The sun., 1898-01-16
FASHION IN THE EAST
THERE ARE NO WOMEN DRESSMAK-
eRS IN CHINA.
A COkume Of the Cheaper Class Costs
About Forty Gents. but Really Hand
some Suit Can BE Had For Two Dollars.
Business Methods.


! Woman, lovely woman, is very muc
the sams the world over. In every cit
Of Christendom her eyes turn towar
Paris and her thoughts to the late
mode of that illustrious capital Of fasi
ion.
In the Flowery Kingdom they turn t
the great metropolis of Canton, out {
whose workshops and ateliers come gal
mcnts of equal style and splendor if nc
Of equal grace and beauty. Ignoran
male travellers to the contrary notwith
standing, there is fashion in the far eas
just the same as.there is at home.
A keen Chinese observer can tell evel
more from woman's clothes about tn
wearer than can be done at home Lit
tie peculiarities invisible to western
eyes reveal the province where tht
clothes were made; equally intangible
things show her status and, rank. be-
lieye there are Europeans who have
mastered these mysteries, at least
have been told SO, although | have never
yet met one.
There are no women dressmakars in
China. They are all men, and every one
with the importance and arrogance of
Mr. Worth of Paris.
Woo to the customer who dare criti-
else their work or suggest improve.
mcnts. So superior are they to the 9th.
er sex that their clerks are men. There
are any number Of these establishments
in the city Of Canton. When you have
Deen to one of the great ones, you have
been to all.
In front Of the house hangs a great
sisnboard in scarlet and gold. 1t is a
foot or two wide and reaches from the
sidewalk up to the second or third
story. The characters read: "Happi-
ness and prosperity, The house of gold
Ell splendor, women S dresses. There
are no show windows or easements of
any kind. The entire front is open to
the thoroughfare. There is low and
wicked railing across the entrance, how
ever, which bids defiance to sneak
thieves and compels ingress and egress
through gate as narrow as the one
mentioned in Scripture. When you pass
this, you find yourself in large and
very neat store some 20 feet wide, so
feet long and Is to 20 feet high. The
walls are covered with shelving from
floor to ceiling, and these seemed filled
to the last available inch with bundles
done up in paper Of all sorts of colors.
These bundles contain each one article
of clothing and are supposed to be proof
against moths, white ants, cockroaches
and the other insect pests of the far east.
Upon each bundle in clearly written
Chinese characters is brief memoran-
dun of the contents and the price. A
small ebony counter at either end per-
mits the exhibition of the goods, and
light bamboo ladders enable the clerks
to reach the upper shelves about the
place. There is quite an army of en-
ployees, who seem half bookkeepers and
half statesmen. There is larger army
of customers examining and buying
goods. There are no shoppers. Shop
ping seems to be mysterious modern
vice that has reached its most deadly
stage in the leading cities of Uncle
Sam. If Chinese lady were asked to
60 shopping, she would first want the
thing explained to her and then would
probably scream and run away under
the impression that her interlOCutOr was
raving mad.
The people of the establishment are
very polite and bring down everything
which they think approaches your de-
sire. They first reach down the bundle
md open it upon one of the counters.
The folding of these bundles is cx-
remely ingenious. They are so made
Up of salient and re- entering angles that
when the last triangular point is folded
'ver and forced into itself it is impus-
ible for any living thing or even for
lust to get inside of it. On one occasion
dropped a bundle of this sort over.
oard and tished it out again. After
rying the outside opened it and to
ny surprise and delight found that the
'ater had not penetrated to the goods
'ithin.
The bundle, opened, discloses the gar.
lent inside neatly folded according to
le conventional system employed by
le Chinese trade. There is not much
ariety to woman's garments in China,
, far as general form is concerned. She
ears q pair of trousers which always
,me from the upper waist to the an
les and coat which is either long or
lort In these bundles, therefore, if it is
1t ineXpressibles it is coat, and vice
,rsa. The cheapest goods are made of
ght thin muslin or cotton cloth dyed y
ack, brown or blue. Other colors are :,
so used, but to no such extent as -
e three first named. The trousers are :, .
lbroken and are held in place by - ~
ring or belt. The coat is also single - -
ece and is fastened with little frogs. l.
cheap materials the frogs are plain T,
ton cord Of the same color as the =,
iting. =.
A costume Of the cheap class costs ;s
ually 40 cents, but sometimes it is n,
d as low as 30. Next in grade are 4.
1se made from finer stutfs, sheetings, ~
Ills teacloth, long ellis, camelots and NJ NJ
lian muslins. These range from 80 :.
ITS to 20 cents. Here the button of -,
, frog is made of brass. glass or dark ;s
od and is SO arranged that it can be IN
zen off and replaced easily and quick. st., s
Then come suits made of light le
IL a., eS'