St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-01-19
The ARGAIN COUNTER
Fashionable Garments That
Can Be Made Out of REM
nantS.
Useful and Interesting Sug-
gestions About Eeonomi-
cal Shopping.
How Real Bargains Can Be
Made, and Good Eff
fectS
Cheaply Produced at This
Season--Way to Save
Money.


a man at a remnant counter; but, if
ever l do, L shall consider that he was
either ~henpecked into going, or that his
name is a synonym for parsimony
wherever nc is known. But the woman
who does not thoroughly enjoy bargain
getting is yet to be born. Going the
rounds Of the press have been answers
from prominent women to the question
what is the happiest hour in a wom-
ans life??" and it seems to me the cor
rect answer was not given by any n
of the wise women who replied. Yet,
being women, and many-sided women
at that, they each and every one could
have answered knowingly. Undoubt-
edly the happiest hour in a
woman's life is when she is get
ting the best of a bargain-Or
believes she is, for bargain-getting
is largely a matter of faith. She may
be an old bird and a sagaciOus n or
dinarily, but she is every time to be
caught by the chaff of a bargain. The
state of her finances or the carte blanche
given by the indulgent male upon whom
she is dependent has nothing whatever
to do with her fondness for an advan-
tageouS deal. 1t is simply the develop
ment of a Datural desire to get the best
of a transaction.
Often the woman with the most
meager allowance buys the most liber-
ally and with the least caviling. Many
bargainers have yet to learn that a bar
gain is not a bargain unless it is in
something needed and suitable. The
who buys without method, or
buys a thing solely because it
is 80 cheap" can see a very
incapable person by peeping into
the nearest mirror. This person
exists; and though looking decidedly
singular, is provokingly plural. You
all know her. She has the bargain
mania in its worst form. and in her wild
e%ndeavors to utilize her reckless pur-
chaseS has made herself to resemble an
exaggerated crazy patch, and her help
less children lifelike copies of herself.
The bargain harvest begins right after
the holidays, when all things moi eat
able or d~rinkable are marked down."
A woman not wholly lacking in taste
and Judgment car at this season fit out
herself and her family both beautifully
ana we'll for one-third less money tina
she would have expended earlier in the
season.
Many of the latest and richest dresses
are composites of silk, velvet ana wool
and are so scientifically fashioned they
suggest a Chinese puzzle. These patchy
STYLES are a boon to the bargain hunter
and a bore to the remnant counter.
Very elegant short length pieces of any
kind of dress goods desired are offered
at prices within the purse-reach of all.
With the proper exercise OF artistic
taste in their manufacture into fashion
able shape, the most sensitive person
can step forth in confidence that her
remnant gown defies detection.
~
Two bargain dresses are to-day sub
mitted TOR the inspection of the hyper
critical, and as models for the frugal.
One a composite of bengaline, all wool,
and velvet in varying shades of the soft,
becoming plnkish-gray color known in
the color world as ashes of roses. The
shortest piece and the lightest shade is
used in the front; the all-wool serge,
one lone darker, with bourette
crossed bars in a yet darker
shade, is used Tor the dress
proper, assisted by velvet panels on
of the skirt. The same velvet lines the
stylish collar and adorns the belt. Even
the nobby hat is composed of odds and
ends left from this suit, so stylish
that even a Worth might mistake
it for one of his own perfect
creations. Our puzzle gown" you
may imagine in mahogany-colored
camel's hair serge yer a dome
blue plad. Of any combination of pretty
contrasting or harmoniZing colors it
would be as pretty, and the modUs
Operandi of getting into and out of it as
puzzling to the uninitiated. Every
thing is easy when one knows how,
even buttoning or hooking ones self in
a modern dress, which we will admit is
wonderfully and fearfully made. espe-
cially by inexperienced hands.
~
This brings US to a consideration of
the making of these gowns. Never
look for a bargain in dreSSmaking. for
it will prove the widest extravaganza
in the end. The economy in buying
good material even at reduced prices is
folly if bought to be practiced upon.
Dressmakipg is an art. and one that
commands a price that it is we'll worth
while 10 pay. Born, not made" APP
plies TO mOdiStes as certainly as to poets,
and it is as unreasonable to expect each
woman to successfully make her own
gowns as it would be absurd to D
each man could become his own tailor.
The material, STYLE combination and
cost are for us to determine, then leave
the execution to one skilled in the art.
If we can only afford one dress each
season let us have it made by a profess
Sional rather than a variety of gowns
bought with the price of homemade
garments that are a reprOach to our
false economy.
~
1t is a fortunate person who could put
off 5uying a wrap until after the holt
days, for now your choice is to be had
''at a bargain" Among the elegant
novelties we find French fur-edged
walking coats, literally covered with
silk passementerie; while others have
the garniture put on in effective Van
dyke points. Also the Tyrolese or
Austrian military coat of the popular |
three-auarter length. with arching hip
seams that guarantee a perfect fit. Then
the Uhlan jacket and the stylish Vim
cennes. with richly soutached fronts,
high collar and half full sleeves. More
desirable than these, and beyond the
reach of the of ordinary means
at first cost, are the tailor-made coats,
with their high art finish and thorough
bred air: ru~sset-colored buckskin vests, |
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