The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-19
AUT0CRATS OF THE NEEDLE.
TAILORs, DREssMAKERs AND MIL
LINERS WHO BELONG TO EX-
elusive CIRCLES.

They Have Long Waiting Lists,
and Unless You Come Handsomely
Introduced, Madame Turns You
Down Promptly and without Cere-
mOny-Neither Name Nor Wealth
Can Get a New Customer Within
the Coveted Circle.
New York, Nov. lit is easier far for
a camel to slip through the eye of a real
cambria needle than it is for rich
man to get her name on the books of those
New York dressmakers, milliners, tailors
| and corsetieres, who belong to the smart
and exclusive circles of trade. No where
else in the world is there a corps of such
Independent caterers of feminine ward
robes as on Fifth avenue and the neigh
boring side streets, and it requires more
than mere money and more than a coax
ing tongue to induce these aristocrats of
the needle to accept your patronage
When New York dressmaker has
touched the crest of success she does not,
like the great Partisan modistes, build an
elaborate and richly upholstered estab-
lishment enlarge her workrooms and in
| vite general custom. Her first maneuver
house. use as small a brass door plate as
can carry just her surname, and bring
down her list of patrons to a limit that
represents the cream of good society
There is no such thing known at an ex-
elusive dressmaker's as accepting a Gus
toner who strolls in, says she wants to
see the proprietor, and order a gown.
What is your name?"
'rHave we ever served you before?"
Are you a resident of New York?'
| "Who recommended you here?"
These are some of the queries frigidly
put by a damsel of fashion plate aspect,
who sits at a French desk in the small,
| simply furnished reception ROOM If you
are from a distanct city, recommended by
nobody in particular your patronage is
| then and their politely but firmly refused
| and formally bowed out, by both buttons
/ and the lady in waiting, you go hang-dog-
| gedly down the step, feeling very much
| as if you had been caught asking aims or
forcing your way into a private household.
| If you come recommended you have one
| chance.nfYour name is sent in to the head
| of the house, along with that of the per-
| son who made the recommendation, and
| madame, the proprietress, sits in judgment
| and decides whether she desires to
| register you in a gilt-edged morocco
| desk. Like as not word will be sent down
| by a page in livery, to say that madame
| has closed her book for the season, and
begs to be excused from taking any fur
| Their orders. This may be the truth, or it
| may mean that you have been looked up
| and found missing from Boston, Philadel-
| phia or Chicago's social register and are
| therefore not worth bothering with.
To gain the genuine consideration of the
establishment you must come in the COM
| pany of some strong patron who will in
| troduce you and speak to madame in your
/ behalf; but IL you are turned down and
| go on to the nearest attractive looking
| brass plated door you see you will proba-
| bly, find yourself in the next grade of ex-
| elusive dressmaker. She will take your
| orders but no matter IL you place no limit
| as to price and offer to put your money
| down in advance she won't make you but
| lust a certain number of costumes, and
| not the simplest wash dress will be esti-
| mated on for less than one hundred and
| fifty dollars.
| Now this seems autocratic, but that is
/ lust what these dressmakerS are, and
| wish to be, and the corset and bonnet
| makers are no less so when they assume
| TO cater only to fashionable custom. I'VE
| have decided not to enlarge our custom
| any further" was what a stay manufac-
| turers elegantly laced lady assistant an
| nounced TO a would-be purchaser the other
/ day. However" she added, I'VE have
| opened a waiting list, and If you like you
| may put your name down and take your
| chances of being worked in should one of
| our old patrons drop out, though I ought
| to tell you that there are twenty-five
| names ahead of yours"
| The would-be customer refused the daz-
| zling Offer but she found the milliners and
| tailors no less difficult to deal with, and
| their devices for barring out what they
| consider useless custom are strongly sug-
| gestive There is a milliner of restricted
| but potent reputation who will not sell a
| hat to a woman who lives outside the linn
| its of New York city, while to an unde-
! sirable patron the smart tailor won't
| promise to deliver a garment under six or
| eight weeks, or he refused to take an
order under a limit of $100.
Now by no means does this signify that
| there are not multitude of able, amia-
BILE and moderate priced makers of good
| clothes in New York, which only goes to
prove what any woman can discover for
| herself that it is not much more difficult
to get into what is popularity known as
smart society than it is to patronize the
establishments where smart society pays
abnormal prices for the beautiful exclus-
i've fashions of every season.
Mllicent Arrowpoint