Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-09-23
busy bonnet BUILDERS.
Sllillful Hands That shape Count
less Styles of Hcadwcar.


less Styles of Hcadwcar.
Bonnets and hats are made by the mil
lion every season. But how often does
the wearer of an exquisite bonnet think
of the milliner who fashioned It's dainty
beauty, who arranged the bows in such
complete yet artistic grace, who placed
the feathers in such a unique and becOm-
ing manner, and turned out such gem
OF complete and satisfactory beauty
Not often it is feared. Yet what would
the woman Of fashion do without that
artist, the milliner? For fine milliner
is an artist in cooring az much as any
painter in oils, and is obliged to be rs deit
with her fingers.
"HOw long does it take to learn the
milIiner's trade" asked a NEWS reporter
of leading Broughton street millinery
merchant Yesterday.
Several years" he replied. "There are
so many different branches to the trade,
and 1t takes year or two to learn each
branch. Some never learn it thoroughly,
that ia to any degree Of perfection. Any
one with neat, delft fingers can learn the
trade up to a certain line, but it taxes I'M
born taste and good Judgment, to say
nothing OF an artistic eye for coloring, to
trim well. A good milliner knows by in
stiDct where TO place bow or loop, and
bow to mingle two cOOrs harmoniously.
Sometimes the droop or poise ota feather
half inch will make Il great deal OF diff
ference. A person who has no artistic
ta5te can never be good milliner. 1t Is
more of profession than a tra1e.'
do you know" he continued, ''that the
hats of great many ladies' in Savannah
have never been touched by a professional
milllner. and vet they are Just as stylish
and show Just as much taste as il they
had passed through the hands OF the most
fashionable milliner in the city. These
ladies trim their hats themselves. They
first buy the kind or SNAPPED nat they
want and then the material with which
they wish it trimmed Then they take
it home and go to work on it,
Their principal stock in trade Is time and
patience, and they generally have full
supply of both, especially when it comes
to making their new spring or fall hat,
Sometimes they arrange the ribbons and
feathers in as many as a dozen different
ways before the general contour becomes
satisfactory, but when they are at last
satisfied, you luay rest assured that
every thing about the hat is arranged Just
rs neatly and just as tastIlY as 1t can be
done"
What's the style for the coming sea-
SOM"
The hat for this season is the same
that was worn five or six years ago. only
the crown is about an inch and q half or
two inches taller, the crown of the pres
ent hat being about six inches high"
What shape is it?' asked the reporter
innOCentlv.
"Iou had better AJAX me what shane it
Ia not. DO you see that row Of bOxes"
pointng to a small regiment of aoout
htty, strung out on a shelf. "W ell, there
ls nat in eAch one OF those boxes. and
each hat hes a different shape. III show
YOU some OF them getting out about a
dozen different ones. The reporter gaZed
in mute awe and wonder. There were
square hats and round hats, octagonal
hats, heXagonal hats, septagOnal hats,
diagonal hats, one-sded hats, tw0-sided
hats, hats turned OPP on one side and
pulled down on the other. bats turned up
on both sides, mats turned up on one end
and one side, hats turned up on the other
end and the other sides, hats of every
shape imaginable or conceivable, but all
with that same high-reachlng crown, and
suggesting that an individual OF at least
200 pounds avolrdupOs had deliberately
sat down on each and every one of them.
There are upwards Of seventy-fve mill
liners of every degree in Savannah, from
the apprentice to the head trimmers.
The most of these are employed in the
millinery and fancy goods stores. The
work is not considered so firing as dress
making and Is far more pleasant, as the
daintiest OF materials only are handled.
There are five times as many good MILL
ners now as there were ten years ago."
said a leading dealer in millinery goods,
land the number is increasing all the
time. The business pays well If the mil
liner is a good one, and more ladies are
engaging in it every year,