HOME-MADE AND READY-MADE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 88, 7 January 1908, Page 3

HOME-MADE AND READY-MADE.

The chief way in wliich economy, in clothing niay,:! bo citecied is in dispensing' with dressmakers. ' Materials aro comparatively i'e!ry cheajj>; hut tlio .dressmakers must : .live;"and their .skilled service costs often-twice "or moro the material "costs. If tho .mother andjdaughters.of a family can mako tho 'plainer things, perhaps having in a dress-' maker by.; tho day for- 'the dresses , and , waists; if-they buy few articles-and'these.of the host quality possible, they may ho very well dressed at comparatively small expenditure'. It is' important to make"a regular job of tho sewing twice a'year, oroftener if .necessary, doing up as much as passible at .once, tnafr' the ones Who'plari itarid do tho work may bo free,of;the''burden ■ for weeks, or months at a time. " Homo sowling- tea great saving in money, but it is a dearly-bought', economy when it becomes too severe a tax upon t-ho women of the family, depriving them of -needed outdoor, or- social life ind-of leisure for reading or other neces- ! sarv relaxation.... , Iho economy of production on a large scale, iii t-lio' .case of garment-making, is mainly an,economy of time. Ready-mado things aro hearjy .always cheaper, than those marie at home if seamstresses or dressmakers are employed.' This is especially, true of muslin underwear. Most women will agree that tho making of this-class of garments, whichl approach uniformity in .stylo and int-o which personal tastes and preferences do not greatly enter, ought to belong to the factory, where they can bo made in largo quantities by skilled labour. Indeed, there is no doubt that a. very largo majority of-women would bo, only too willing to buy all the-under-clothing. for themselves and their'families if they could got tho sort that particular women' mako at homo—that is, good, onoa; strong or fino, simply trimmed, such - trimmings as aro used being of excellent quality. Along with tho marvellous incrcaso of' lato years -in tho number of garments produced has c-omo a vast improvement in tho workmanship, but not a corresponding improvement in tho quality of tho material used. This, is tho weak point in tho economy of rciuly-mado undergarments. When manufacturers of white garments rcaliso that what is wanted is n.ot profusion of trimmings, hut finer. ..or better materials thoroughly well made, they will find it to their advantage. ' Ready-mado suits, coats, Skirts and similar garments can bo moro unreservedly recommended. Unless ono can afford to go to an cxporisivo dressmaker or a tailor a ready-to-wear suit offers tho simplest solution of a perplexing problem. Economy lies in getting few things, hut good ones.' It is manifest cconomy to get a' costume or a eoat that will last aid look well f"r two years or more; also to choose a conservative colour and a plain cut, so that the garment will not be conspicuously out of style the setond season. . ..