The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1889-01-27
WOMAN AS A CUSTOMER.
Some Queer Features CT the Dry Goods
Traffic.

II was in one of the largest Of tn
ladies' shopping stores in New Yor
and bundle had just been brough
in by O wagon driver. "Ah" said on
of the proprietors who was standin,
near, "that is queer thing. That j
a very expensive opera cloak that on
of our customers asked to have sen
home and left over night, she said
that her husband might decide upol
whether she might buy it or not.
supposed at the time that she proba
bly, had a dressmaker at her hom
employed to copy the cut and trim
ming Of the CLOAK, in order to max,
up one like it of less costly material
I knew she could never afford to bu,
the cloak, and so I naturally sup
posed she meant to do as I say. Blu
1 was wrong. She got the cloak II
use at the opera that night. It wa!
the opening, as afterward saw in thu
papers, and when dropped in she
was the first and most conspicuous
lady I saw, on the way to q seat il
the box of some rich relatives she
had up town, She was wearing thai
cloak, and I suppose she managed t.
have it described for one of the soci
ETY. papers. At these first nights, you
know, the names and costumes of the
ladies are nearly always published. y
What are you going to do about
it,"
"Do about it?" said the merchant,
"why thank fortune, she comes here
to borrow fineries instead of going to
other stores to get accommodations.
I see that there are things you do not
know. Let me explain them. You
see we have two kinds of customers
cash and credit. For the cash custo-
mers we take no risks and ask no "a
vors. For the credit customers we
do almost anything they ask of us.
We are glad to get them and make
every effort to swell their number.
Some houses take note of where pur-
chases are sent, and, whenever a fash
ionable address appears on their ship
ping books, write the lady at that
address, offering to put her name
upon the credit list. Other houses,
like ours, dislike to force that trade,
and simply wait until such a lady
asks favors of days or weeks ac-
commodation to pay for heavy pur-
chase, or else ask in plain terms to be
allowed to run a bill here. Then,
though she does not know how eager
we are, We jump to accommodate
her."
"Why%
"Mercy! what a greeny you are.
Because lady who has a bill at my
store spends all the way from 80 to
500 per cent more than if she hadn't.
Not only does she buy everything she
wants at this store where she has q
bill, passing all the rest every day,
but she buys things she does not al
ways want and cannot always afford.
You need not laugh; men do the same
thing. We are glad to get men to
run bills here as well as women. 1t
was only the other day that a gentle
man told me that he had never been
thoroughly well dressed until we let
him run an account with us. He
used to hate to part with money for
things he could possibly do without,
but now he has dressing gowns, pa
jamas, silk hose, scarfs a plenty, and
the Lord knows what not. He says
that when he gets our bill once q
quarter he is always pushed into do
ing some extra work-he is an artist
in order to get money to meet this
extra expense. He is different from
most men, because he says this spend
ing money causes him to make money.
since he is driven to earn O great deal
more than he spends each time our
bill comes in. But the ladies can't
do that, you say. No, they can sim
ply fight it out or coax it out of their
husbands"
The merchant went on to say that
the ladies impose upon the storekeep-
ers to an amazing extent, but that
this is well understood, and is not
objected to. For instance, If the
lady who wore the rich cloak to the
opera had said that this was what she
intended to do with it she could still
have had it, because her custom is
very valGable, and now goes entirely
to the one shop that gives her credit
Had she taken the coax home to
have it copied by dressmaker, as is
done with cloaks and gowns and ul-
sters and even with under linen every
day, it would still be best for the
store to let her do it, since when she
copies the garment, in order to get it
cheaper, she will buy the goods at the
store that grants favors to her"
Here is curious phase of CONNER
cial life. The women who fancy they
deceive the shopkeepers are actually
known to have dresses sent home in
order to wear them to photograph
er's. They are known to borrow hats,
or artificial flowers, or feathers to use
at party, or for decorating their
own parlors when they give a party.
They order portieres, brio. a-brac,
everything that can be imagined, for
use at home on special occasions, al
ways saying they want to get their
husbands opinion or consent before
buying. They have suits sent home
to try on their children, so they say,
but in reality to dress their children
for Sunday school exhibitions, or
whatever they want them to appear
their best in. They actually borrow
dresses to be married inl Stranger
yet, it seems to me, is the fact that
this is recognized and counteDanced
by the men whom they think
they are trucking. 1t is simply
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