The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-12-16
THE Mop,srEs OF VIENNA.
An Americans Experience on Tour
AmOnE tho DressmmISera.

dentally encountered, invited mo to ac-
company her on IL round among the
fashionable modistes. Now, if there is
anything under the skies which is
moro of bore to both parties than q
man tagging after n woman on dress
making and shopping expeditions, I
have not heard of it. Smiling at the
alarmed expression which her sugges.
ton evoked, my friend said: ooh, Won
need not be scared, it is quite the thing
In vienna, and am sure you will en-
Joy 1t Thus treasured, !, with stout
effort, summoned up the requisite
courage, and, after making my will,
started out. Well, it was really inter
esting, and did enjoy it Perhaps &.
half dozen establishments were visited.
ana almost the entire day consumed.
Some OF these places are handsomcr
and moro swell" than others, but in
the general features they are all
similar. You enter n tastefully fur
nished apartment on the ground floor.
Usually flowers aud plants will be set
IN effective position. Attendants, malo
or female, will salute you and wave
you up stairs Here you will find a
suite of apartments with divans and
Il,
mirrors of all sizes, large and small. so
adjusted that your image is always re-
Elected, no matter where you sit. Ono
set of customers will be wnited on in
one room and another set in another.
Customers, unless SO disposed, have no
occasion to come in contact with each
other. Men are always tho principals
They take your orders, they measure
you and they fit you.
In each room screens are provided,
behind which the customer tries on her
dress, while her husband or her lover
on the other side of the screen Gun talk
or joke with her to his hearts content
1t is really the thing for the men to go,
as there was scarcely lady who did
not have an escort These large es-
adjustments furnish all the material
for the costumes, and there is no in
centivc for the alleged cribbing laid ut
the door of American dressmallcrs by
customers who furnish their own mn
tcrial. One large room, with shelves
and counters arranged like n regular
dry goods store, is reserved for the raw
material But in every room great
numbers of morning and evening
dresses and wraps of all kinds com
pletely made up are hung on hooks.
OF all sizes, of all prevailing styles,
of moderate and of expensive cost
there is chance for every taste and
for every purse to be pleased, and
there seems to be no difficulty about
adjusting them in reasonable time to
every shape and every height One
very good thing for the customer is that
no risk is run. AS the customer fur
nishes no material and can not be com
PEELED to take gown or wrap I'M
less satisfied, she is not in that slavish
subsection in which n dressmalxer who
has all your fine and costly material
in her control holds her victim.
What to ''horrid man" is but ono of
the least entertaining incidents of the
routine of the business as it is carried
on in Vienna is the torture to which
the models" are not infrequently put
by their more favored sisters, the Gus
toners, and the spiteful resentment
which they sometimes cannot help ex-
hibiting in consequence.
The models" of whom every estab-
lishment of any prctension has from
six to twelve, are selected for their
symmetry of figure, and must be the
possessors of slender waists, slopinp
shoulders and finely developed busts
For the inspection OF the patrons they
will display on their figures any par
ticular costume which may be request
cd. AS you can understand patron
who has no idea of purchasing will
often say, 81 should like to see how
that gown will look" etc. The unfor-
tunate model will, in the course of two
or three hours, have to put on and put
off morning dresses and evening
dresses. be turned around and round,
and punched in the ribs until her pa
thence is completely exhausted. and she
certainly will look daggers ut the
woman who is doing all this.
She is not unlikely, also, to give vent
in audible tones to her displeasure when
satisfied that her prosecutors do not un-
derstand. must confess it was with a
malicious pleasure 1 was witness to a
scene of this character, which ended
with the long-sufferng model "going
on strike" and defantly declaring
she would put on no more dresses. The
proprietor, who undertook to remon-
strate, failed to shake her determine
ton.
The modistes of Vienna have no
French and only very rarely any En-
lish customers. They are largely pa
tronized by Americans and by the elite
of Germany. All the ladies of the royal
family of Germany send to Vienna for
their gowns.
The royal family of Austria and all
Austrian society patronize Vienna.
Several of the large establishments en-
ploy three hundred or more hands, of
whom much more than one-half are
men. This is exclusive of the staff of