Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury [Connecticut]) 1900-1903, 1902-10-24
PASSION FOR DRESS.
It Is Undermining the Morals Of
Some Sociasy Women.
Many Get Their Most Splendid Ap-
pare1 by Giving Mortgages on
Property Held in Trust for
Their Husbands.

Dinner gown mortgages, or, to be
more accurate, mortgages because OF
the dinner gown, are now included
among the financial transactions OF
the fashionable dressmaker belongs
the distinction of being primarily
their protector and promoter, says the
New York Sun.
The fact might never have been gem
orally known had it not been for a
visiting Trenchman, who, thoroughly
impressed with some interesting in
formation on the subject, gained one.
evening from a lady whom he had
taken in to dinner, ayailed himself OF
the very first chance to talk it over
at the club Then the interesting
members FASTENED to parade their
knowledge before certain of their
women friends, who in turn eagerly
communicated the facts to other wom-
en- not in the secret, and SO the news.
spread.
Like some other foreign visitors,
the French1nan, during his stay in
New York, marveled at the superb din
ner gowns which met his eye wherever
he went-marveled quite as much at
the variety of them, each more spfen-
did than the last, included in So
ciety woman's wardrobe, as at their
apparent costliness; and before long
he was ready to believe that in no
other country of the world is money
spent so layishly for Women's clothes
as in America.
He noticed, of course, that in point
of ma gnifcence the dinner gown leads
all the rest, and that, although the
ball gown might be almost passed and
comparatively inexpensive, the dinner
gown ola oman in society invariably
reaches a high water mark of new
ness of design, rich materials and cost
~ belishments.
These reflections and others he con-
fded with enthusiasm and in his best
manner TO his partner at the afore-.
mentioned dinner, at the same time
naively expressing surprise that so
very many American women were
able to lavish such piles of money on
one particular article of apparel.
The lady at his side listened beam
ing1y, and at the end of the cham
payne course became deligh tfully COM
rmunica tive. Said she:
eff you will promise not to betray
me I think l can let you into the se-
cret of how some of the less wealthy
women in the.social swim manage
sometimes to get several thousand dol
lars worth, of dinner gowns in a sim
gle season. The reason is simply this:
They give their dressmaker a mort
gage on real estate"
The Frenchman looked blank. The
lady proceeded:
<sThe American man, as perhaps you
know, has got into the. habit of deed
ing over tic, his wife some particular bit
of real estate, preferably city house,
not so much from an impulse of gem
crosby as because the transaction may
prove to be a safeguard should fnan-
cial disaster oyertake him later. For
that reason there is host of married
women, as well as unmarried ones, who
own valuable realty both in and out of
; New York. I myself own the house l
live ina circumstance which my dress
maker seems to know as well as j do.
At any rate, not long ago when I
went to her establishment to look at
lot of new French gowns, just brought
over, and in consequence found myself
quite depressed because ! could, afford
to, order. only one of them sent home,
she took me aside and confdentially
whispered that ] could order as many
gowns as ] wanted, and be in no hurry
about paying for them, provided Igave
her in return a mortgage to their value
on my house.
81 stared at her in amazement. and
then, of course, refused her offer point
blank, whereupon she coolly remarked
that she was very particular to whom
she made such an offer, and that al
ready several of her best customers
had purchased quantity Of evening
gowns on those very terms"