Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-11-30
CLOAKS FOR WOMEN.
A Business of Great Importance in
 More Than Ono Respect.
Agents in Europe Keep Their American Employers Posted on Novel Styles-The Actual Values of Garments of
 Every Description.

Every county in the United States 1s supplied moro or less with ladies' cloaks made in the city of New York, says the Sun of that city. Experts est1- mate the total value of ladies' cloaks produced in the United States at S40,- GOO, ,oGO to $5O,cO0,00O a year. About three-fols ths of the manufacturing of these cloaks is done in the city of New York. Chicago comes next, Cleveland next. Boston, Philadelphia and Cincin- natl do still smaller cloak business. In the last seventeen years the cloals have driven shawls steadily out of the market, until they have almost disap- peared. There is about S25, ,O0o, ,0Oo capital invested in the ladies' cloak business of the United States. About S7, ,oo0, ,o0O year is paid in wages to the workmen. To make $50 1000, ,00O worth of cloaks uses up about sa5, ,OoO, 900 worth of domestic goods and trimmings every year. About one-half of the entire ladies' cloak business of the United States is done by five houses in the city of New York, and there is probably no business which has had such a sud- den and vigorous growth as this one.
 ne DrOCeSS Ol ubuuldCbuTo IS dAd1. agous to that of ready-made clothing for men. First the patterns are cut in stiff paper. Then the garments are cut out with the cutting-machine or with the shears. Then the bundles arc made up for the tailor, with appropriate trim mings for each garment. Then the goods arc given out to the tailors, who have their shops, with from ten to fifty men, in various parts of the city, and they sew up the cloaks by contract. All these processes are carried on with an economical division of labor. The average women wonder why so many stores have the same style, cut and material of cloaks. The fact may be that all the stores are compelled to buy one pattern of one great manufactur- | ing house that has happened to make | hit. The processes of manufacturing are so rapid that the moment there is demand for one style the supply comes l from various manufacturers. But where the fashion runs to a particular quality | of goods the chances are that one house has the good fortune to have pre- empted tho available stock of that par ticular make of goods, so that other manufacturers who wish to get any will have to wait for the product of the mills.
 l There are two distinct branches of the cloak business. One is the regular wholesale trade, for which goods are sold by samples through travelling salesmen all over the country. The other part is the special order depart ment where goods are made up to meet the ideas of customers who order special styles. One house keeps twelve travelling salesmen who make three trips year scattering samples in every State in the Union. The largest houses always keep nothing but newest styles of stock. The moment they find a style goes off slowly they pack it off at any price.
 The prices of cloaks at wholesale vary from S3 upward for short garments, from Ss upward for long cloaks, and for elegant garments the prices run up to S1OO. No woman thinks of making a cloak at home. The cutting and fitting are of the highest style of the tailoring art, and the finish is as expert and work manlike as the finest tailoring for men. A few years ago there was a large i'm portation of embroidered cloaks that l Was very populdI, Dut GlIo oil1 1ShoOAi the work was done abroad was because the requisite skilled labor could not be obtained in this country. Since that time there has been great improvement in home manufacture, especially in embroidering, in which the French ex- celled. Latterly the capacity for pro- ducing embroidered goods has vastly in creased, until now the best embroidered French goods can be quickly reproduced in this country.
 The wholesale season for spring goods is from January to April. The season for fall goods is from July to November
 Most of the work of tho wholesale men after October 15 is to fill reorders fol goods that have met with unexpected a success.
 It is within the past seventeen years that the American manufacturers o1 cloaks have knocked off about nine :. tenths of the importations of manufact
 ured goods. All the patterns of Paris
 Berlin or Vienna are quickly repro duced in this market with American
 notifications and additions, and the
 trimmings have of late years been pro
 duced with great success.
 It is bewildering sight to go through
 a big cloak house and sec how they dc
 business. The cloaks are hung on racks
 say a dozen styles on rack, so that the
 purchaser may walk along and sec the
 cloaks at glance. If he wants to set
 how the cloak would look in actua
 wear, there are splendidly formed young
 women in. attendance to try on the
 cloaks It is a common observation O.
 the customer that these young womeI
 are themselves so attractive that al
 most any garment would look we'll or 9 them. But the dealer always replie: thatit would be equally unfair for hin 3 to employ humpbacked or ugly girl tt show off his cloaks.
 The cloak manufacturers have done | very much to dress women we'll ane 3 comfortably. The women who arc con 3 tent to wear garments only little ou
 of style can buy very nicely made ant
 comfortable cloaks at very low prices
 and in many cases for the actual cost o
 the goods, while those who demand thu | latest fashion are Supplied at price