Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-11-07
Anne Rittenhouse Takes Up
the Question Of Supply
and Dernand-The Story
Of Sheepskin For on
Frocks-The New Sport

Frocks-The New Sport
Costumes.
BY ANNE RIT'rENHoUsE.
-HE ultimate consumer neheSes
ove, the animals are leagued
,yairst him. His beef costs
i pretty penny. her furs cost the
last cent in the bank.
Do YOU remember vivid ana e1-
travagant English story during the last
wear of the war in which a new terror
was abroad in Great Britain. In WHICH
the animals of every species were mSs-
teriously banded together to extermlha'e
man, who had killed them and misuseo
them for centuries? After reading II one
had the horrible feeling that some DAY
this thing might happen.
The average person who goes 10 Dus
q piece Of peltry to keep the BODY warm
or to be a first aid to vanity Wouio IN
doubtedly think the story true II coulo
he satisfactorily reasoned out that tne
animals could have had part IN the
making of prices.
figures Labor, always LABOR. IS the
burden Of the cry. If man must get Tor
this work what he demands in money,
then woman must pay for her caprices-
Peltry is really caprice. 1t is not a
necessity. 1t is a non-essentiai. The
woman on a moderate income IN other
countries does not look above cloth for
a fabric to keep her warm, but the
American is SO accustomed to FUR that
she has come to believe that 1t IL the
of the earth.
Neither the purse nor the fur can be
too Door to supply the need. A woman
does not appear to think that the cos
tune is quite and utterly spoilt by a
sordid bit Of pelt dangling from the
neck. 1t is fur. Therefore the wearer
is in the procession.
When the furriers began to delve into
the substrata of hides and bring out
pieces that could be turned into costly
addenda to the costume, sordid fur be-
gold to the fur workers who knew how
to put glitter on it.
The price of labor was the thing,
not the value of the skin. and when
it became an expensive caprice to own
fur. women no longer dissembled
name Of squirrel under that of chin
chi1la.
No furrier needs to rechristen an
animal in order to get the price his
work demands. That day OF mystery
is gone. Now cat is cat and pigs are
pigs. If they happen to be sheep. as
many new pelts are. the name is glee-
fully attached to the coat that costs
nearly a thousand dollars.
sheep" you say in high-pttched
voice, ito cost that price when they
are killed to be eaten, and the west is
full of them"
'Ah, but the men who tend and kill
them and transport them to the fur
riers. who take charge of them before
we get them in the finished state must
be paid over SO per cent OF their old
wages, so sheepskin is valuable COM
modify and. must be paid for like
squirrel is the answer.
But squirrel" argues the ultimate
consumer. surely is not expensive "A
few years ago one would not own to
wearing it after the nursery had been
discarded"
Squirrel" echoes. the furrier. his
to catch. and negro boys do not shoot
them Down. IN an autumn's day and
string them Tor selling. These ami
mails are rs difficult to manage as
Russian sable and ermine, therefore
this little box coat will cost you $500,
please"
And raccoon," weakly pursues the
consumer, surely the southern woods
are full Of that delectable animal:
They are as cheap as sweet potatoes. :.
-
skins; "raccoons are raised on farms
by experts and their price is as high
as a plumber or a paperhanger's per
day. BY the way. is there anything
cheap about sweet potatoes. is the
final sentence to the argument.
The ultimate consumer, who bears
the worlds burdens today, remembers
she paid As cents for one sweet potato
at a Philadelphia restaurant last
week.
K *
The mystifying fact in the whole situ-
armed with enough money to buy furs
plentifully. She looks like cave woman
when she goes abroad.
She does not stop at paying any price,
If one listens to the furriers. The an
nouncement made by French house
that the day after the armistice a half
dozen fur coats were scld. averaging
$1,000 apiece, is easily credited when
one sees what occurs over here.
Once dealer said there was only one
fur garment costing 5000 in America,
and it belonged to Mrs. Astor. Just try
to count the number now that sell at
that price and much higher. Whether
not such extravaganza will continue
is not the question for a fashion writer.
The stimulating fact is that it is in full
swing today.
There was a time, possibly when Mrs
Aston had the short sable cape, when
The sealskin sacque went along with dia-
Jrond earrings as symbols of wealth and
fashion and a woman or her husband
did not cavil at paying a good1y price
for such valuable assets to the ward
robe. because they were looked upon in
The light of heirlooms. No such comfort
ing thought can excuse the purchase of
furs this season..
Fashions change in the twink!ing of
An eye. Furriers charge a staggering
price to alter, to steam, to refine. One
asks for bids, looks at the result. then
InournfuHy puts the peltry into moth
hallS-even camphor is too expensive.
That is the common act
The shapes the thing today. There's
the reason that the furriers do not lose
their sleep TO invent names. to think
what is best for rabbit. elegant for
coon. noble and high sounding for chip
munk
Call them what they are. say furriers.
u makes no difference now in the price.
No one need be fooled Tell them the
truth. Even a cat can be worn BY a
kins-f there are any left in old Europe
who can pay the price.
Sovietism has entered into animals
also Class distinctions have vanished
sable keeps company with coney,
monkey with ermine. 'possum with
'hinchilla and baby lamb trots conf
"entiy along with a leopard.
II the lion is not making its bed with
The lamb. the wolf has taken its place,
winch should be a much worse disaster.
or a more potent sign Of the Judgment
day. Premet Of Paris has named a sue
cessful frock The Wolf and the LAMB
10 prove this point to the world.
Beaver and mink go amiably together
to the best parties. Mole ceases to run