408 N"ew Yoriv at the World. s CoLrMBiAN Exposition. 



of those in better circumstances for the clothing of tlie children. But 

 this is something that cannot be counted upon in such an estimate as 

 this. 



"We suppose that the mother does the family sewing. The man's 

 clothes and the boy's coats and pants are purchased ready made. 

 In selecting great attention must be paid to durability of material 

 and to good color. In buying dress goods the economical woman will 

 select material that will turn, and, if possible, that which has no up or 

 down. Even in woolen goods, that which will wash must be selected, 

 for skill in making over is money in the pocket, and this cannot be 

 done where colors fade and clothing will not bear a wetting. 



Much of the little girls' clothing can be made from the mother's, and 

 it is better economy to pay more m the beginning and then make over, 

 than it is to get cheap, slazy material for both mother and daughters, 

 that never looks well after the new is off. This was illustrated in the 

 clothing on exhibition at the fair, where some of the children's dresses 

 were made of cloth that had been worn steadily for several years, 

 washed and turned, before it was again washed to make the child's 

 dress. Plainness and simplicity in style also add to neatness of appear- 

 ance and length of wear. It is needless to speak of the " stitch in 

 time " on which will depend the garment's length of days. 



The baby clothes were an attempt to show how good an outfit could 

 be had for ten dollars. For the second baby the expenditure would 

 probably be little as the clothes of the first ought to be in good con- 

 dition. The baby's clothes after being put into short dresses would 

 not cost as much as the first outfit, since they could be largely made 

 from outgrown garments. The clothes were very simple. The slips 

 and nightgowns measured thirty inches from neck to hern and were 

 untrimmed except for a narrow edging around the neck. The under- 

 clothing, skirt and pinning blanket were made after the Jenness-Miller 

 patterns, showing the greater comfort of the garments which hang 

 from the shoulders. 



At Chicago the family clothing was distributed in its proper places, 

 the underclothing laid away in the bureau drawers and the dress coats 

 and trousers hung in the closets. Each article had a card attached on 

 which the cost was plainly marked. In the case of home-made gar- 

 ments the quantity of cloth used was also giv£n. On the walls were 

 posted itemized lists of the clothing for each member of the family. 

 All was open to the public for examination, and it was a daily sight 

 to see the front bedroom filled with women standing and sitting around 

 the open bureau, examining and criticising the articles and comparing 

 domestic experiences, with profit, it is to be hoped. 



How to make a little go a good way ; this is something it were well 

 to teach the young girls growing up to take their places as mothers of 

 families, since, lament it as wo may, the fact remains that for great 

 masses of people comfort in the home, including neatness of dress, can 

 be had only by the most careful thought and the greatest painstaking. 



The following lists give the results of the studies made : 



