The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-02-11
The TaShi@M@I5le DressMak@r
BY MARGARET E. sANesTER,

ity no monopoly Of taste and none of
style. Nevertheless, in her chosen line
she is d lofty parsonage, and to her.
as is meet and right, the daughters Of
our milliOnaires will turn, the wives Of
our city magnates look, and the brides
Of the coming season, if their fathers
have long purses, will accept her die
tum as to their trOusseaus.
When a bride centers upon herself
the admiring attention of a nation
when the rich brOcade for her wedding
gown is woven as if she were a queen,
on an exclusive loom, by an exclusive
pattern, never to be reproduced, 1t is in
the order Of things that her finery shall
emerge from the hands OF some dress
maker Of renOWn.
Such artistes, the fashionable dress
makers Of the period, have their dis
tinctive place at the top Of the trade.
They rank with the great chefs, the
great statesmen, the great leaders, and
the great people in general Of their
time. Whether or not others recognize
this, they themselves are not slow to
insist upon their prerogatives.
Your fashionable dressmalker Of emf
nence is q parsonage with whom one
does not take liberties Great ladies'
so to speak. sit at her feet. Her house
has nothing about It Of the air Of the
shop Carriages drive up to her door,
steps, ring her bell, and float out of
sight within the magic portals. Those
portals are opened by a page in but
tons, who is as dignified as q we'll
trained English butler, and as solemn
as an American undertaken. His face
has the immObility Of q craven Image,
and vet he knows to a nicely, and APP
parently by intuition, which Of mad
ame's customers is to be treated with
respect, which with affability and
which with liberation. Tt is amusing
TO observe the faint Interrogation mark
in the eyes Of such functionary when
a new customer appears who has unfOr-
tunately not yet attained the hallmark
Of fashion, and who has something of
the stamp of the trump or the dOwdy.
But madame'S orders suffer no dis
courtesy to a visitor, except, perhaps,
from herself She has almost q sixth
sense in determining at a glance
whether a stranger is to be welcomed
with effusiOn, or gently discouraged
Occasionally, but very seldom, her dis
erection is at fault and she blunders
into a rebuff to someone who might
have proved a most desirable patron.
Her drawing room is well furnished
and has nothing Of the gloom charac-
teristic Of boarding house parlors. On
the contrary, its appointments are COM
Portable, conventional and a little
stately. This is madame's reception
room, and here she bears herself with
the suave and gracious manner Of
duchess. just tinged with sufficient
aristocratic aloofness to keep her Gus
toners properly subordinate in their
places. She suggests, dictates and or
dams what the people who come 10
her are to wear, and if they happen
to be favorites she lays herself out to
do them honor and so to dress them
that they shall honor her.
Formerly this pOtentate was some
what noted for mendacity in the mat
ter Of promising gowns for occasions,
but in these days she is likely to keep
her word, and a promptly paying Gus
toner IS measuTably sure to receive
her toilettes IN good season. The little
matter Of price is seldom introduced
until choice has been made and the