WHAT SHALL WE WEAR?

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 36, 11 February 1920, Page 5

WHAT SHALL WE WEAR?

A QUESTION Or COST. PROBLEM OF WAGE EARNERS. WOOL AND COTTON GOODS STILL RISING, ' A problem to be faced in the near 1 future is wherewithal shall people 1 clothe themselves, as prices of apparel, ' hats, and for tn car, are still advancing. < Unfortunately, the outlook points to J still high'r prices next season. Gentle- *c men w'.o wear Stetson velours will be , J interested to learn, that the present re- . tail rate of £4 to £5, which seems a • high figure for a hat, is only about l half what must be charged for any ' bought now for future delivery in Auck- ; land. Latest quotations to hand toy ■ cable are such that when rates of ex- ■ change are taken into consideration, the ] landed cost here will be so high that i retail pri<*es must rule about £9 each. ' "Only this week," remarked the head 1 of one Queen Street firm, "we eot an • order sent last November replied to at ' an advance of 50 per cent., asking us to ■ confirm. We thought the price was : high when we gave the order, and now i to get the goods, have to agree to double it. A lot of fur that used to go for hats is now being utilised for fur < coats." i Asked what clothing was likely to cost if hats advanced so much, the reply received was not reassuring, from a pur- . chaser's point of view. Ready made ■ suits arc now fetching irom £7 to £8, • whereas in pre-war days, i^ a nrice was about £4 to £5. The worst of it is, that ' top'has not yet been reached. Next winter ready made suits will probably be £10 10/, according to the present out- ' .ook. Worsted suiting is almost unprocurable, excepting at prohibitive prices. For real good tailor made suite of worsted, the figure is expected to ; reach as hurt) as £20. All woollen and cotton -roods are -itill advancing in ■nrice. The rate of exchange in the r 'United States and the East naturally adds to the cost of e*otton eonsidcrl.ibly. Then, too. a lot of the best cotton is now being used in the manufacture 'of tyres for motor-cars, no less than 750.000 bales bcine? utilised for that pur■uose last year. This is a demand which must increase with the growing demand •ior motor-cars. Thus all cotton eoods must rule hieher in price in the future. As for woollen goods, hijrh figures are rulin? all round, and supplies are hard to get. __________^^__^