The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-09
COSFUKER TO THE CIRCUS.
ron 50 YEARS MRS. WHITE HAS
DRESSED WOMAN AND BEAST.

Spends go, 900 . Tear On Materials
AiOns-ThO Old Circus and the New.
The costumes for the big Oirous ln MAdi-
son Square Garden are all made bY pArs-
White, q little woman who wears . plain
hSnriVtta cloth gown, whose gray hair 10
parted demurely, who has low toned voice
and soft brown eyes, and who looks not unlike
a New England spinStSr Of the old school
going to take care Of Sunday school GLASS.
she has been with the circus thirty -hvS
years,
An through the winter In the Worluooms
IN Thirty-fourth street Mrs. White, with .
star Of about twenty-five young women.
is busy making preparations for the opening
Of the CIRCUS In the spring. Frequently
che goes 70 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 the elephants,
canlels, horses, for which she designs and
builds gorgeous Trapping. One or two
fittings are usually necessary. She does
not turn out an elephants Dover mtl II has
been tried on at least twice.
'Of course 60 right In With the AMI
mails she says in a matter Of course way.
how else could az theml have never
had moments fear.
Il at the elephants covers by means Of =
stepladder, as well as those Of the camels
and dromedaries, A step or two up does
for the horses.
IN IL q mistake 70 suppose that the ma
terialS for circus trappings are cheap and
dimsy. Absolutely no expense IL spared
It IL no unusual thing for me 20 spend 80
much as SIS or so a yard for velvets or
satins The trimmings are the most eX-
pensive In the market, including bullions
at IS q yard.
Nothing that IL 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 we'll as the fact that what might
look well 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 ride In the chariot
race, and Il Is finished very carefully, for
It will be worn all through the season In the
PROFESSIONS. Sometimes when a gown is
worn only at night, while wo get the best
material We are not 30 very particular
about the finishing, Innings, &c.'
Mrs. White broke OF her talk to point
out Mile de Tiers, the French woman who
loops the loop In an automobile.
In all my experience with the oircuS,
she went on. Il find that II Is always the
foreigner who takes those frightlul risks
You will never find an American woman
doing it.
Mrs. White has the adherence that
you win find in all circus performers OF
the old school for the newer methods.
Il don't know why people should want
70 do those thinRs,' she said. aOf course
thew get big sums Of money, but, graCiousl
what Is that when you are facing death
everv daY7 And you can't even have a good
time while you are taking the money in,
for you have TO be 90 careful and in such
good training that you are not even al
lowed to eat Ike other people. My belief
is that a French woman has got 10 create
a sensa ton; that Is as necessary TO her as
the afr she breathes.'
She returned to the question Of her special
work.
sYou notice an elephants cover she
said. Some Of them contain fifty yards,
for many Of the elephants are Is feet tall.
Often have spent 80 a yard for stuff to
make the covers, while the bullion trim
ming is worth IS q yard, and hundreds
Of yards u used. One Of the elephant
covers we made this year was simply covered
weeks TO make II, and the entire cost was
over q thousand dollars.
Il have often spent $4,000 for the years
supply Of materials. and this amount does
not include the cost Of making nor the ex-
pSnss Of renovsting. The cost Of cleaning
alona thia winter was 81 200.
Occasionally, when Il is 80 specified
IN the contract, the lady riders furnish
their own costumes, and there are a number
Of costumes In the show this season that
cost three or four hundred dollars.
The life Of q circus costume Ia about
q year. After a season on the road you
can imagine that the best materials lose
their lustre and their air Of freshness. When
you consider the fact that an elephants
cover has 70 be put on twice day and
taken OF twice, that each time it may be
thrown anywhere that Il most convenient,
Il u no surprise that at the end Of the tour
II 10 no longer At for the next years
what becomes Of the debrisi' There
were almost tears in Mrs. Whites voice
o. she explained that in Bridgeport there
n q storage warehouse OF great size where
all the costumes used In all the time she
has been with the circus are stored In pack
ing boxes, doing nobody any good Why,
the amount Of money that is spent in cam
phOr and moth balls clone would run q
6mAller circus, she explained.
why are they not auotionsd oni' was
asked.
sThat don't know; It il an idea OF the
owners that they want everything saved
Just ~ II IL, that they win have nothing
used that docs not look absolutely fresh
Mrs. White spoke Of p. T. Barnum In
terms Of greet admiration.
SHe took such an interest In the smallest
details, she said, but, Of course, In bis time
the costumes were very different We
had no Durbar, and the lady riders and
many Of the other performers wore the
short tarletan skirts Ike the opera dancers.
10 took hundreds Of yards Of tarletAn for
those slkirts, and according to my way Of
thinking there never have been such
pretty tollettes. They were airy and 70
| dainty, but they cost a great amount, for
they were easily soiled, easily tom and
difficult to make, although they looked 90
ample
Ms. Whites duties do not end with the
! winter sewing and the supervision Of the
wardrobe room at Madison Square Garden
| She goes with the CIRCUS on its tour and
every rent IL mended under her supervi-
Slon. Lot the elephant, in a AZ Of playful
| mesa, put hia ttisk through a corner Of
bis thousand dollar coat and Il Il repaired
! deity and Bmiingly, for as Mrs.. White
| Fomarlus, you can't expect an elephant to
| display a. much pride In taking care Of
4 ~ ~