Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-07-17
WOMAN GOES SHOPPING.
She Puts In . Busy and Long Day q
It and Acquires Forty-two Samples.

From the Boston Herald.
How does woman go shopping?
II the writer had been asked this question
two or three DAYS ago he would have said:
S"She goes right into store, purchases what
she wants. and then goes home"
He has looked int the matter and changed
his mind. No, woman doesn't 60 shopping
Like man. When o man starts out TO buy
something he generally knows pretty nearly
what he wants, and he buys it. But with .
woman it is different. She doesn't know
what she wants when she starts out. If she
did she wouldn't start She would wait until
some other day, and start without any special
| object in view. She would buy something or
| other before she came back, even if it was only
glass OF ice cream soda. But the ordinary
every day woman who goes shopping starts of
early In the morning, and makes up her mind
that she is going to have a large-sized picnic.
| She hurrles the breakfast and does the usual
morning cleaning up in just about ten minutes,
She hasn't got time to indulge in breakfast herA
self, but will probably bolt hot cup Of coffee.
with a small handbag containing her pocket
book and few other things she sallies FORTH
| away. She looks about first and sees Just what
is going on, and what is being displayed. She
| sees great many things she would like to buy,
| but her pocketbook isn't fat enough, so she
postpones the purchase. Perhaps it's - o'clock
when she arrives at the dress goods counter Of
the big establishment. She wants to match an
impossible color. She hasn't got the sample
with her, but she describes the color to the
| clerk He will show her all the goods in the
department, and she will take sample Of each.
What for?
She may mean to make a future purchase
but it's very unlikely. All those samples will
find their way into her crazy quilt by and by.
The poor clerk is tired and Disguised, but for
gets his sorrows a moment later when he be-
gins Irritation with pretty girl at the oppo-
site counter. He forgets that she's woman
and goes buying dress goods somewhere else.
IL he had his way he wouldn't allow q male
customer to buy thing from her. The clerk
grows tender hearted, the woman goes upstairs.
Both are contented and happy.
She tries on cloaks upstairs. She tries on
everything within radius Of 100 yards. Fur
lined cloaks, listers, all sorts of garments and
all sorts OF styles go on one by one. Some are
too big, others too small; some too cheap, others
too dear. She tries on all the cloaks in the de-
partment, and will send across the street to
try on all they've got in another store if some
one will 60 for her. She doesn't buy cloak,
or an ulster. or garment. She only tried them
on to see how they felt. Then she goes with
her newly-purchased bonnet frame into an
other department. She looks at hosiery. gloves,
scarfs for her husband, unlaundered shirts for
the Same party, linen goods, crockery ware,
table cloths, napkins, shoes, and about every
thing else In the store
She arrives home about $50 o'clock. Her
husband had been home about half an hour
He is tired and hungry. So is she. The fire
is out. there is nothing to eat and the husband
gets mad. She doesn't. She says that he's
brute, and doesn't want her to have a good
time at all. Then she shows him the result of
the days tour among the big establishments.
Here is the inventory Of the stock: One bonnet
frame, worth Is cents; one-half yard of dress
goods, cost 80 cents ("What do you want it
for?" he asks. She doesn't know and doesn't
care; she's got it(; one cuspidor, IS cents;
for John, cost so cents Che almost faints when
he sees it,; one unlaundered shirt, cost 81
cents, for John, again. John is ready to die,
but he says it's very nice. He will give it away
on Christmas together with the scarf, to a man
he doesn't like. Then she displays forty-two
different samples of dress goods.