Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-04-06


ing habit made shorter and shorter. Any
body would think she means to summer at
the seashore and is bound to get even with
her bathing suit on horseback before she
goes. The friend with her fused and
fumed because she was being kept away
from her sewing. She was making ging-
ham dresses, she said, and boosted that
she could beat either of the two seams
tresses her mother had in the house at
work. This confession of dressmaking in
official circles quite reconciled me with my
humble lot. as l listened. My humble lot
took a tumble, however, when the tailor,
having finished fitting the skirt, babe me
take 1t Off The girl will never know what
1 think about the evil of wearing anything
so tight around the waist as that skirt was,
but as struggled and squirmed, and broke
two of my high-priced manicured finger
nails getting it unlocked, she knew enough
of my awkwardness to exclaim, Stupid"
l fully agreed with her, SO there was no
difference between US.
Rather Play Golf Than Sew Jet.
When I had finished "slip stitching" two
sleeves I was set to sewing some elaborate
jet trimming on the same sleeves. Oscar
Wilde has laid 1t down as canon Of art
that good women should not wear jet. I re-
write the assertion as a canon of humanity.
No sewing girl can hope to be an angel
and have to sew Jet day after day. Every
time you stick in your needle 1t jams q
bead and won't go through, or when 1t
comes through bead drives it Off unex-
pectedly into your finger. Then your thread
tangles with several other beads and you
swear. Perhaps you don't. but 1 did. I'd
rather play golf than sew Jet.
In the midst of the emotions excited by
Jet 1t did me good to have the tailor come
In from the reception room and say that
he would like to swear. He had coat In
his hands. and as he handed 1t over to a
subordinate with some directions he ex-
planned that a woman had just brought 1t
back saying that it fitted beautifully ex-
cept when she prayed; that she had worn
1t ID church the Sunday before. and .hlt
Mrs. Senator Blank, who sits behind her,
had told her coming out that her new dress
was just lovely. only 1t wrinkled between
the shoulders the least little bit when she
was kneeling down. The man said the next
thing would be he'd have to have a prieu-
deu to fit church dresses on as well as his
horse for riding habits.
Pledge FOR an Easter Dress.
A while after the porter came in with a
small package and the message. 1.-THE lady
at the - wants to know If you won't
let her have her dress and take that and
keep it till next month, when she'll send
you the money. She won't have any money
before then, and she wants the dress very
much for Easter"
THAT" on opening, proved to be dia-
mond bracelet The tailor laughed, wrap
ped 1t up again and said to the porter:
Take her the dress and the bracelet, too.
A woman as honest as that is to be trust
ed"
But may be the stones are PASTE"
exclaimed. forgetting my mental position
and remembering only my knowledge OF
women.
The tailor groaned, "a man can't have
any comfort trusting a woman as long as
another woman lives to spoil it,
What She Wanted.
Presently I was hidden to bring a tape
measure into the front fitting room to the
tailor.
Solomon in all his glory was "tacky"
compared with the fat. fair. forty and
fiabby) woman here arrayed in gold bro
Il don't like the sleeves at ALL" she was
saying. They certainly look skimpy.'
''Skimpy!' calculated the tailor. What
on earth could you expect? You brought
me only twenty yards Of silk in the first
place, and you wanted five godets and q
train and balloon sleeves. I've stretched
the stuff as far as it will go, and it's ridic-
ulous to think Of making 1t go an inch
further"
Then she stood meditatively surveying
her reflection in the mirror. and after due
deliberation involving fine calculation, she
said: Don't you think IL you cut 1t trifle
lower in the neck you might get out
enough for the big sleeves?"
The dress was already so low in the neck
the tailor was wearing steady blush, and
outraged both a man and a tailor, he
replied to her suggestion: "Oh. yes; we can
put all the material into a train and a pair
of sleeves. If you want the dress that
way"
When I helped her of with the gown
she said that wsuld be the last thing that
man would ever do for her, and when I
carried the dress out in the work room the
Man was making the very same observa-
ton from different point Of view.
A Smashed Idol.
The next person to be announced was a
woman, whose figure las always been my
secret envy. A girl took her dress into the
fitting room, and in a few minutes came
back inquiring for Miss Blanks pads"
Another girl produced a great bunch of
different sizes and styles of pads and hand
Where do these go?'
Anywhere she warts them" answered
the tailor. I was ordered to follow him
into the fitting room with the lady's coat,
when 1t was pressed, and I was truly de-
lighted to be able to remain to take the
whole suit off, l was curious about the
pads. She had three in front, and two be-
hind, besides two sewed into the waist Of
the dress. Then 1 inadvertently loosened
her petticoat, removing the dress skirt,
and I saw that her corsets were cut out
over the hips, and the space filled with ruff
files of quilted satin.
Numerous DcfOrmities.
This was not my only idol Of fair women
TO go TO Smash IN tue utttnB rOOW OIL the
tailors. You think women no longer lace.
Every waist put on woman that day
no fewer than twenty-I ruined my fingers
trying to fastcn, and almost every time be-
fore 1 could pull 1t together, I would have
to lift my poppycolored, perspirfng face,
and say, Wont you please draw in your
breath:"
Then five out of six skirts had pipe-organ
attachments behind-godets, I believe they
are technically called-which from belt to
hem are loaded with hair cloth, making a
weight for woman's hips to carry that
would be a burden for the shoulders of a
man. Worse still, there was the greatest
number of actual deformitias revealed to
the work room = mismatched shoulders,
hips the same, ard there were two or three
pair of sleeves being made for pretty wo-
men whose arms are from one to two
inches different IN length I'll never feel
easy about a woman's arms after this, until
sight them with a yardstick hanging
down.
Over Hill and Dale.
After I finished sewing on jet I was
given a pair of sleeves TO work on, the
armholes of which were. the size Of my
waist. Later I helped the owner of such
arms to get out of a dress, and as I trav-
eled around her, unpinned dress goods up
hill and down dale over the whole surface