Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1892-10-13
IN WOMAN'S BEHALF.
IN THE DRY GOODS TRADE.
The Success Women Have Made as Buy
ers and Sellers.

erS and sellers.
The first business woman in the
United States found employment in the
dry goods trade
Following the English syste 4 the
American saleswoman had tc e an
apprenticeship of one year, ana was
boarded in the family of her employer.
These two customs soon fell into disuse.
The wages of a beginner averaged IS. 90
a week. the same as now, but then
everything was cheaper, good board
could be had in New York for $3.50 a
week for one person. The highest sal
airy paid a first-class saleswoman rarely
exceeded S12 a week, until the civil war
broke out, then everything took jump
up
As soon as A. T. Stewart saw that
saleswomen were a success with his
rivals, the lie Boutilliers, who were the
first to employ them, he introduced
women into every possible department
of his establishment The lead of the
New York merchants was quickly fol-
lowed throughout the country.
In the course of an interview recently
with saleswoman now with a Broad
way firm, she said:
II was one of the first women to he
employed by Stewart, and remained
with him until his death. He was aware
that English saleswomen are required
to dress in tight-htting black gowns,
without jewelry or furbelows, but he
did not dare to exact that Americans
should wear a livery; nevertheless, it
amounted to that, and this is how he
managed it. He kept his eye upon us
all the time. If girl wore light col
ored dress. he wouldn't appear to no.
tice it, but would wait until she hap
pened to appear in a black dress.
Then he would hurry to her, and with
a pleasant smile, would say: why,
Miss - how well you look in black!
Quite charming, declare, and l take it
as compliment to myself, for you
know black is my favorite color, above
all for business woman You may be
sure that that girl never afterward
wore anything but black while in his
service And as for the jewelryl there
were, of course, no restrictions upon
our wearing it, bnt he was as clever in
letting us know his ideas upon our
wearing it as what was his 'favorite
color If girl wore a bit of
jewelry, a breastpin or a bracelet,
his eye would be sure to fasten upon it
in the course of the day, and he
would say to her-always with a smile
and pleasantly, I see you are wearing
a very pretty brooch. but don't you
think that jewelry is rather matronly
for youth and good looks like yoursP'
Mr.. Stewart had pronounced ideas about
colors and their appropriateness, not
only to the complexion, but to the age
of women. If a new girl, not knowing
his tastes, appeared some warm day in
pink dress, he would take occasion to
pass her counter and mutter to himself
out loud enough for her to hear: Pink,
Ell! pink! Pink's for youth, little girls
and extreme first youth. No woman
over sixteen should wear pink kills
the compleXion-pink! BAH He was
a sly old fox was Stewart, and in this
adroit way he managed that we should
wear a regulation costume of black
with simple bow of ribbon at the
IltOdb III SO4C OLIidlllChks DlCN al Y
was the first merchant to introduce
dressmaking and ready-made clothes
into a dry goods store in this country.
This occurred many years after the adj
vent of saleswomen. His first modiste
was a Miss Hudnutt, whom he sent
twice a year to Paris and London for
fashions. To test their business capac-
tiles Stewart tried women in every
branch of his business. He was the
first to send them out as drummers-
silk drummers, but they were not a sue
cess with him.
One of this great merchants peculiar
tiles was that he never tried persons
twice in the same line after failure 1t
was ''once and OUT with him. Since
his time, however, women have been
successful as drummers. One, well
known throughout the country, takes
orders for cloaks for New York house,
receiving $50 a week, with expenses
and a commission upon sales.
Merchants were slow in trusting
women to purchase for them, but upon
trial it was found that from a monetary
point of view they could buy as well as
men, and that their taste was better in
selecting goods for their own sex, so
that now every dry goods store of i'm
portance in the metropolis employs one
female foreign buyer, and sometimes
there are three or four on the pay roll
of one establishment The position of
buyer is, perhaps, the most enviable of
all in this business. Foreign buyers
frequently make two trips a year to
Europe, with all expenses and a salary
of IS, 600. When not travelling the buy
ers take charge of the imported goods
upon the premises.
In modern dry goods stores the most
singular and least known of the women
employees is the ''secret shopper" She
is usually a lady in private life who has
need of little extra pocket money. She
is popularity supposed to be only an in
veterate shopper: that she is paid for
the pleasurable pastime of trotting
from store to store is often a secret
even to her own family. The 'secret
shopper must be ladylke in manner
and well dressed. Her business is to
go from one shop to another and price
and buy special lines of goods. In