The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1918-12-31
Married Life, to Date
The Bon Marche!
BY MABEL HERBERT URNER

The Bon Marchei
From childhood Helen had heard Of
it as the great shop of Paris. 1t was
at the Bon Marche that the heroines
| of all the French novels she had ever
read had bought their gowns.
It was from the Bon Marche that
Uncle Mart brought Aunt Ellen that
| long gray cloak. Helen was a very lit
tie girl then, but she remembered
every bit of braid and every button on
| that wonderful wrap.
When Aunt Helen used to come to
spend the day Helen would steal up
to the spare room to look with awe at
the Paris wrap" spread out on the
bed. The gray silk cord and tassel,
the big pear buttons, and, most Won
derful of all, the silk lettered label,
the Bon Marche.'
For the five or six years that Aunt
Helen wore that coat it gave her a
certain social prestige. Even after
it was made over it was still the coat
that Uncle Mart had brought from
Paris
And Helen never saw it that she
did not picture that far-away Partisan
store-the Bon Marche. Somehow
she always thought of it as a great
building with marble steps and stone
lions, with open victorias and pranc-
ing horses before the entrance, and
ladies with trailing gowns and men
with high silk hats latter the manner
Of old prints), walking by.
Now that Helen herself stood be-
fore the Bon Marche-her feelings
were complex. There were no marble
steps, no stone lions, no open victor
las, but instead building that looked
like a huge market place with its
stalls of cheap goods along the side
walk outside.
Her first impulse was to go straight
to the cloak department to see first
of all just where Aunt Helen's wrap
had been bought so many years ago.
Without stopping to view the confus-
ing quantity and variety of goods
displayed on the first floor, she took
a moving stairway to the third gall
lery. A large hanging sign, Nantes
was just ahead.
So this was the very department.
Helen oloked around almost expect
ing to see a duplicate of Aunt Helen's
gray cloak on one of the many wax
figures. But these clinging models of
satin and lace were very different
from the generous full folds of that
quaint old cloak.
On a black and green satin opera
wrap thrown careless1y over a chain
Helen caught a glimpse of a gold let
tered label. With a thrill of famil-
iarity she saw it was the same label
and the same lettering, even the same
scroll line from the &c" back under
the name.
Determined to Buy.
Helen was determined to buy some
thing here, to take something home
with Bon Marche" label, if only as
a. fulfillment of her girlish dreams.
She looked longingly at an evening
wrap Of white crepe de chine with
long knotted fringe and a price tag
Of IT'S francs-s55. But Helen's need
Of an evenig gown was much more
imperative than Of a wrap, and she
felt she could not afford to get both.
Warren had already made some
business acquaintances here, with
whom they were invited to dine next
Thursday. And Helen, in anticipa-
ton of her Paris shopping, had
brought almost no clothes with her,
she must have a gown for that din
ner.
In the next department were the
robes" Here on roped in platforms
stood groups Of smiling wax figures.
But the price tags Of from $50 to 1000
francs on these beaming ladies were
than ever convinced that she could
buy gowns just as attractive and just
as cheap IN New York.
Besides the wax figures there was
case after case of evening gowns.
which could be seen behind glass
doors. Helen made general survey
of them all, and then sat down to
await an English speaking clerk.
On the chair beside her were
thrown half a dozen gowns, left there
after they had been shown to soma
customer. Helen glanced over them
casually and then with sudden inter-
est, drew from beneath the others a
white chiffon with pale blue girdle.
Compared to the bizarre effects Of
many Of the others this was charm
ingly simple and girlish, with its fine
accordian pleated skirt and soft wide
girdle. Helen glanced at the price and
was delighted to find that on tho
ticket occasion" was written in red
ink, and the original 290 francs was
marked down to 210.