The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-03-12
SHOPS AND SHOPPING.
Hard Times Talk as Bad as
Hard Times.
GOOD DEAL OF BUSINESS, THOUGH
Lace Is the Thing for Trimming
Something About Lace History
That Will Interest Many-Gossip
and Chat.


have heard so much talk about hard
.imes that have been delighted to hear
so many merchants talk with some gump-
tion the past few days. Whether it was
the good weather that inspired them or
what don't know, but 1 have fancy
that business men don't indulge in talk
on a basis of anything else but figures.
One big dry goods store actually told me
they beat their February record last month
and think they all wound up last week
ahead, for IL did seem as il the stores were
full every day, and Saturday was regular
boomer.
The millinery men and women, also,
spoke cheerfully and look forward TO big
Easter trade and all along the line there
were evidences of better feeling. So far
as that goes, though, have been told so
often the past two months that II the
newspapers would only stop talking there
would be- business enough that 1 don't
really know what to think about trade.
OF course mills are idle, hundreds OF peo-
pie are out of work, but the community
ought to be big enough TO carry the load
few months without seriously interfer-
ing with the business OF the merchants
and tradesmen except in the immediate
locality of trouble. There were 5000 people
idle in Olneyville with perhaps 10000 more
dependents. But there are 135000 more
people in the city for
the down town merchants to
do business with, and il the newspapers
hadn't made so much fuss about it the
merchants tell me-and il sounds reason
able--that there would have been plenty
OF business. The tendency was to scare
people who had money. As matter OF
fact, though, it is beginning to leak cut
that a good many houses did business
enough, and are very well satisfied with
themselves.
Lace is the up to date trimming par ex-
cellence, and accordingly / read with
much interest the other dGy a history of
lace in a dry goods paper. Perhaps
everybody doesn't know that the
wearing of lace used TO be
confined to royalty, afterward
being permitted to mobiles and 'squires
and later to the rich bourgeoise. Royalty
used to give the lace industry immense
support. You remember what lot OF
lace Queen Elizabeth wears in her por-
traits. She left 5000 lace dresses when she
died, and lace in those days cost some
thing yard. Real lace has always been
luxury highly priced and iealousiy kept,
and the Nottingham machine, invented
in 1909, was the entering wedge which
made lace cheap and OF universal use.
When the machine was invented Noting
ham tulle was worth 125 francs square
yard. BY 1852 it had gone down to 80
francs.
Here is a clipping which seems to me
interesting in this connection:
The different kinds of machine-mad
lace which hold the market today are as
follows:
Chantilly is simply tulle with light
pattern on it, This is by far the most
popular of all the laces, though, OF course,
fashion throws il sometimes into the
shade, sometimes into the full sunlight OF
prosperity.
Spanish ia the same ground but much
heavier effect in design.
Guipure differs from these in having no
net ground, the designs begin very similar
to those of Spanish lace.
Point d'Irlande Is supposed TO be an irni-
tation at very long distance of point dc
Venise, as are also the celebrated Plauen
laces now so universally used and which
have almost driven the passementerie
trade out of existence.
Bourbon is very thick, heavy lace, like
a passementerie,
tilly, but in very light ground, very simple
in design and usually in very narrow
widths for trimming underwear.
Platt lace is a cotton lace in which the
pattern is quite flat and no thicker than
the ground. This is the great Noting
ham speciality, with their imitation OF
Torchon.
The dressmakers have been leaving the
hoops entirely out of the skirt but they
tell me they will probably have to replace
IL i'm back, in a sort Of hustle to take up
the drapery.
Do you notice the reaction in color of
the new dress goods? Everything is
quieter, both in woods and silks. Not SO
many "striking" things, although the
quiet tones are striking while they are
new. Black is mighty fashionable, and /
don't believe it is going TO be passing
fancy either.
Russia leather gloves are extremely
fashionable in Paris. That reminds me
that gloves, like laces, used to be a very
select bit OF apparel. 1t is, indeed, only
within quarter of a century that their
Hand-m made gloves that used to cost So a
pair, are now made much better by
machinery at s1.5o pair.
peculiar feature of a lace fashion is
that the pretty stuff is never worn in linn
tied quantities. Fashion either covers
herself with it or deserts it altogether.
This will be big season for laces.
Easter shopping will be exceedingly
brisk IL last weeks business keeps up.
THE SHOPPER.