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lAKIS. July 9. (Special correa-j
pondtnce.) This It not a fashion
article. But, madame.- would you
be posted on new styles? It is a great
problem: and I offer you a "cinch."
I see fair women on the spot, in
Paris, eagerly studying through the
special fashion quarterlies, "Femina,"
the "Vie Heureuse" and the fashion
photographs of Paris daily papers; yet
their hearts and Intelligences are not
satisfied. They buy one gown from
a great rue Royale establishment In
order to see 20 models. Yet they are
not sure. They rubber through the
Acacias at the fashionable noon-hour
when rich and elegant women try the
newest things. But which of the new
things will "taike?" They stand medi
tative before the beautifully-dressed
wax flowers of the department stores'
shew windows and compare their
Judgment with that of big secondary
Paris commerce. The department
stores often have a feeling of what
will take.
Would you be almost as well posted
as these Paris women? Here goes.
I have been much of late with Am
erican wholesale buyers in and out
the great "exhibitions" which the most
famous ladies' tailors, dressmakers and
milliners hold for them behind closed
doers. I have seen experienced ones
laugh at a new buyer for loading up
with "ugly styles" and "trial balloons,1
Cultivating Americas Trade.
But first of all keep posted on the
New Tork styles. There Is an Ameri
can tasta which may may not be dis
regarded. And the Frenchlest of Paris
gowns loses some of Its atmosphere
when transplanted. The successful
American buyers know this.
Three such wholesale buyers from
Vienna, New York and London were
at Jeanne 'Castle's. Of five particular
hats each bought all five; there was no
doobt. Concerning 10 others they
laughed, disputed and "kidded" each
others choice. TVhen their bills were
made out each had a lot of different
bats. They paid the highest retail
price from J1S to J50 and hurried off
with their hats and various "mem
oranda," Each "memorandum" Is
made up of lists, descriptions and ad
dresses. It Is the pedigree of the hat.
It tells where the duplicate form may
7be bought wholesale, and each detail
of trimming with Its name, quantity
and wholesale price. So each buyer
hastened to his addresses and bought
enough material to reproduce each hat
SO times. Each did the same at
Georgette's, at Esther Meyer's, at
Lewes.
Do they imagine that all of them
BY DON MARK LE'JCN.
JUST come up on the roof, sir, and
Til show you the cage and tell you
all that I know about the profes
sor, but before we go a step farther let
me warn you that I don't believe a
word of what the - newspapers have
printed about him. No. slr: I won't and
I can't believe that such a true gentle
man as the professor always showed
himself to be could have deliberately
set out to rob the government of over
115.000. It's preposterous to think of
It but It's Just like the newspapers to
make the matter as sensational as pos
sible. .Take care you don't tear your coat
on that nalL I'll have my boy pull it
out when he comes home from school.
Now. sir, step this way, and you can
ee for yourself how innocent the pro
fessor was of any evil Intentions. Look!
Do you think this flat tin roof looks
like a robber's roost? It's ridiculous;
yet to read the newspapers youwould
think that we landladies are the friends
of robbers, and all manner of thieves.
We landladies have a hard enough
struggle to live, without the news
papers making it any harder for us.
Yea, sir, this is the cage where the
professor kept his three big eagles, and
now I'll tell you how he came to stop
with me, and why he had such strange
like pets. You see. I had Just lately
taken this house and had spent the
last dollar I had in the world in fur
nishing lt and was glad enough to
have such a nice gentleman as the pro
fessor coma along the second day after
I put up my sign and ask if I hadn't a
furnished front room to let, with run-(
1 L$) UUAJLUlOl
-J.
will be an equal success In Paris?
Certainly not They know that half
their purchases will fall more or less
dead In Paris. But those five hats
which all agreed upon will, likely,
make a hit. The eye of the trade sees
it. the temperament of the trade feels
it.
Two other hats Jeanne Castel forced
on them. All accepted but the Lon
don man; she fought it out with him
and conquered. One of these buyers,
who knows all about it. but expresses
himself clumsily, said:
'A peculiar characteristic of the
French merchant Is his obstinacy in
persisting that you buy what he thinks
you ought to want, rather than what
you do want; and if you persist in hav
ing your own way, he regards you with
pity and scorn. In doing business he
has much more professional pride,
thinking more of obtaining an artistic
result and less of making money, than
the average Anglo-Saxon. This is not
understood by ell Americans, who, ac
customed to having their slightest com
mand executed without comment, ac
cuse French tradesmen with lack of
desire to please."
All of the three laughed at a new
buyer for a really great American
house who Insisted on picking up a
dozen "ugly hats," which he took to
be magnificent novelties.
Beware of Novelty Dreaeea.
Novel they were. Will they take at
home? Will each of his "ugly hats '
be duplicated 50 times? And will you. j
ning water and a good- deep closet
where he could keep his clothes.
Well, sir, I snapped him up at once, as
I could see he was a gentleman, and,
besides, he looked neat and prosperous,
and I felt I wouldn't have to worry
about him not paying his rent on time.
But before he took the room he asked
if he couldn't go up on the roof and
see if lt would suit him for a certain
purpqse. I was somewhat surprised at
him wanting to rent the roof, but
thinking him a photographer, or some
thing like that I brought him up here
and he was real pleased. Eo he told
me his business, and I rented this roof
to him without any hesitation, at all.
It Isn't every day one can rent a scrap
of roof for more than a good sunny
front room, and you can't blame me for
doing so.
Well, sir. he was a kiteologist as he
told me. He flew kites to study the
winds and the temperature at & great
height He wasn't in the employ of the
government but was studying on his
own account He took his silk hat off
and sat down right over there, and ex
plained all about it to me. His kites
weren't like those that the boys fly.
nor were they like I have seen pictures
of In the papers great big box-like
things but they were eagles real live
eagles. He had three of them, and he
would attach a strong string to their
legs and let them fly up into the heavens
with a thermometer and barometer at
tached, or some such-like scientiflc in
strument, and, when he was ready, he
would gently draw them down again.
Well, sir. it waa a pleasure to hear
him talk; he knew everything- about;
THE SUNDAY O
perhaps, buy one, madame? I will tell
you how to avoid It. It looks very,
very . novel like the howling novelty
it is.
"Cgly gowns" are more dangerous,
because more Important. My buyer
friend explained it to me In his didac
tic way:
"Here Is where the unwary and In
experienced may easily go astray," he
said. At the beginning of each season
there are always a certain number of
dresses shown which are utterly un
practical what the dressmakers call
"ugly dresses." These are made to
give piquancy and Interest to the ex
hibitions, and are often amusing; but
like the ornaments on a cake, they are
only made to look at. These "ugly
dresses' sometimes prove a 'tempta
tion to the inexperienced buyer, who
mistakes their eccentric or startling
characteristics as representing the true
Parisian note whence disappointment
later on."
The Individual tourist-lady buying
Paris gowns herself plunges, even
oftener, on these "ugly gowns." She
is misled, not so much by bad taste as
by anxiety to make friends at home
Jealous.
"After a trip to Paris," said the
wholesale buyer, "friends at home often
expect to be shown something French
and different to what they ever saw
before, while In Paris the gown worn
by the elegant French woman Is often
of the simplest. The secret of dress
ing a la Farlsienne is not so much to
eagles and kites and the heavens, and
of course I consented, for him to bring
his birds and fly them from my roof, not
supposing the landlord Igos the house
from would care at all. Which I can
say,' he didn't So the next day the
professor came with his three eagles
and placed them up here on tne roof
SX T Fx
K EGO XI AN . PORTLAND.
CAN - BpyRs
have a French gown, but to have the
right French gown, the one which
suits the style and make-up of the
wearer. It is to this Instinct in re
gard to what to wear and which guides
to a correct choice of every detail and
accessory, that French women owe
their reputation of being chic and ele
gant and which is responsible to a
large extent for what la known as the
French finish.
"But," I objected, "why do they
force such horrors on the innocent?"
"They don't," he answered. . "No
French dressmaker would encourage a
customer to buy a dress unsuitable to
her. He has too much professional
pride; his object is to dress each
client- so that she may be a credit to
him, .and bring him other customers."
"Stubborn women, or pig-headed
buyers," he laughed. "When they see
the choice is fixed upon an ugly gown
or hat. or a "nightingale, the Paris
dressmaker or milliner does not inter
fere. The stubborn purchaser would
be offended. And, note, oftenest lt is
a suspicious purchaser the wholesale
buyer who Imagines the "ugly the
'has been,' or the simple 'failure' is" the
most chio Just because the dealer Is
trying not to sell It"
"Do you pretend that no great dress
maker or milliner of Paris ever forces
failures or has-beens on the Innocent?'-
"Never, In styles," he answered. "In
materials, perhaps; now and the they
may try to "place a piece of expensive
stuff that has not 'taken,' but not
often. ...."-
Now we are getting down to tacks.
I began by promising a great tip how
to tell the new styles as surely as;
THE AT
in that big cage, and lt was good" to see
how he did love those birds, and play
with them, and teach them all kinds of
tricks. My gracious, but they were
strong! I really think the smallest of
the three could have lifted a big child
in its claws; and the professor explained
how that they must be strong to carry
freZtcfJ of
iryJ'Ye .
JULY 21, 1312.
- CET - fiRsfLssK In'At New fASHis.
And It Is Possible for the American Woman to Follow Dame Fashion's Latest De
crees Without Going Abroad to Shop The Inside Story of Freakish Styles.
SC. 'ft:
Paris ladies on the spot who have so
much trouble.
Who first sees the new gowns?
Why, Indisputably, the wholesale
American buyers who reside In Paris
or come periodically, expressly to select
new models for duplication In big or
exclusive American establishments.
These wholesale buyers oftenest men
see the new tailor-made and dress
maker gowns long before the most
privileged and elegant women of Paris.
I quote the exact words of one of
these men: "During the period Of the
creation and preparation of the new
models," he says, "each couturier
guards Jealously his doors against all
outsiders. When the collection is ready
the first to view same are the buyers
from America; for as their purchases
have to cross the Atlantic they need
to buy earlier than the buyers from
France and other countries in Europe.
Also the dressmakers are not so afraid
that gowns sold to Americans will be
quickly copied and sold in Europe.
For this reason, no gown Is sold and
delivered to a French or other Euro
pean customer within a certain period,
so that Americans are the first to see
the new things." .
Can an American 'dressmaker or mil
liner on her first trip to Paris get this
inside view? I have met several such.
Hundreds cross before each season.
Each great American city sees a tense.
lone woman, with experience or get
ting it start on the pilgrimage of
styles, to wrest the right things from
kaleidoscopic Paris. Do they succeed?
Yes, lt is admirable how well they suc
ceed. Their best plan which they soon
dlscover-ls to employ a high-class, ex
pensive "commissionaire, or technical
AND UJ5
his scientific instruments so high In
the air. '
Well, a week passed and he didn't
fly his eagles, for he was waiting for
them to get accustomed to their new
location, so they would return like car
rier doves in. case the string tied to
their legs got broken; and at the end of
the week, before the professor could
try his experiment at all, that dreadful
accident happened, which the papers
made st much of. and which frightened
the professor, who was timid, like all
real scientific men, so that he never
came back, even for his clothes.
You see. Just across the street from
here is the sub-treasury, and every lit
tle while a wagon drives np to the door
filled with big canvas bags full of gold,
and the clerks will come out and get
the gold and carry lt Into tne vaults.
Well, on Tuesday morning. Just after I
had finished some washing and was go
ing out to get a new handle to my
Irons, which had got broken, the wagon
drove up before the sub-treasury door
and the clerks began to- take out the
sacks of gold and carry them into the
bank,
I can truly say that I'm not by nature
a covetous woman, but naturally, I
passed and watched the men a moment
or two, thinking what I could do if I
had . what was in Just - one of those
sacks. Why, there must have been as
much as $4000 or $5000 in each sack,
and there were dozens of them, I be
lieve. x !
Suddenly.as I was standing there, a
darkness seemed to come over the sun,
and at the same time a strange flying
sound made me look up. and there were
the professor' .three eagle broken
fashion guide-and-agent Listen to my
experienced wholesale friend:
"However, to gain admittance to
view the display of new models, the
American buyer must possess a certain
standing or be represented by a well
known commissionaire; and such buy
ers stand a much better chance to see
the best things, and see them early,
than any private customer either
French or American.
Another thing in our favor:
"In creating their models and mak
ing up their collection, the majority of
the great couturiers have the American
buyer in mind; and the object is to
produce a range of models to suit all
tastes, and to meet the demands of
the different countries which send buy
ers to Paris, while Impressing the
French stamp, taste and elegance on
all. Americans are among their best
customers, pay the biggest prices for
their dresses and are welcomed and
taken care of accordingly. However,
no buyer can treat these fashion ex
nibitions lightly; and should he view
out of curiosity and not buy, or should
he disregard the unwritten etiquette
governing these things, he may find
the doors closed to him next season.
"Now, there are really four seasons
for American buyers; and four sets of
models are generally made by the
dressmakers who cater for the Ameri
can trade.
"First of all are the two very early
seasons on a small scale, made for
the wholesale cloak; suit people who
come over in mldseason, choose their
models and take them ffack to ' have
them copied and distributed over trie
country. These do not of course, get
the newest models, which are not yetJ.
GOLDEN
loose from the cage I felt real sorry
for the professor, to think that his birds
had got loose and down they came and
lighted on the wagon full of gold.
lifted up my apron to shoo them back
to the roof .when if those three mis
chlevous birds didn't settle right down
Into the bags full of gold, and each one
grab a bag In his claws, like I saw
them grab a bag with a dead rabbit
in it on the roof one day, and no sooner
bad they grabbed the bags of gold than
up they flew again to the roof.
I was astonished beyond measure, but
the clerks who were carrying In the
gold were simply dumfounded- And no
wonderl Supposing the eagles should
spill the gold or fly away with it why
the poor clerks might have to return lt
out of their salaries, and I hear they
don't get paid so much, though they
are employed by the government.
Well, sir. the moment I could collect
my scattered senses, I rushed back into
the house to tell the professor what
had happened, for, as I hadn't seen him
on the roof, I supposed he was in his
room. Of course the clerks followed me,
and we all hurried up here where you
are standing now.. The three eagles
were goneand the professor was no
where to be found. Poor man. he was out
somewhere in the city, and I felt like
running down and warning him not to
return, for fear they would hold him
responsible for the gold.
I saw that the eagles each had lately
had a long cord tied to its legs and I
thought nothing of lt more than proper,
but the clerks acted like a lot of wild
men. They vowed that the eagles had
been let down to steal the gold, and
when they, saw that this roof leads j
created as their models have to be
bought soon enough to allow of them
being copied In large quantities and
distributed in time for the early sea
son trade. How far these early models
represent those of the big fashion dis
plays taking place a little later, is
largely a matter of chance, the differ
ence may be great or lt may be very
slight
"Thirdly and fourthly, to speak of
the buyers sent over by American re
tail houses to visit the authoritative
fashion displays which take place
around the lBth of February, for the
Spring season, and the 15th of August,
for the Winter season, these do get
the best of everything Paris has to
show.
"These buyers choose their models,
and in a few weeks they are in Amer
ica, at the disposition of their clients,
and a flying trip over to Paris would
find the same things in the French
salons as in the best of the American
stores.
"The Idea that the Paris dressmak
ers prepare two sets of models, one
for the French trade and one for the
American, is absolutely erroneous. It
would cost far too much, and many
people will perhaps hardly believe that
at the beginning of the season the
dressntikers themselves scarcely know
what tne coming fashlons wlll be. Each
house knows its own models, and has
Its own ideas as to what new styles
are likely to be adopted; but as to
what their competitors are preparing
behind their carefully guarded doors,
they know very little.
"Even in Paris, fashions vary. One
house favors one style, and another
something different; but at the same
time there are certain ideas which are
expressed by all In a certain number
of their models. Exactly like those
five hats which all three buyers, Eng
lish, Viennese and American at once
agreed on."
You have only to be cautious and
avoid the eccentricities in order to be
better posted than your average Paris
sister.
The Paris buyers of the great Ameri
can department stores and other high
retailers regularly stand between you
and "ugly" models, which often de
ceive tourists.
Yes, but what about "failures" and
"has beens"?
You have only to follow carefully
the foremost Paris illustrated and
"comic" weeklies not the fashion pa
pers or the fashion pages, but the pic
tured costumes in designs of the great
illustrators of Paris life in "l'lllustra
tion." the "Vie Parisienne," the "Rtref
and "Sourire."
These amiable illustrators have no
task to illustrate fashions so their
products are the more precious. They
illustrate Paris life of the moment, in
its gay, sparkling and elegant sides.
They absorb, unconsciously, those "cer
tain ideas expressed by all" great dress,
makers the very ones which you de
sire to pick up in American retail trade.
Then, being sure you re right, buy,
buy, with both hands, right and left.
How to get the money for it that of
course, is another matter.
EAGL
over to the next building yonder, they
said that the owner of the birds had
taken the gold and climbed through an
open window in that building Into an
empty room, and that way escaped with
the 115,000.
Of course I saw at once how dread
fully dishonest it all might be made to
look, and I sat down and almost cried.
At first the clerks and the officers paid
no more attention to me than if I had
been a sick kitten, but when they
learned that I was the landlady and
knew all about the eagles and the pro
fessor, they asked me a thousand ques
tions, and I was dragged off to court
like a criminal,- and the poor profes
sor's name was mixed up with robbery
and thieving, and I don't know what
else. But somehow, he learned about
the mischief his eagles had got into,
and never returned.
Of course the eagles flew away with
the gold bags poor birds, I don't
blame them a bit for making the most
of their liberty and I wouldn't at all
be surprised if the police should find
that the birds had dropped the gora on
some roof, when they discovered that
the bags didn't contain rabbit, as they
had Imagined.
(Copyright by Shortstory Pub. Co.)
His Very Own Car.
"Well, Bildad," said Jimpsonberry,
1 suppose, now that you are living out
In the country, you have a car."
Yes," said Bildad. "That is, my
neighbors and I have one together."
'Really?' said Jimpsonberry. "Co
operative arrangement eh? Not a bad
idea. What make is it?"
On, Just plain Trolley." Judge.