The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-22
NOMAN'S LOVE or DRESS.
FEARNTNGS AND WORRIES OF
WHICH MAN KNOWS NOTHING.

WHICH MAN KNOWS NOTHING.
Temptations OF shopping -Bewitcning I'm
vfonment Of the Millinef's 6hOp-Th
inclination to BUY on Credit -Whel
the Day Of Reckoning Comes
This 10 the season for m~illiners' bills
Every woman who has any p~retension Il
dress and good looks knows well the mean
ing Of those significant words. When VI
are young and innocent we begin by vowinl
that under no circumstances whatever will
We run up any bills or be persuaded by
the wiles Of those fascinating creatures
who keep milliners' shops into spending
moro than we can afford comfortably al
che moment.
Tho male person cannot even understand
the temptations OF shopping. He never
shops, writes Lady Violet Greville In the
London Daily Chronicle. He goes to his
tailor, orders his summer or winter suits
according to his wants, pays his bill either
quarterly or yearly, gets q discount, and
Herewith an end. He buys no dear little
chiffons, nc oddments Of tulle, OF ribbon
OF lace, no ties and bows and scarfs and
flowers and the hundred and one additions
TO woman's toilet which she believes neces-
sary. He does not even wear gloves.
Think Of the economy, the delight Of going
barehanded! OF neither getting into a new
pair of gloves with the delicaoy, the precau-
ton, and the perseverance required for a
scientific experiment. nor Of putting on
cleaned gloves, that abomination Of the
economical woman, with its noSious odor,
.-I tta IL, -~nnohla noHh., fonl,N. t1 The
sensitive touch.
No, man knows nothing Of woman's wor-
ries. nor Of the head splitting process Of
anxious thought which accompanies the
pursuit OF dress.
A new frock promises infinite charm,
but at what price is the joy purohasedf
Full Of delightful anticipation, one enters
the splendid precincts Of the milliner's
abode, ones feet sink into the softest Of
velvet carpets, silk curtains drape the
tall windows, satin conohes invite to re-
pose and meditation, electric lights sparkle
over stately mirrors, which display ones
humble form (of which one Is promptly
ashamed) In every possible aspect. The
very atmosphere breathes luxury. How,
In such indolent surroundings, dare one in
suit the owner of this magnihoenoe, and
degrade ones self-respect by bargainingf
As well contradict royalty OF wear a bicy-
cling costume at a smart garden party!
There Is unrolled before ones greedy eyes
the Kaleidoscope Of Vanity Fair. Ethereal
stuffs. soft to the touch, gorgeous fabrics,
pleasant to the sight, delicate embroideries,
filmy lace, and ounningly simple M cx-
pensive dresses follow each other In quick
succession.
With diabolical ingenuity, the most costly
end the rarest articles are shown first.
objects are in their turn presented. Our
artistic taste is offended; we turn away
from them in disgust, to glut our senses
the images Of loneliness and perfection.
She must, indeed, be a bold and hardened
woman, cased In a rigid armor of self
having, only ordered what she required
and had originally determined on.
Ths great millines must be descended
from the sirens, they charm 90 sweetly,
~persuasiveiy. What is money to themf
They can scarcely bear to speak of It; their
bargaining. and their ledger would be con-
by the touch Of ready money. |
MOL Credit Ia their god, and credit Is 30
There is no hurry for pay
ment-let the lady choose what her soul
yearns for, and leave the rest to fate; and
MN uooc' oAlO TX ddyS " GN0 WOIu6 |
have always listened to the voice Of the
tempter, and this tempter Is serpent enough
% take her by her most refined and estimable
Instinct the love Of beauty.
Woman is at heart not so much a rake
As 9 yolupttuary. Touch, taste and sight
A ohastened and yet a radiantly happy
steps from the threshold Of the
milliner's secure that for once at least
her appearance will be perfect and the
comments Of the crowd fraught only with
approval: Oh! those commentsl How
suffering they raisel
h knowledge that a hat sits perched
awry, that adress Is badly hum q, thatit gapes
1t the back, in that awful chasm, the placket-
hole, that a glove Is twisted, a button miss
ing, a stain-the stain which hangs, Meme
'islike, Q the eating Of Strawberries
,arty-has soiled the immaculate purity
the white garment, no longer muddy
the hens, but muddy in all kinds Of
wrong ~places-such things bring gray hairs,
wrinkles, headaches, bushes, and every
description Of trivial discontinue in their
rain.
AS a chain Is only as strong as its weakest
Ink, 80 do these misfortunes strain to break
ng point the best trained composure and the
salmeet heroism. You are perfectly aware Of
e~hortcoming; but the bitterness of the
humiliation lies In the fact that others are
NoAo VI hpt WV AiCINp WIG well I'll il6u |
,ride and satisfaction Of the perfectly
woman. That is why Gibson girls
AIRY their heads high and American women
ONE into q room full Of people without a
remor or an ounce Of hesitation. Unfor-
unately we are not all m~illionaires; we
all visit the emporiums Of perfec-
lon n art and soar in the rare1ed ether
4 beauty, above the common herd-in
language,-we are forced to employ
eoond rate dressmakers, and chat is the
most expensive plan Of all.
In France the small dressmaker lie as clever
a her business as the great dressmaker: IL
, only a question OF degree and prestige;
er work Is as good and her taste as correct.
lere, unfortunately, the small dressmaker
ives us in trimmings what she lacks in ft,
lies Pelion upon Ossa in flowers and frills
nd lace and buttons and sends US forth
Ike jacks In the. green at May time. Her
kirts drag and bungle, her bodices pucker
nd fold, tighten where they should be vide
nd bulge where they should clasp firmly.
n fact, the English dressmaker narrows
ur chests to the verge Of deformity and
our waists to the ideal Of the ath-
tie. When at last the wretched gown Is
o-cailed finished, having spent many weeks
trying IT on n heavy postage In sending
backward and forward to be corrected
Q find IL hopeless. Needs must when the
evil drives and a wedding OF a dance neces-
tates more clothes and more Wits to the
At last, when we have bought hats to
dresses and dresses to match sum
,ades and are possessed Of a wardrobe
rye enough to fill a gypsy caravan, the
is at an end and we find ourselves
18th a tumbled heap Of chiffon. silk and