The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-03-13
rALK OF A LoxDoS BoorNAKER.
slse OF the Princess Of waies's ~Feet-shocs for
American Women.

BosToN, March 12.-Thn agent OF a firm Of
London bootmakcrs who Is In this country TAX.
ing orders told something about his business
the other day. Among other things he said:
81 have measured tho Princess OF Wales and
her daughters for shoes. l was n mere lad
when / first paid a visit TO Marlborough House,
the town residence OF tho Prince OF Wales, TO
measure tho Princess and her daughters, and
very kline and afable they were, too. What
sized boot does she wcarl Oh. come now,
that's asking me to answer an embarrassing
question. Well, let us say that her feet and
those OF her daughters are about the same size
rs. those Of the majority Of English ladies,
which, by the way, will average from one to
two and n half sizes larger than those of Amer
can ladies'. l have always supposed that tho
great amount of walking done by our ladies is,
in n measure, responsible for this. About
what you would call n five is the average thing
for an English lady, rather larger than that, |
fancy, IL anything. And the width About
medium-a ~ l should call IL, according to
your measurement.
by the bye, I may AS well say that in beauty
Of the feet the American ladies altogether sur
pass those OF any other nationality. iPcrhap8
the Spanish ladies take as short n boot, but
their feet arc,a as a rule, not nearly rs slender, but
more chubby, rs 1t were. The Russian ladies
also are the pnssossors OF pretty feet, but hardly
as much so as the Americans. "A for the Ger
man-Id rather not talk about them. Their
feet arc-well, beyond comparison.
But don't think that there arc no exceptions
to the rule among American women. Here is an
exact sketch Of tho foot of h certain young New
York lady. What do you think of that! Tho
sizei Well, that foot, TO be comfortably shod,
would take a No. IL boot. The lady is about
3 feet 6 inches In height, and is n member Of
-. - 49, 1a.N .!l.- T. Nr-.. v--I, 1l- L.
shortly to become n bride. too. And there is an
other also. The lady is quite well known not
only in New York, but also out of 1t. Nature
has been unlind enough to bestow upon her a
stature measuring Z feet 3 inches. though, UNI
fortunately, she is at the same time inclined to
slimncss. And what sized boot does she
weari We'll. Ihave never exactly reckoned
up her size, but my impression is that It would
be in the neighborhood of a No. 10. But tho
foot is slender in proportion to its length.
anything about the feet of the Chicago ladies
by reason of the fact that l never measured
them. DO you know, during my entire stay In
that city, l never happened to see a man whom
one Of them for a boot, but when i told him my
price he informed ne that he was not in the
habit Of paying more than g.; for r u S shoes hoe
business there alter that.
And that brings to my memory something
and that is, why is it that, with the tremendous
success American shoe manufacturing machin-
s have ei been eei made by ~ american Mneifnai s shoe %D m eHnffs@pis
ers to secure a market there for their low-priced
and medium,grsdes shoes. The low;grade
can call them-not only in style and shape and
general makeup, but in last and comfort:giving
examined over here, some of them. at least,
are made on as good a last as Is used for a boot
three nnes;. time, G Its cost SadL and nc t thcy io9 hst well; i tb the
and an English boot for the same p~rice-say &
shillings-there would be but one result, the
IT,fr1tGh 'y,np ttf n1tr nov txEnulI h nh1tnnI RI fN
out OF business. Some of them see the hand
writing on the wall already, and are getting
Tin the high.pricod goods there Is one con-
Germ in England at the present time using the
fH,biSeabls wf EneI Mhlcf o is n9k,na 70 E Eiy9 t one
hand. sewed work-a close rub, and that very
soon. 1t is, turning out goods at the present
compete with thcm-and they are very tine
goods, too do not think for the present,
American manufacturers in our russell leather
goods. Somehow or other, when it comes down
to n question of hand work, they don't seem to
have the workmen in America that we have in
England. Why, l cannot tell. Several of my
American customers have. tried many times to
don't know one of them who was ever perfect
" satisfied with tho experiment. Some time
line, and then l will haze no chance TO do any
business here, but will remain at home:
the el m I wS5e to otier Of S sT1siriism' l W TSTld ds say yd to
give such a spring to your soles, that the toe of
the boot points upward to such An alarming
~extenti II is just as easy not to. We do not,
and the sole Of the boot, in consequence, lies
along the ground witt, the foot inside OF it in a
perfectly natural, ea4 position. The effect Is
into the air at an angle OF Is degrees or more.
You can generally tell n good English shoe
from this distinguishing feature. Another thing
I have noticed in the cheaper goods is that the
sole stock is not up to'the mark. although the
general appearance is immeasurably superior
in every other way to the English article. Why
can't this he improved also! These things are
all susceptible of IMPROVEMENT. It may be
saying a good deal, but / believe ii to be the
truth that whenever America wakes up to the
fact that she can come out in open competition
she can control not alone the English market
on boots and shoes, but all the markets of the
world"