St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-04-18
FIHERY FOR The RICH.
How the Wealthy Mrs. Astor Does Her
Shopping.
HER DAINTY CLOTHING.
Underwear That Comes From Paris
Dresses and Shoes Ordered in
Private.

Many woman has looked at her OWL
small purse and longingly at the costly
fabrics displayed by the great stores
and has thought that it would be a
glorious thing to shop if she were only
Mrs. Astor-Mrs. Astor standing for the
genus OF rich wonderland has pictured
to herself the pleasure which that lady
must take i'll shopping expeditions.
She will be surprised to learn that
"Mrs. Astor'' knows nothing about the
delights in question; that she has never
felt the pleasant thrill of looking at an
exquisite fabric displayed on a counter
and saying, while others look enviously
on: Il choose this; it is mlne," for
MIS-: Astor" never goes shopping at
all; that is, never in the ordinary way.
WeayerS and other manufacturers
make designs which are sold to private
houses only, and which the large deal
ers are not allowed to handle. Thus
they manage to dress in fabrics and
styles which have the desired virtues of
eXclusivenesS.
Another motive to keep the leaders of
fashion away from the shops is the fear
which they have of being utilized as adj
They are fully alive to the advantage it
would be to a shopkeeper to have their
carriage waiting before his door and to
be able to say, Mrs. Vanderbilt
is one of our customers" or, 1--WE made
Mrs. Orme Wilson cloak of that sort.'
No dressmaker will ever be allowed to
announce over his door, s'Costumer to
Mrs. AStor." Where our exclusives
buy their clothes is kept a profound
secret, and no dressmaker dares to di-
vulge that he sold dress to one of
them, OH pain of dismissal.
This is how it is done. On quiet
streets, out of sight of the great thor
oughfares, there are inconspicuous
offices. The uninitiated would not think
OF looking there for as much as a paper
OF pms, but they contain, nevertheless,
the latest Partisan kinks in women S
wear, from Worth dresses to under
garments. AS you enter one of these
places little is to he seen. for
goods are not displayed; but when
you ask for garment, presto! box after
box is brought out and opened, and,
with rustic of tissue wrappings and a
rush of liberated perfumes, you are sur
rounued with bewilderment of dainty
and exquisite garments. the ne plus
ultra of their kind. They have the de-
sired appearance of never having been
seen before by mortal eye, but to have
Deen made for your own express delec-
tatiOn.
Almost everything is made in Paris,
and is brought thence by these brokers.
who are constantly going back and
forth, always with many private Or
ders. All the Undertaking comes
from there, and is handmade.
1t is of such gossamer consistency
that it weighs but a tritie, but its cost is
rather heavy, as may be seen by a
yearly bill for underclothing, as ap-
proximated below. Mrs. Fortunatus
buys what is called "a set'' of each gar
ment at least oncea year. A set is four
pieces. She buys adozen pairs of black
stockings for the same length of time,
and possibly some colored ones. Her
corsetS are of white linen coutil or of
satin. Some women are satisfied with
two a year, and have them laundried.
while others put on fresh one every
two weeks. 1t is the average prices of
the private houses that are quoted be-
low.