The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1922-12-10

G
displayed on each side of the street.
Indeed, she hardly knows where
Worth, Callot, Jenny or Paquin are
located, unless by some lucky chance
she has an invitation to their exhibit
ton of new styles each season. She
never thinks of buying hats or gowns
at the big houses. If she is fairly
well off she studies the stylebooks
and photographs of the frocks de-
signed by these masters; and then
goes to her own little dressmaker
who lives three or four flights up
on court in a back street, and to-
gether they plan out and copy the
famous model she chooses. In this
way she gets her dress for one
fourth the price.
An American woman told me this
week how she waited in a dressmak-
Ing establishment while one of the
Paris society leaders, the wife of
prominent French newspaper owner,
explained to the dressmaker just how
many steel buttons there were to
be on each side and how many loops
of ribbon were to be tackled on the
back Of the gown she had ordered.
The lady had been to an exhibition
by Worth, and picked out the design,
but the little dressmaker made the
costume.
A visit to a French Drcssmaker
The other day / went with my
daughter, who has been living in
Paris the last two years, to buy
new gown. She has learned thrifty
methods in France, and the estab-
lishment we visited had no sign fac
ing the street. 1t is just like one Of
thousands whence come the clothes
not of the actresses. wives and daugh-
tiers of rich profiteers, but of the
French women of moderate circum-
stances. who now on account Of high
prices must make every franc count.
We directed our taxi to narrow
street in the business section of
Paris The dressmaker lived on a
court and we climbed up three
flights OF stairs. because the house
had net even one Of the pill-boxes
that serve as elevators in most
French business buildings. Madame
Marie met us with smile. She
brought out her models and the pic
lures of the new fashions. The ma
teriaI Of the dress had already been
chosen, and the who lesale dealer had
sent in bolt of lovely brown velvet
to be tried for the effect. Then the
little filter, Mademoiselle Jeanne, was
called in. and under her magic, like
the mango tree of the Hindus. the
beautiful creation grew under, our
eyes. Jeanne threw an end of velvet
over my daughters shoulder; she put
Il pin here and made tuck there, and
presto, a copy of one of the most
famous dresses designed this winter
by one OF the masters sprang into
being. A twist Of another kind of
material formed a draped sleeve, and
within five minutes we had in the
mirror. the gown as it will look when
the material is cut and all the stitches
put in. The French seldom have pat
terms, and each dress is made. as it
were, on its future wearer.
Hats While You Wait
| am told it is the same with fine
headgear. There are ready-made hats,
such as one sees in the windows, but
the artistic Paris milliner builds his
hat on the head of the buyer. The
scissors clip out the lines most be-
coming, and, with a plentiful supply
of pins to bend and twist, the trick
is performed. Every woman now
wears some sort of a wreath On her
hair in the evening, and this She
buys at a department store or in
some small shop which has copied the
creations of the Rue de la Paix.
The styles ] see here in Paris do
not resemble the ones | left in New
York nor those II the nouveau-r richie
we brought across on our liner The
short skirts which call down so
much wrath on the heads of our
American flappers passed away from
Paris more than two years ago, and
the skirts Of the present are SO long
they come almost to the ankle. The
necks are cut high and even when
there are no sleeves al all the neck
is as high as that of our afternoon
dresses at home. AS to the rolled
stocking, ! am told It has never been
known III wicked Paree."
window Dressing in Paris
There is nothing which shows so
well how Paris is working as a visit
to the shops. There are tens of thou
sands Of stores, all full of goods and
all busy. and outside on the streets