NEW FAD OF BUTLER MAIDS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 202, 26 August 1899, Page 5 (Supplement)

NEW FAD OF BUTLER MAIDS.

The haughty butler's days are numbered. His successor comes in the person of a demure young woman in livery. The maid in livery is the latest fad in English households. The liveried maids take higher rank in domestic circles than girls engaged for dining-room or chamber work. They have ..ousiticiable authority over the corps of servants placed under them. They direct rather than do the actual work. They need to be young women of good appearance, endowed Avith executive ability.

The livery for the young woman Avho is to succeed the indoor man servant is chic. A straight, well-cut skirt, stitched deeply about the hem, reaches only to the ankles. An Eton jacket, trim and well-fitting, turns back from an immaculate White shirt front aud loav Avaistcoat. A high collar and black string tie complete' the costume. The Uvery is made of black broadcloth for State occasions." Black lustreless cloth brl.li'antine of fine texture does service for general wear. The butler maid's livery has two stripes of broad braid outlining the front gore from AA'aist to hem. The butler maid may also aspire to the dignity of a fob, Avhieh is considered a badge of honourable office.

The head of a well-knoAvn employment agency said of the innovation—"This idea of women superseding men as indoor servants is something more than a fact, and will undoubtedly be beneficial to women Avorkers. For<one thing, it is going to keep many girls from croAvding into shops and factories. It will encourage many girls to enter industrial schools. They can enter domestic service without in any wise losiug their dignity. The wives of wealthy men have little time or taste for the cares of an establishment, and they are glad to relegate the duty to those who understand domestic details. They are as necessary, and just as useful, as the trained nurses in the hospitals. By the way, the girls' hoav fitting themselves for this new field are the same thoughtful, energetic class of young women found in the training schools for

nurses."