The Washington herald., 1917-12-21

In these war times when we all live
in the fear and admonition of Mr..
Hoover, and when the practice of
economy has become not only an ex-
preston Of patriotism but an obses-
sion. 1t Is good thing to sit down
and try to figure out when saving is
saving and when it is wasting.
Especially Is this true in regard to
women who are only too frequently
penny wise and pound foolish and
who are never so wildly extravagant
as when they are most conscientious
ly trying to be more economical.
Indeed, one man know claims that
he really can't afford his wife's econ
omies. He says that he can pay her
bills with ease so long as she follows
her usual scale Of expenditure, but
that when she has fits of retrench-
ment and saving she bankrupts him.
Most women will have an uneasy
feeling that this woman's cap fits
them, for the majority Of our crimes
of extravaganza are committed In
the name OF economy and we waste
more money in trying to save than
in any other way.
What woman, for instance, has not
at times INDUCED in the ruinous ex-
travagance Of having her old frocks
and hats made over? At the begin
ming of q season she gets out her last
years gear and looks it over.
Times are hard. Husband Is COM
planning about the high cost of living.
woman. Not quite good enough to
wear as they are, but with a little
touch here and there they will pass
n inCnfTa tinn OF
saving. She will have them made
over.
She takes the hat and gown to her
miIliner and dressmaker, who look
look sour and disgruntled. but who,
rather than lose good customer,
agree to see what they can do to the
old things. They do.
By the addition Of two or three
ostrich feathers, a bolt of expensive
ribbon and some imported ornaments
the old hat is camouhaged into an
understudy of a new one at about
twice the price of a new one. While
the cost of reconstruction of the old
gown, with layers Of chiffon. en-
broidery, spangles. gold net ano
heaven knows what superimposeo
upon 1t, makes its second estate far
more expensive than the first. And
they are still made over clothes and
look 1t.
1t takes q bank roll big enough to
choke an elephant, and a barrel of
tears, to teach a woman that having
her old things made over is an ex-
travagance that only millionairesses
can afford, and that a woman in mod
crate circumstances Is reduced to the
pitiful economy Of having to buy new
clothes when she needs them instead
of having her old things Published up.
Also it takes age and bitter expert
ence to teach a woman that a bargain
Is almost invariably bomb loaded
with dynamite. I recently overheard
conversation between two sisters
that illuminated this point with great
clearness. Said one Of the sisters to
the other:
I'VE have exactly the same allow
ance, yet you are always dressed ex-
quisitely and I look like a human rag
bag. How do you do it,"
by avoiding q bargain sale as i
would a case Of smallpox" replied
the other. "Oh, I know the fascina-
ton OF getting something for $1T
that has been marked down from
$500, and buying a French model at
half price at the end of the season..
and SO on. know they look allurinG
and sound alluring, but when you get
them home they are never Just ex-
actly what you want, and you gener-
ally find out that you bought an
evening gown because it was bar
gain when what you needed was a
sport suit or that you're invested
the money you intended to put in
pair Of shoes in a hat, because every
down to $500. And you have too
many hats, and your feet are shabby.
Worse, than THAI, If you get the
bargain mania, you fritter away your
money on q lot Of useless odds and
ends that you buy, simply because
they are cheap, that clutter up your
house and for which you have no
earthly use. That's where your mon
ey goes, and that's why you never
have any to spend on q really good
gown or hat. I also avoid cheap
things. because a cheap thing is never
cheap, It never has the wear to 1t, to
say nothing of the looks, that a goou
article does.
THE way to economic on clothes
Is to buy the most expensive ones
you can possibly afford. II pays In
the end because they last better and
they always have an air and a style
to them that shoddy things never
have"
OF course bargain hunting cannot
be solely attributed to woman's mis-
guided sense Of economy. A woman