The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-05-20

cosTUMER TO THE CIRCUS.
The costumes for the big circus in
Madison Square Garden are all made
by Mrs. White, a little woman who
wears plain henrietta cloth gown,
whose gray hair is parted demurely,
who has a low toned voice and soft
brown eyes, and who looks not nm
like New England spinster of the
school going to take care of Sunday
school class. She has been with the
circus thirty-fve years.
All through the winter in the work.
rooms in Thirty-fourth street Mrs.
White, with staff of about twenty
FIVE young women, is busy making
preparation for the opening of the
circus in the spring. Frequently she
goes to Bridgeport to try on the
clothes of those participants in circus
revels that are prevented by various
reasons from coming to her.
Some of these clients are elephants,
camels, horses, for which she designs
and builds gorgeous trappings. One
or two fittings are usually necessary.
She does not turn out an elephants s
cover until it has been tried on at
least twice.
"Of course 1 go right in with the
animals" she says in a matter of
course way. "How else could fit
them? I have never had moments S
fear.
II fit the elephants cover by means
of stepladder, as well as those of
the camels and dromedaries. A step
or two up does for the horses.
"It is mistake to suppose that
the materials for circus trappings are
cheap and firnsy. Absolutely no ex-
pense is spared. 1t is no unusual
thing for me to spend as much as 81 S
or $40 yard for velvets or satins.
The trimmings are the most expensive
in the market, including bullions at
SIS yard.
Nothing that is delicate either in
design or coloring will do for US.
We must have the most pronounced
colors, the richest effects, for we have
always to consider distance as well as
the fact that what might look we'll at
night would not do for the street
parades which we have outside New
York.
"That orange colored satin gown
is for one of the women who rides in
the chariot race, and it is finished
very carefully, for it will be wron all
through the season in the procession.
Sometimes when gown is worn only
at night, while we get the best mate
rial we are not so very particular
about the finishing, Innings, &C."
Mrs. White broke off her talk to
point out Mile de Tiers, the French
woman who loops the loops in an au-
tomobile.
I'm all my experience with the
circus" she went on, IT find that it is
always the foreigner who takes those
frightful risks. You will never find an
American woman doing it,
Mrs. White has the adherence that
you will find in all circus performers
of the old school for the newer
methods.
IT don't know why people should
want to do those things" she said.
"Of course they get big sums of mon.
ey, but, gracious What is that when
you are facing death every day? And
you can't even have good time
while you are taking the money in,
for you have to be so careful and in
such good training that you are not
even allowed to eat like other people,
Ny belief is that a French woman
has got to create a sensation; that is
as necessary to her as the air she
breathes."
She returned to the question of her
special work.
"You notice an elephants cover, ?
she said. "Some of them contain .5e
yds. For many of the elephants are l..
feet tall. Often I have spent $Io 9
yard for stuff to make the covers,
while the bullion trimming is worth
SIS a yard, and hundreds of yards i.
used. One of the elephant covers We
made this year was simply covered
with jewels. 1t took four women foul
weeks to make it, and the entire cos
was over thousand dollars.
81 have often spent 5000, 900 fol
the years supply of materials, ane
this amount does not include the COS
of making nor the expense of reno
waiting. The cost of cleaning alon'
this winter 1851, 200.
Occasionally, when it is so spec
ifed in the contract, the lady rider
furnish their own costumes, and ther'
are a number of costumes in th,
show this season that cost three o
four hundred dollars.
"The life of circus costume i
about year. After season on TIL
road you can imagine that the bes
materials lose their lustre and thei
air of freshness. When you considel
the fact that an elephants cover ha
to be put on twice day and takel
off twice, that each time it may b
thrown anywhere that is most con
venient, it is no surprise that at tn
end ofthe tour it is no longer fit TO
the next years wear.
"What becomes of the debris?'
There were almost tears in Mrs