The sun., 1906-02-18

slme costli'n, moro than two or three
timns. must confess that unless gown
i. perfectly fresh it has no charms for me
and that no matter how Handsome u may
bc | tire Of the sight of 1t in one season.
"By the way, in talking about the New
York woman's extravaganza. good many
persons srparate entirely her clothes and
her house, whereas the principal reason
why some New York women now get ten
gowns where they used to buy one ~ that
their husbands have built mansions ana
Furnished them like palaces almost lhere
are now hundreds Of superb houses IN TINS
city which we're not thought OF twenty years
ago. According TO New York ideas OF con-
sistency woman who lives in palac ce
must dress like Il queen, be attired elegantly
every day and at all hours Of the day"
THE CLOTHES AND THE HOUSE.
(which costs the more fashionable
woman's clothes or her enterta inments''
the speak ker was asked
-Sometimes one, sometimes the other
Mrs Blank, who entertains Handsomely
almost the year round, told me that she
mann ged with 81, 600 month. That does
not include the servants pay roll. and she
keeps twenty servants in her New YORK
house.
-Few of the newer houses can he run
with less than twenty servants-many OF
them employ twenty-five or twenty
seven. | cannot manage with fewer than
five servants for the dining room alone,
and no one can who entertains constantly
and has a quantity Of silver in use all the
time. This one item alone shows the differ
ence between the scale of living now and
twenty-five years ago. when five or SIX
servants we're considered a satisfactory
equipment for even fashionable New
York household.
IF a hostess wants to give two or three
mtsicales of n season or musical pro-
gramme after several Of her dinners or
cotilon or two in the season with hand
some favors, 50 600 a month will not go very
far. Cotllon favors for 200 persons may
he had for 81, ,O0O but they are more likely
to cost S. 600 ard may easily mount up to
as much again. Frequently as much as
500, 900 is spent on single entertainment.
Have an operate star or two as an after
piece to dinner and you jump away past
the 81 600 mark at once, exclusive of floral
decoration. on which $500 may be spent
show for it. Mcconnell, who sold flowers
to society twenty-three years ago. told
me the other day that when he first started
in business $50 worth Of flowers at dinner
was considered wildly extravagant and
that an order of that size was far less
frequent han $500 order is now
"For one thing orchids and American n
Beauty roses at 81 each were not in fashion
then, and instead of paying 50 dozen
for ca arnations four inches across we bought
pinks about one inch In diameter at so
cents or rs cents a dozen. No one thought
of sllspending floral canopy aboVe dinner
table or of hanging floral portieres before
the dining room doors.
SIMPLE ENTERTAINMENTS NOT IN FASHION.
unfortunately simple entertainments are
not in fashion now, even young folks
parties costing a tremendous sum. Take
for example the ball given by Mrs. Watts
Sherman at Sherry's the other day to in
troduce her two daughters to society.
1T il doubtful if anything 80 fine was
ever before given for debutante. Many
of the guests remarked that with one or
two exceptions there had never been a
costlier or handsomer entertainment given
in New York Hundreds Of guests were
present. including all the shining lights
from the ranks Of the debutantes up to
the ranks of the dowagers.
"Sherry's whole place was engaged for
tie hight There were costly favors for
evtry figure of the cotillon, which was
preceded and followed by an elaborate
~spper The floral decorations were e1-
,,uisite. | heard some one say that the
affair did not cost cent less than SIS, 900.
| am of the opinion ii cost much more.
MY friend who spends about 81 900 a
month for entertaining does not give balls
nor hire high priced solosts to amuse her
guests nor does she give continuous house
parties at her country house in the season
nor take her friends off on trips in private
car. If she did probably $4,000 would
have to be added to her entertaining ac-
count.
Last March I took a party Of six friends
with me on a trip to California and around
home by way Of Mexico in private car
We were gone not quite seven weeks, and
the jaunt cost $4,000. This is almost q
common way of entertaining now.
Il could name dozens Of my friends who
never spend less than $4,000 year for
entertaining, and that does not include
the amount spent in keeping up their auto
mobiles and other accessories, like an opera
box and two or three out Of town cottages
which are maintained quite as much FOL
their friends as for their own diversion"
WHEN $50 900 A YEAR is LITTLE.
When these figures were quoted to q
man whose expenditures are large, he
reflected a moment and then said slowly:
small. very small; that is, if one is esti
mating the amount spent on his acquaint
ances and friends by the very rich men o.
this cty-the men who have built the couple
of miles or so of palatial dwellings in tht
section above Central Park East and West
and most of whom count their fortunes away
up in the millions. In fact, i don't SCI
how any one can separate the sum he OF
she spends in entertaining from the sun
total of living expenses outside OF clothes
perhaps. for the reason that. willy nilly
the wealthy are bound to entertain, ant
their houses, furnishings, and equipages art
means TO that end. From that standpoint
$50 600 is a mere bngatelle
"kNtravagant? Why, certainly, society
is getting to be more extravagant ever,
minute. Entertainments which my wife
thought very elegant ten years ago sh'