The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03
BORROW F|NERY
 FROM THE STORES One Way New York Women Have of Looking Smart TAKE WEAR FROM CLOTHES After Using Cloak or Hat for While Send It eack-Manasers Are
 Lenient-crumbs in
 Pockets.
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
 Everybody remarks on the good clothes worn by New York women. Strangers from other cities notice it the first thing. Visitors from Europe have often eX- pressed surprise at it, and frequently Mrs. Jones, living next door but one to Mrs. Brown, has marveled at the variety and richness of the latter's coats, wraps and hats, and Mrs. Smith, whose hus- bands financial status is exactly the same as that of Mrs. Whites husband, wonders discontentedly how it happens that Mrs. White can have at least two new wraps to every one that she, Ms. smith, can afford
 Were Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Jones to have a confidential chat with one and another purVeyor of woman s clothing they would cease to wonder. They would learn that much of the apparent pros perity which fills them with envy and unrest is the outcome of an original lit tie way many New York women practice when shopping None of these women means to be dishonest or underhanded. Such an insinuation would be highly re- sented by any one of them. Their origi- nal little way is simply natural se- quence of the indulgence of department store managers to woman customers-dn indulgence WnlCn so Idr IS llol uuliiSe''SA in any other city on earth, certainly, at least not in any city of Europe.
 We let our customers almost wear out goods and then send them back" a super intendent of popular department store once remarked with a cheery smile; and he meant it. This is how it works:
 When Mrs Brown or Mrs. White or Mrs. Anybody Else with a charge account at this, that and the other department store or dressmaking establishment finds that she needs new jacket or long coat or opera cloak or all three, she makes the rounds, of course, to look over all the new models before making a selection As every one knows, few women shop pers ever buy in the first store visited, no matter how satisfactory the goods shown may be; for how do they know but what the assortment in the other stores may not be still better and cheaper? For this reason a woman with a charge account in one store is pretty certain to have A charge account in two or three stores. This in fact is one of the modern phases of the retail dry goods business which is becoming more and more general. The charge account means that the buyer IS privileged to have goods sent home one day and to send them back to the store next day to be credited to her account.
 Naturally there is a pleasurable excite ment incidental to such transactions lacking in the cash on delivery system of buying, and incidentally the charge ac- count has in many cases led to the state of things which Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Smith regard with a jaundiced eye, and which, by the way, managers and sales women are beginning to take measures against.
 T draw the line at cleaning cake crumbs out of the pockets of a $500 wrap de- clared a manager the other day. The story of the crumbs was this; A charge customer descended on the cloak department to look at evening wraps. and, selecting an imported affair of lace and satin brocade ordered 1t sent home. The next day the department was notified to send for the wrap, which had not been found satisfactory The customer would make another selection, it was stated. Back came the wrap in good condition and plus some cake crumgs discovered as the saleswoman was refolding the gar ment to restore it to it's box. The wrap, it was evident, had been worn the even- ing before.
 few hours later the wearer appeared and when taxed with having worn the purchase calmly admitted the fact, add ing: That is why I sent it back. My friends said it was not becoming As sine really wanted an evening cloak and was prepared to pay well for one that suited her the management decided not to insist that the returned garment should be kept by her.
 AS a matter of fact, provided a gar ment shows no sign of having been worn salespeople and managers can hardly re- fuse to exchange it. To prevent the growing custom of taking one wear at least out of a coat, wrap or hat and then returning it is almost impossible for the reason that unless some employe ac- tually sees the garment worn it is not proved that it has been worn. Even a wrinkle-several wrinkles-wont prove it.. for 1t Is quite possible to wrinkle gar ment in the packing.
 One case at least in which 1t was proved that purchase had been worn occurred last winter in a shop frequen.ed by fashionable women. The purchase was an opera cloak-a very distinctive cloak, the only one of the kind in stock. That same evening a salesman in the depart ment attended the opera and saw seated in a box the customer of the morning with her purchase thrown over the back of her chair. The cloak was returned to the store with the explanation that the husband of the purchaser did not like 1t and that the price could be credited to her account. Nothing was said about se- lecting another cloak. Of course, the gar ment was sent again to the customer with the message that as it had been worn to the opera the evening previous 1t would not be taken back.
 Tn the case of street jackets and coats of cloth and of fur it is safe to say that not less than 50 per cent of all that are returned have been worn at least once, said a saleswoman in this same shop. we think nothing of having garments returned by charge customers-we expect it, in fact-for the reason that so many buy with the proviso. I want my hus- band to see 1t before decide but we do object to having our goods worn and then returned few days afterward. as is re- peatedly done.
 Not long ago a woman gave herself away by sending back long coat such as is worn driving or outoing, with pair of gloves in the pocket, and on another oc- casion a short street coat was returned I nave come to the conclusion that there casions when they want to look partcu- larly smart and can't afford it manage it by borrowing a coat, a jacket or an even ing wrap from a store where they have an account. Sometimes this is exchanged the next day for much cheaper jacket. Even ten years ago such a thing wasn't dreamed of, partly because women were satisfied with fewer changes then and also because at that time shoppers had fewer privileges.
 Shoppers can't very well borrow entire