The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-11-22


ID out having been Obliged to
6mz~ saddle herself with a foreign
husband in order to get it.
has things to say both witty ana wise
on the absorbing topic of whether
woman can dress well on $500 a year.
t"To begin" says the baroness. this
is nernicious doctrine to inculcate In
the minds of men. Once the masculine
seq gets into it's mind the notion that
woman needs no more than three
hundred dollars year to dress well on'
even rich men will try to skimp their
wives and daughters down to that sum
for costuming, and there will be IN
+bair 70 antilles scenes and disturbances
without end.
"A woman in society cannot possibly
dress on three hundred dollars a year.
To attire herself properly will require
three times that amount. She must
have at least four costumes-a hand
sone tailor made street suit, tea
gown, dinner dress and an evening
dress. If she does not go to many dln-
ners or evening affairs, she may make
tbe same dress do for both. l knew one
Iadv who thus wore one gown the sea-
son through for evening and dinners,
hut If was a handsome one and could
not have cost much less than one hun.
dred and fifty dollars. She had one
tailor made dress which probably cost
nearly one hundred dollars. She could
model over these gowns for second pest
the next year, but the two together
| themselves came to almost two hundred
and fifty dollars. Where. then, was the
money for her hats, gloves and shoesE
The climate of America is so extreme
| that we need both a summer and a;
winter street dress here. In England
mr. France the same one will do the year
round. Then, if woman wants to buy
| a fur Jacket or even the smallest jewel,
or. saw. a handsome plumed hat, where
would she be on three hundred dollars
year?
cone other point-if a woman has all
the money she needs and if she also
likes pretty clothes, there is no way In
which she can please herself and aid
other people more easily than by in
dnIeing her taste and buying elegant
land beautiful garments. 1t helps trade
and tradesmen and their families for
her thus to spend money.
| "It is a matter on which no one can
Law down a hard and fast rule, this
question of how much woman should
enend for dress. A woman should dress
according to her means. If she has no
more she can dress on thirty dollars a
wear and be neat and tidy. One year
when I was in debt 1 spent only fifty
dollars for clothing. I should sum the
matter ,1p like this: Can a)woman dress
on three hundred dollars year? If
she is in society, no; if not, yes"
A 1adv who earns her living and
whose nav amounts to $35 a week says
~ is ont of the question for business
woman situated as she is to dress on
$500 a. wear. She is in heavy SWELL
office in a great city where men rich
and moor come from all over the earth
TO consult her employers and herself
IF she dressed shabbily or very cheaply
she could not keep her place, for eli
ents would draw instantly the conclu-
sion that her employers were either an
unnrosperous or a stingy firm, and in
either case they would not want to
have dealings with such men. So the
business woman pays $50 to 500 for a
tailor suit and $40 and upward for hal
and thinks it pays her to do so.
,"And if / were to lose my place." she
said. land had to find employment
again I should put on the best clothes
I had to do it in. If you have to go out
and hunt work, you should wear good
clothes in order to give the impression
, that YOU are prosperous. Look YOU
hest. brightest and youngest, and yoI
, will obtain a situation twice as quick
at suppose if l stayed at home ant
had time to remodel my garments
could dress on less, but when I'm in tht
, whirl from daylight till after darl
. what can do? Once I thought would
: have two old gowns made over into one
, to wear to the club. I had second
hand black silk and a white silk skirt
, had the two put together for a blacl
: and white costume, Mrs. Roosevelt
fashion, and I bought some lace ant
twelve bolts of ribbon and paid for thu
r making. Result, cost Of thirty-sever
r dollars, and 1 had only an old dress
after ALL"