The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1890-09-04
THE ENGLISH TRADEsMAN.


- AAWny8 n u0W9 just 8h8E k1ln CuHLUDk
ers should buy
Perhaps the most conspicuous charac
terist'c Of the English tradesman 70 the
calm effrontery with which he assumes e
know what his patron ought 70 buy.
You enter shop and CALI for pair Of
tan-colored gloves;S the ohances are that
the only pair is in the show window and
that pair IS not the size you require.
I'VE have complete line Of dark
browns" says the trad esman.
II wish > tan color, you explain.
I'VE have not stocked up IN tans," the
tradesman says. The truth is that
tans eve gone out and the demand is
all for browns. You'd better take pair
Of these at three and ski assure you
they are quite the thing+Lady Horton
was In this morning and ordered dozen
pairs
You can not escape this impert inent
creature unless you bully him; he as
sumes to know what you ought to want,
whether you want 1t or not. On general
principle he will assure yon that what
he hos in stock is all the rage; what he
has NOT got is out of fashion. asked .
shop-keeper the other day why it was
his class presumed to tell patrons what
to buy.
THE truth is, sir" he answered,
that most English people do not know
what they want when they come into
our shops. They leave 1t to us to deter
mine for them what style they require.
The only thing they question is the
price,"
The English seem strangely ihdiffer-
emit to dress. One can wear almost any
kind of apparel here and not excite
comment. have seen things parading
the streets here in London that would
create riot in the States, yet here no.
body paid any attention to them. The
mere grotesquely man is clad the less
attention he attracts At the theaters
one sees remarkable sights, male and
female. The women wear conspicuous
costumes. At the Criterion one even
ing ! saw scrofulous-red woman clad
in fery-red gown, the corsage of which
was actually plastered over with dia-
monds-not real diamonds, for very few
ladies wear the genuine diamonds to
the theaters. In fact, it seems to be
quite the thing to blossom out in paste.
have noticed that scrofulous-red fe-
males are all too common here in Lon
don; the redder the face the redder the
gown Yet there may be philosophy in
this. recollect the Madame Modjeskat
once told me: RED worn below the
face deadens the compilations; worn
above the face, hetghtens the complex
Ion II, therefore, woman wishes TO
subdue the colors in the cheeks she
should wear red gown or plenty Of red
ribbons about her throat; on the other
hand, II she wishes to give her face a
certain touch of color, let her wear
red hat or red flowers in her hair.
Their hats are one article of attire
which the Englishmen appear to care
little about The silk tile does not OBJ
tain here to the extent that it does upon
the Continent. Very many of the men
affect the cap for evening wear-caps in
every variety, from the snippy skull
cap to the atrocious double-visored af-
fair which was invented for purposes OF
railway travel. / have seen very few
crush hats in use here; those ! have
seen were worn by Americans.
You hear a great deal about the cheap
ness of clothing in England, yetI think
1t is debatable question whether
clothes are actually cheaper here than
in the States. hear it said that the
wooden material here is better than in
the States, and we will grant that much
for sake Of argument But in the man
ufacture of clothing the United States
is far ahead of England. A suit of
clothes made by New York or Chicago
tailor will outwear three suits OF clothes
made by London tailor. 81
When good fit is secured it is rather
by a stroke Of luck than otherwise; the
English are notorious for the grotesque
fit OF their garments. But they do not
know it; in the particular of form the
English faculty of discrimination seems
to be lamentably weak.
English shoes are delusion; the
leather soon cracks; the sewing is care
aessly done. Nicely of Workmanship is
apparently not desideratum. As for
English backing, it is abominable., 1t
imparts the pearl grey luster desirable
to the surface Of a kitchen stove, but
not particularly becoming TO footwear.
Chicago News.