The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-05-24
Fair Women in the Shop
by DIR. LEONARD X. HIRsHBERG
" IOMEN are said to be born with
w inferential minds which, like

W IOMEN are said to be born with
wv inferentlal minds which, like
Bergsons, seize by intuition
what man lahoriously judges by logic
If this be true they have not shown
il in their methods OF buying fodder
and clothing.
Recently l fruitlessly and with great
damage to domestic bliss, at least for
the day. dared to compare one OF my
own best beloved shoppers with an eight
dollar week typist. The proposition
was that all of the women In the circl"
first Neutrality-suspicious. of whom received
less than $50 a week shopping allow
ance-went shopping with an utter un
certainty Of what they wanted To buy,
where they wished to make the pnr
chases and how much they intended t.
spend:
The typists. it was maintained, would
do better with the amounts left over
after paying their board than would my
"economical' women folk with several
times as much. Since ! was the judge
the decision was held to be unjust
Shopping is a sort of matinee, an in
diligence in gossip, exercise, candy
lunch and frolic. The purchase of dress
goods, shoes, and what not Is mer"lN
an exciting incidental. The frolic Is
the thing. Hence efficiency and con
servation OF resources are secondary
considerations.
Telephone girls, schoolgirls. tyrists
and maids with only two or three dol
lars above their board each week have
fun at other times. They do not con
| slider their labors drudgery llOusewor't
. and domestic annoyances have no ter
rors for them. Therefore shopping is
no outlet, no safety valve. no mere
| jaunt To them it Is "A strict matter
| Of business. They must know exactly
what they want and where TO got It
cheapest and quickest.
Not so your sister, your daughter
your mother your aunt, your wife or
you yourself II you are Of the gentle
| sex with more than SO n week spending
| money. To you the clerks in the stores
are not supposed to sell goods so nue.
as to show them. Your experience
make you a worried, tired cross AMI
finally, no matter what you select in Tho
end. badly suited person.
| All OF this loss of temper, loss Of bal
ance, loss of health and, from the hard
working fathers point of view. loss NJ
money and efficiency in shopping could
be eliminated il most of the geniuscs ~
the home would crystalline in their
thought, before they sally forth, oN-
actly what they need, whore they can
get 1t most quickly and at the lowest
price.
All this holds true of many women
| who refuse To make out an explicit list
| With a list Of needs prepared, then the
proper shop and the appropriate time
may be chosen.
Women make the grievous blunder In
shopping OF not knowing what they
want This costs them as well as the
shop keepers lots of money and time
| Every time woman adds to the loss
OF time in salesgrl the merchant Is
compelled to tack this added cost OF
doing business upon feminine requisites
Every time a woman buys somethini;
ION approval" or "for exchange each
time she returns an article she adds T.
the cost of doing business, and she and
her husband pay the freight witho
knowing It, Every time you shop al
lnger for a chat with a friend in the
| store or make the salesgirls show you
| a lot OF things while you engage them In
conversation you will pay the cost in
the price of white goods even at the
time you think they TAR. 80 very cheap