright looking young woman, whose
garments We're 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 was observed with
especial interest 10y two perSons-one the
superintendent of the store and the other
newspaper man The saleswoman ap-
peared 10 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 that
the two women were not talking about
laCes
Miss -," said the superintendent, ad-
dressing the sAlsswOman after the ele-
gantly attiredvisitor had departed, Il can
not permit you 10 transact your private
Du7lAlFHS 'NtI tllt counters VI lill5 St'llt
The lady asked 10 look at some laces,'
replied the salrswumau pcrtly.
Il understand all abuut it Don't let it
occur again responded the sup,rintend-
ent in a tone So sharp that il 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
LITTLE TRADE or HER OWN.
That girl is more intent on building up
little trade of her own than serving the
interests Of her employer" explained the
superintendent to the newspaper man
If 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 yentured the
writer.
she was customer of that female
clerk, but not Of the store" said the su-
perintendeut. Perhaps you don't know
that a large portion Ot the women who are
employed i'll the principal retail stores in
New York are either brokers or speCula-
tors Receiving mute acknowledge
ment of ignorance on this point, 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. | imagine, however, that they
were unable to agree on terms. Each
woman was, Of course, bent upon driving
as good a bargain as possible"
DO you mean to say that that richly
attired lady was in need of money!
.\nf at oil That isu'r tho u1iur Won
must understand that there are hundreds
perhaps thousands women no 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
man whose only income is salary Of
5000 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 eXtrayaganCes 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 70 keep pace with
the changes Of fashion
THE WAY THEY MANAGE IT.
How can she manage 1t? Many women
solve this problem by running into debt,
but not 50 with the class of women Of
which | speak. The ingenious woman
hunts up the female brokers and specula-
tors in the large dry-gOOds stores and in
yOkes their aid. Suppose it is late in the
fall and the ingenious woman wants
handsome winter wrap. She has been pru-
dent during the summer and saved money
enough to buy handsome garment Con-
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 us" 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
stylish and captivating new suit.
Where did you get money enough
to buy such nice spring suit' 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 clothes" asks
her husband. To speculative saleswOmen
in goods houses says the wife. There
you have 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
wealthier neighbor To be sure, her stock
of wearing apparel is not large, but it IS
always stylish and attractive. New York
Letter.