Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-25
CONFESSIONS OF A .FIGURE.,
A Talk With q Girl Who Tries ON
Wraps for q Living.

wraps Tor q Living.
From the New York Times.
Good souls. nor exclaimed the freddie
faced girl. Il amt one Of them artists
models. am a figure.
i used to think 1t was awful hard to
have cat eyes and a snub nose. when so
many girls that I knew were real good
looking. but since got a steady position in
the showroom OF q cloak establishment,
whiie some of the same girls are upstairs
working hard at finishing cloaks and doing
well when they earn 3 q week, I'm better
satisfied with having decent figure instead
OF pretty face.
I haven't touched a needle since I found
that by wearing high-heeied shoes ia do
Ior inquire. The first place went to to ap-
ply Ior the position they said I had the
.lsnt DUST measure-thirty-four inches-and
my shoulders had just the proper slant, and,
though my neck was a little bit short, they
could overlook that; but lacked Just half
an men OF being the correct height
WAS wearing common sense shoes then,
ana, thinks !, If that is all there is against
me, Ia be took on at the next store where
! Try TOT position. My old shoes had
hardly any heels to speak of, and when I'd
go. through tramping up and down 9Th
avenue that morning what there was was
nearly worn away. for I went into every
shoe store where there was a chance Of
getting French heels. and didn't stop till
Aiau Aouiu the highest,
"Uncomfortable? I should saw so-that
Is. at nrst; but what Is comfort compared
$l2 a week?
Wear this dress in the store7 No, this
Is my Sunday dress; but those wear in the
store are an awful lot more stylish They
are provided by the store, Of course: I could
never afford to buy them out of nv salary,
ana as LOT wearing plain clothes there.
should look pretty. shouldn't /, trying on
velvet and sealskin sacQues and wraps and
OF that sort?
The buyers wouldn't look at 'em-that
Is, the lady buyers wouldn't-and YOU would
De surprised to see how many lady buyers
comes nowadays into wholesale places down
town. looking out for what the retailers
advertise as imported articles
There's lots Of men buyers, too, and I
nate the sight Of some Of them, they do SO
much more paving than there is any need
Tor when they are deciding about the ft Of
a sacSue some OF EN- are respectful
enough. but there's others that treat me
just as II l was o dummy made to be paved
and jerked around.
Yes. in our brisk season I am constantly
things put on and took of me-and you
would hardly believe how quick that wears
the new Off Of the silk dresses l have on
ana makes them look shiny and shabby
Ana then tramping UP and down the room
to show on things is most as bad on skirts
as dragging EN- out on the street.
Make me proud to wear fine clothes
every day? Not q bit Of It! Fine clothes
don make up for being found fault with
II everything amt just so. and it's awful
hard, can tell you. to keep everything Just
so with such lot Of fine stock to look after
as have and to be ready to answer straight
pens to put to you. Yes, all the fine stock
is under my care. so you see don't have
no time to idle even when I am not pa
rading up and down the room before them
they happen to lay eyes on. and then say
they'll call again.
Half of 'em that comes in says that,
and then don't do 1t. but, all the same, l
wrap after wrap. and show or their fronts,
and their backs. until 1 feel as II was a
circus actor.
Don't enjoy being admired7 I amt ad-
mired; that's the worst Of 1t. I was saying
just now that men buyers are trying, but.
II anything. ladies are tryin4e-, still You
ought to hear some Of EN- passing remarks
about me. like as IL / was deaf. Some Of
the real tall ones will say that they cannot
judge Of the set Of sacque unless 1t is
worn by person Of the proper height to
set IT off. Some who look as II they had
swallowed pokers complain that I stoop
as lady should hold herself. Some say
am padded to death and my figure don't
look the least bit natural. me that never
needed thread of padding, as the lady
VINO makes my dresses Coulu tell en-, anu
now and then one with a crane neck will
come in and say the sacques would look
better on me II my neck wasn't so short.
"Of course. there's real ladies that come
In who wouldn't disgrace themselves by
such talk, but one has to take good and
bad together, and answer civilly, and look
smiling when one is feeling mad.
at all comes in the days work. and
sometimes when the days work is over-it
begins at in the morning and ends at in
the EVENING" am so tired that can hard
ly eat my dinner. Folks say 1t isn't 80 tire
some as standing behind the counter all
day. but II II wasn't that my hours was
shorter and my pay larger I believe I'd
rather be a saleslady."