The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-01-22
FASHION SHOW In PARIS.
EXHIBITIONS FOR BUYERS IN SEARCH
OF NEH MODELS.
Amazing Professions of Handsome Young
Women who Display the Latest Styles
Precautions TO Protect Ideas-Cost of the
N.....- - "a A. ar--h-

Gowns-Trials of New York Dressmakers
New York dressmakers are beginning &
turn their eyes toward their Mecca. and with
in q month their aemi-annual pilgrimage vii
be In full ewing. Twice u year, in Februar!
and In august. every dressmaker OF preten
sions goes TO Paris or sends a representative 10
her place. II she herself makes the journey onll
once. that once is in August. A summer oceai
voyage is more %nlluring than one in midwinter
and business and pleasure may be more efrec
tually combined In summer than in winter.
Not a model will the Paris houses put on ex.
hibltion before Aug. 10 but the tide OF dress,
makers sets toward Europe a month before
that date. and a flying tour of the continental
Watering places serves as n prelude to serious
business in Paris. Parties OF New York dress.
makers visit Ostend. Trouville, and the other
resorts where smart toilets are plentiful. and
notebooks are filled with sketches and details
of gowns seen at tho casinos and on the prom
enades. Incidentally. the searchers after fash
ions have q good time. and rest nerves worn
out by a seasons struggles with patrons and
assistants.
BY the middle OF August all these wanderers
have aocked to Paris. and then come two or
three weeks OF hard work and weighty de-
liberation. Nine-tenths Of the models brought
back to New York como from the great houses.
The prices paid are enormous, but those
houses determine the modes, and one can
safely follow their lead. The same models are
shown to all the buyers. Sometimes a honey
tongued saleswoman assures the d~ressmaker
that she is getting an exclusive design. but the
customer knows that is fiction pure and
simple. The only way in which she can
obtain exclusive designs Is by right OF
discovery. If she can find some little dress
maker. unknown to fame but fairly bursting
with latent originality and talent. she may tri-
umphantly bring home models that no other
New York house can duplicate: but such finds
are rare and their Joys arc feeting. BY the
second season other buyers have discovered the
rdra duis. whose prices soar and whose de-
signs arc no longer exclusive. Then the dis
coverer goes back to the big houses. but keeps
an eye out for other unrecognized articles.
The entr6e to a swell dressmaking establish
ment in Paris isn't to be sought lightly or
cherished carelessly: and many a d~ressmaker.
through some indlscretion, finds herself shut
out OF paradise. II one doesn't intend to buy:
one would better not visit one OF the noted
houses. The models are guarded with the
most Jealous care. and saleswomen exercise
strategy to prevent ideas from being stolen by
persons who do not buy the gowns. Handsome
young women. with fine figures. are employed
to try on the gowns, Certain gowns are fitted
else is ever allowed to wear them. OF course,
this arrangement makes II possible for each
lO'lS ~ pc ulSDldy6u W ZIG ptSb tiuNuu-
tage. A prospective buyer. enters the es-
tablishment and is met by a courteous
she is accustomed to meet. If the customer
has visitedthe place before, she mentions the
name OF the saleswoman who waited upon her.
II this is her first offence. she says so. and a
assigned to her. This attendant carefully
has called before. the saleSwoman can hastily
look up her record. II the ~diplomatist
decides that the customer meang business. the
symptoms of merely looking for ideas, she
doesn't see much worth copying.
wants, the ~sa!eswoman goes out and. gives
orders, Then, she returns aud makes herself
soWns IS brSus s2G in a a asG R hInG'e over S chairs iI7s IN IN
American fashion. nor does a supercilious
y young a PeGrSdG ran slip | to a skiTt on bn eyer bod her own 9w@
idea Of the effect. No; they do these things
gowns, chosen for exhibition. have been
fitted. don them, carefully. fasten every hook
and loop, and then sail maiestieelly into the
room. where the buyer sits waiting. and file
past her. II a gown takes her fancy the woman
wearing it is detained. but the others go out
buy it is better that she shouldn't see
does buy at least one frock. merely in order to
keep, the doors open for, the next season. A
tpa be7so Vi and I abny ce eoSs h sfro 59e tb prtiyi nss OF
From 10 O'Clock until noon a procession ofsu-
perbly gowned and beautiful young women is
Hing through the different rooms. From y un-
til z O'Clock the shopis probably closed. and even
millionaires may knock in vain. Then the con-
1t Is really worth seeing. from an aesthetic
as we'll as a business standpoint. The gowns
seldom look so well on the women who buy
them as they do on the young women who en-
The models are not sold. but copies are made
what her individual taste and her knowl-
OF her customers, suggest; The repre-
's@t tRes R %, see bite I46Ge h New 1IrT S WiiPf dka9a22I%S
and attract the general public. and they buy
accordingly. Their imported gowns are usually
patronage is largely among actresses
md professional people considers stage effects
md tastes IT. her selections. Tho house that
.aters to society spends money recklessly. and
must have or ginality.
copied agaiL and again. That is necessary in
that the dressmaker may get back the
money represented IL the model and make
lrms. The gown, for which 5000 Is, paid. in
,osed. may possibly be duplicated for S125 by
he dressmaker who has bought it. That being
! he sS case nr 1t mTSt be fe c Duplicated Tmen W msny times m @E Orit
money Is not an object often prefer to buy
he exclusive rights to a design. In that case
nd the duty a liberal commission to cover her
rouble in buying and her loss n selling only
{; and. as the same model has been brought 10
Jew York by a number Of firms. she probably
las not escaped the possibility Of meeting her
earest friend wearing a gown like her own.
One hears n great deal about the low
rices of dressmaking in Paris. but the
eports hold good only in tho case OF
dressmakers OF less renown. These
o better work for little money than
researchers Of the same position here, but
he well-known and prosperous establish
rents charge prices far in excess of those pre-
ailing Ip the best ~dressmaking houses of New
'ork. Now that a go per cent. duty is added
, those prices only women OF wealth
an afford Parls-made gowns, and New
lork dressmakers are content, Some women
till do their shopping, in Paris. but
le number has been decreasing stead
y for years and very rapidly OF late.
hree Of New York's most popular dress
lax ers told n U reporter last week that their
usiness had doubled within two years. and
nat the fact was to be explained partly. by the
Improvement OF home work. partly by tho
lrlff. partly by patriotic sentiment. and largely
y national prosperity and improved financial
1nditions. Tho last explanation accounts for
le rush Of customers from ali parts Of, tho
,untry, particularly from the south and West,
Western custom dropped of for several
said the. proprietor OF a swell dress
Iaking establishment. but Is coming back
it'll a whoop this year. and Southern custom
larger than it has ever been before. We can
Ut begin to get assistants enough TO turn ont
le work we want TO do, and we are turning