The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-11-27
A BABY'S WARDROBE
that COST $4,000
Wonderful Layette Provided for
a Tiny Aristocrat Re-
Gently.
IT WAS TO LAST A YEAR
sreat Sums Spent for the Outfits OF
Little Men and Women of the
Four Hundred-When They
Go Shoppins.

New York Press: One Is accustomed
to lavish outlay in the bridal trosseaus
Of the ultra wealthy, but what do you
think Of $4,000 being spent for a baby's
layette? 1t vas paid recently by the
baby's father, the Marquis de San Mai
sano, who married a New York heiress.
Tie wardrobe was to last for but one
year. At a large store in his city,
where the layette was ordered, it was
said the sum was the largest eve spent
In clothes for one baby.
In spite Of the lavish scale on which
the outfit was planned there was moth
Ing gaudy about the infants clothes.
The finest and softest fabrics We're
used, and every garment, from the long
linen dresses to the silk stockings, was
made by hand, with the monogra Of
the tiny aEistocrat embroidered upon it.
1t merely goes to show that there Is
such a thing as fashion in babylon,
and the opportunity for purchasing ex-
pensive flnery Is as extensive as In the
case Of adults.
70 be sure, the infant in this case
had specially made toilet articles of
solid silver, bearing the arms Of the
house Of San Maisano. The little soar
box was Of this metal, and it alone cost
$50. The basket containing the clothes
and toilet articles was the most gor-
geous piece in the layette. It was
trimmed in the finest draperies, hand
made, fringed with real lace and mono
grammed. Each compartment was
lined with white satin. The basket
cost $500. Then there was baby's wash
stand, with accessories of the finest
china and a miniature bathtub Of por-
celain.
Outfits for other babies have beer
planned on a scale of almost equal
magnidcence. The Vanderbilt and
Gould heirs had as much as 81, 900
spent on their baby clothes. Each gar
ment was hand made, and had its lit
tie wearer's Initials embroidered upon
it. The layette for the baby porn to
Lord and Lady CurZon MARY Letter.,
which was purchased in this city, was
even more costly, the sum expended
being placed at more than S $1,000. And
there We're few frills about it at that.
Every effort was made to reach the ac-
me Of sanitation, and while the fabrics
were soft and costly, the germ-catchins
ruffle was conspicuous by it's absence.
The little undershirts were knitted of
the softest silk. The flannel skirts
were made by hand. and the silk wool
caps n shawls and were
marvels Of expert workmanship.
While a total Of s., 000-to say nothing of
s9.20O-for a baby's outfit seems stupen-
dous, there is nothing remarkable about
1t when one figures the cost of some of
the Items. Ask to see some of the most
expensive dresses for an infant too young
ever to hold up It's head without support,
and you Will gain an insight into the sur
prising aggregate. When O reporter asked
this question a pasteboard box fully five
feet long was brought from beneath the
counter by one Of the saleswomen. All
smoothed out, as If 1t were a gown for a
society leader to wear to the first night
Of the opera, lay a snow white linen
dress. 1t bore the hallmark of the most
expert needlework. Real lace fringed the
tiny cuffs, and real lace nearly a foot
deep was at the bottom. The price was
$3.50, with not even 80 cents discount for
cash. Not every woman attends opera
first nights in a two hundred dollar gown.
A long cloak Of white silk, heavily lined
with wool batting, was next displayed. It's
price was s5s.
DO We sell many of this kind 2" repeat
ed the saleswoman. "Why, we nave diff
fculty In Keeping a sufficient stock on
land"
1t is not fair to blame the babies with
this extravaganza. It is the fault of the
parents. At the counter of the Infants
department sat a man from California.
He was purchasing an outfit for an ex-
pected heir. His bill already had passed
the observation-disclosures mark, and he had
a lot of other things to buy.
Il am going to surprise my wife with
this" he remarked. "She won't know
anything about it until the goods arrive"
He could have purchased an outfit for
one-tenth the sum he had spent and this
was suggested to him.
Il suppose the baby would like it just
as we'll" he replied, but my wife and I
would not. Who wouldn't be glad to spend
money for his first baby?"
The babies shopping place Is a great
field to study human nature. as shown by
little men and women. There you will see
the pampered darlings Of the -Four Hun
bred and the rosy-cheeked toddlers OF the
well to do. There Is nothing Of the
grabbed bargain hunter about babies
when they are out on their shopping ex-
cursions. They never haggle about the
49, 80 - 49, - N e."