News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1899-10-04
SOMETHING ABOUT SILKS.
They Are Not Only Cheap but the varIe'
ties Are Mhny.

They Are Not Only Cheap but the varIe-
ties Are Many.
att is a funny thing about silks this
year." said the silk man. AT one
time you could say that such and such
silk was in fashion because all the
women were buying that kind, but it
isn't that way now. Women are buy
ing everything under the sun in the
way of silks. There are brocades,
small-patterned silk, stripes-every-
thing; we can't say that we are selling
more of one kind than another, be-
cause we sell them all,
Women like something different?
Well I guess you are about right there.
l had a woman come in the other day
and say that her sister had bought
such and such kind of silk at an
other shop, and she wanted silk
but that it must be entirely different.
Well, l showed her everything there
was in the shop, but the trouble was
she didn't know what she did want, ex.
cept that it must be different from
anything she had ever seen. That is
the way of it. At one time man had
his regular customers, who would al
ways come to him for what they want
ed, and he could always supply them.
But it is not so now A woman come;
in and looks everything all over, and
then-takes a sample. 1t is hard on
man who is judged by the sales he
makes, and the firm thinks he is no
good if he can't sell.
"Why, l can remember the time
when l went into the business as q
boy, that women were perfectly we'll
satisfied if they had only few kinds
of silk to select from, say brown and
a green and a blue and a few colors
like that. Now you can't get up new
things fast enough for them and they
are not satisfied at that. With the
competition it means a great deal.
You can't have few pieces of a GER
tain kind of silk on hand, and where
there is a greater variety and larger
stock there is more danger of loss.
"Take light silks that were used for
house wear in the Winter would do FOR
outdoor Spring and Summer wear
But there is nothing of that kind
now. We have to have special var
iety of silk for the Spring trade.
Silks never were so cheap. Last year
they were cheaper than they ever had
been in the history of the trade. If a
woman doesn't have a silk gown now
adays it is because she is too partic-
ular to find anything that suits her..
Women are doing less of their own
shoppings now tnGn they use1 to
They leave more of that to their dress
makers now. Think c. a girl letting
any one buy her wedding gown few
years ago! She and all the members
of her family would make a business
of shopping for it, but there is nothing
of that kind now Perhaps there is
Just as much sentiment but the bride
simply tells her dressmaker what she
wants, and she gets the goods, pos
sibly a sample first, if the girl has
great deal to say about her gowns!
out more likely she will not see it un'
til the material is in the house
Things are different, and we all feel
it. The competition is so great thai
the salaries of the clerks are not half
what they we're, and now, where
man would a number of years ago
have had a small shop of his own and
make enough to support his family.
comfortably, he has to take half the
money in the employ of some one else.
Oh yes, women spend more money
than they did, but they have NOR
filings for which to spend it,"