The times., 1899-11-12
YOUNG MEN MILLINERs.
They Are Invading Womap's Here
Infore ENcInsiNe Eielh.


While women are going into the prac-
tice Of law and medicine. a few inrelid
masculine souls have been successfully at
tempting to render lucrative one o. the
trades the femininity threatens 10 aban-
don. This is nothing less than the an
eieLt. honorable, and dimcult art Of trim
ming hats. In New York city alone there
are three men VINO have deserted the or
binary avocatious of their sex to make be-
vitching millinery and are doing so we
that they threaten TO outrival their
feminine competitors. one of th-sa men IS
a house TO house nuliuer. that Is, he takes
engagements 10 trim hats by the day. IN
his patrons own homes, and his start u
lie was made as a bOokkeeper. Finding
only poor pay and unhealthy confinement
in this profession and feeling an innate
1 decorators talent, he worked al day at
his books and practced alone in his room
every evening with the aid Of a dummy
head and a few plumes, scaris, and fe-t
J frames, at hat making.
When he felt himself proficient in his
/ art he solicited patronage and proved so
! satisfactory 10 the women who gave MIN
I chance that ne now possesses as large
clientile as he can handle. His charges
0
/ is the clever renovation Of hats In
small satchel he carries his sewing mate
riaIs and in a sewing room or quiet
! corner, he ships, fits, ties bows, poises
/ plumes. refaces, steams, presses and gen
/ orally does over TO the complete satisfac-
Jion OF those who employ him.
Another man milliner but with larger
/ ideals. opened a tiny shop near Sixth ave
nue. displayed his models in the window,
raised a sign. and signifed his readiness
/ to take orders. Apparently there was
I back work room TO the shop where assist
I ants sat and toiled, but in reality the pro-
urietor of the establishment was his own
/ shopper, trimmer. inisher, and salesman.
] A little custom drifJed his way and finding
! his hats modest in price and Of excellent
/ quality brought in a larger patronage ana
. the clever proprietor has now a large corps
4 Of assistants and his prices are as high as
Z auvbody's For all that the women flock
/ TO his door and acknowledge in him true
/ exponent of the highest il his art because
he is an almost infali5le judge OF the be
/ comingness of hat and because he viii
put a difficult customer before mirror and
! in d trice design himself the nat over
dozen times right on her own head.
Not very long since, 10 busy Fifth
/ Avenue milIiner came a smooth-faced
boy and asked for work in her shop as
4 a designer. At first she laughed at his
4 preteutions but when he sat down by the
window, picked up a lot of odds and ends
from a table and constructed therefrom a
hat that in ten minutes found a customer,
/ the young man was given job. He could
not be sent to The workroom where twenty
FIVE girls were busy all day, but behind
i screen in one corner, a studio was impFO-
vised and there from S in the morning
until in the afternoon the inscrutable
young genius sits serenely building head
gear that never fails to sell. And yet,
! said the miiIiner. as she allowed the re-
I porter a glimpse Of this new-found genius,
! 4 always believed that hat trimming was
an accomplishment in which women would
! never meet any masculine cOmpeltion3