The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-12-21
THE FASHIONS
ADVANTAGES TO THE PURCHAS-
 FIR OF E.RLT BUYING.

I Ethics of Christmas ShOpping-GOwns
 for Dinner and Theatre Interest Old
 and YOung-Artistfc Shocking.
 The approach of the Christmas holi-
 day gives opportunity for generosity in
 a wider sense than that in which the
 term is generally used. It should not
 be considered an act of extraordinary ! unselfshness to give some thought to the ethic of shopping at this season,
 when the shops and stores are strained l to their utmost capacity to meet the
 demands made upon their working | forces. Every year the stran grows 1 greater. The times are prosperous, l money is, on the whole, plenty, and l 'purse-strings are loosened to make the ] festivities more and more lavish. All
 this means extra labor to great army / of Workingmen, women and alas, chill dren. There is no desire to sentiment
 taliZe over these workers. They are l earning their living in prematurely ! congenial work, and should be content ] to accept the Christmas rush as one of | llIS 4IlEFlLCtDl GOIANlLIO1lS OI IllC4L u SAtS i This, however, does not release the
 shopper from her obligation not to
 make the burden greater than it need i be-
 | The question arises how heavy must , the burden of Christmas be to the shop { people.A few years ago practically all : stores kept their doors open during the i evening at the Christmas season.
 Some stores remained open until mid
 night, opening again at eight or nine o'clock in the morning, as usual
 Through the Consumers League prin- l cipaIly, this state of affairs was dis
 covered to be inhuman and unnecessa-
 ry, Shoppers grumbled at first. They
 were accustomed to doing their holiday 1 buying in the evening as well as dur l ing the day, and they felt imposed
 upon when the doors were closed at six l o'clock. They soon found that they
 were able to do their purchasing before | six o'clock, and now no one dreams of
 resenting the fract that uptown shops are closed in the evening.
 Enlightened people are beginning to
 perceive that an injustice is done shop
 employees when the latter are called upon to do their heaviest work near
 the close of the business day. Purchas- | es made in the morning or early in the
 afternoon are wrapped and otherwise l disposed of before six o'clock. Pur- chases made late in the afternoon, or | just before the store closes, may keep | the employees at work until ten o'clock or later. What ordinarily kind-hearted
 man or woman would deliberately keep
 tired wrapper girls, bundle boys, deliv-
 cry clerks, drivers and package boys to
 say nothing of weary horses, at work | far into the night. An act which we know to be cruel when done deliberate | 1y is also cruel when done thoughtless- l ly. The message of the Consumers 1 League, addressed to shoppers at this season, should be taken to heart by ev- | cry woman: For the sake of the tens
 of thousands of women and children, to whom the holiday season means | chiefly weariness due to excessive work, 8 bitter rnockery of holiday
 cheer, it might be a definite violation
 of our humanitarian principles to shop,
 except in case of emergency, either the W6Sh USLOTe CIlrISLiIldS, UT ldlG III JLS 1 day during December"
 The early buyer catches the Christ ! mas bargain. By the 18th of the month the stocks are pretty well gone over,
 and what i'm left begins to assume a | battered appearance. This, of course, | applies especially to small articles, | which make up the bulk of the seasons trade. Gowns and gown materials are | not so much affected. Furs, hats and
 other staples are not among the arti- cles hauled over by hundreds of hands. 1 Nevertheless, even these have been se- lected out by the middle of tn month.
 At this time of year one naturally
 thinks of dinner and theatre gowns. | Even children share the right to wear festive faiment. Whatever may be said of the suspender and skeleton waist l dress for groWn-ups, no one disputes l that the fashion is charming for chil- dren. It Is applicable alike to every- day gowns and dressy toilettes. For
 example, a charming little gown of red ! and white foulard was made with 8 full skirt, tucked in groups of three halfway to the waist. The shoulder straps ana CIle cross pl6ce WHICH HldQe the round yoke effect were tucked crosswise, the little tucks laid close to- | gether to form rather solid surface. 1 The straps were edged with 8 tiny l quilting of silk. Underneath was worn
 blouse of embroidered handkerchief l linen.
 Another little gown of light blue and white silk had the skirt trimmed with three ruffles set wide apart and each
 headed with a shirred band of silk. ] The waist worn with the skirt was ! composed of many lttle ruff1es of Va 1 lenciennes, the elbow sleeves bieng
 made of the same material. The silk appeared in the form of shaped shoul- der capes, which were extended in points to the waist line. A sash of pale blue satin was worn.
 Many people dress small girls entire- ly white muslin the year round, and dressy gowns mean no more than 8 little finer material and more elaborate workmanship. The sheerest of mate- rials has underslips of India silk, some- times in pale colors, sometime in white. A luxurious little gown for a girl of