The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-05-24
STEALING THE STYLES
London Millinery Pirates and
 Their Methods.
TRICKS OF SMART WOMEN.

Use Their Position to Get . Look al
 the Advance Models and Then Sell Their Information In BerIin-One Case Where There Was a Slip. The object of the modern millinery pirate is by some means to get hold of the new fashions we'll in advance of the coming season, and, however jealously guarded the new models are, she-mOst pirates are women-very often succeeds, and the real owner has the modification of seeing his novelty anticipated by some firm of infinitely less importance than his own. Last spring the proprietor of one of the smartest shops in the west end of London noticed lady walking in the park attired in dress almost an ex- act coSy of brand new model of his own. model which not half a dozen people had seen besides its inventor and himself. The design had been reg istered, but the copy was just sufi- ciently altered to steer clear of legal difficulties.
 A most searching inquiry revealed the fact that the culprit was a lady who had always been considered one of the firms smartest and best custom CTS.
 Her birth and position were less i'm peachable than the state of her finances, and she had accepted the offer of Berlin firm to dress her on condition that she supplied it with the lot h4A 1os,> way from Paris to London.
 Having the entree of the innermost sanctum of the London firm referred to, she had taken advantage of its con- f1dence in her to draw it's designs from memory and post them to Berlin.
 The London firm had no legal rem edy whatever. All it could do was when the autumn styles were due and the lady called again to inform her that her patronage was no longer de- sired
 Another lady detected in a similar trick by the manager of a Regent street firm was very cleverly punished. Upon her next visit she was received with the same cordiality as ever and taken into the showroom, where the latest models were usually displayed.
 She never suspected until too late that the room had been specially ar ranged for her reception. The models exhibited were anything but new, and the too smart firm which employed her was put to vast expense to work up. dresses from patterns resurrected from those of years before which proved absolutely unstable.
 1t is by no means exclusively for the purpose of stealing other peoples orig inal designs that pushing firms. en- list the services of well dressed re- cruits.
 Last summer lady arrived at smart seaside hotel, the sort of place where people stay for the whole sea- son. She was pretty, smart and per fectly turned out-so well dressed, in fact, that other women, filled with envy, did their best to find out who was her dressmaker.
 But, though she frequently boasted that the people were perfect treasures and that her bills amounted to next to nothing, she steadfastly refused to dis close the name.
 One day, however, she accidentally dropped an envelope fnclosing bill from the mysterious dressmaker, bill artfully 'faked" so as to show prices of startling cheapness. Within week the firm that employed this clever lady welcomed a dozen new customers. Hotels, too, find the lady. tout most useful. Last autumn very pretty girl arrived at certain Scotch health resort establishment with her mother. She was smart, we'll dressed, a clever musician-just the sort of girl to be thoroughly popular with both sexes. At once she became the center of large coterie of admirers.
 Then after few days her vivacious expression gave place to look of un- utterable boredom. '1 can't stand this place. It's so deadly dull," she said over and over again. Finally one evening she announced that she could not endure it an hour longer. She was going.
 Where" was the question.
 Back to Blitherington." was the de- cided answer. 'It may be a little dearer. but you get your moneys worth there. One has such a good time therep'
 Next day she left. and before the week was out large proportion of her friends had followed her.-London Grand Magazine.
 A Fine Mixup.
 What do you mean by this. sir?' de handed the angry advertiser.