her shops; this showing was made in a recent divorce
case.

What can one think of duties of over $30,000 paid on personal articles
by one woman who yearly brings back similar quantities of jewelry and
clothes. This $30,000 in duties meant an expenditure of probably about
$100,000. It included over $1200 for hats, over $3000 for corsets and
lingerie. This was undoubtedly exceptional; that is, few women of even
great wealth buy so lavishly. Yet good round sums, even if they are
small in comparison, are spent by many women in their European
outings. They will bring from six to twelve gowns which will average
at least $150 apiece, and an occasional woman will have a half-dozen
averaging from $450 to $500 apiece. One might say that eight to twelve
hats, costing $25 to $50 apiece, was a fair average, though $800 to
$1200 worth is not so rare as to cause a panic at the customhouse.

The comparative amounts which men and women spend affords an
interesting comment on the relative importance which men and women
attach to clothes. In one case of which I happen to know Mr. A.
brought in $840 worth of wearing apparel: Mrs. A. nearly $10,000
worth, of which $7000 was for gowns. A man may have eight to ten suits
of pajamas which cost him $10 apiece, a dozen or two waistcoats, a
dozen or two shirts, a few dozen handkerchiefs and gloves, a dozen or
so ties, eight or ten suits of clothes, but from $500 to $1000 will
cover his wardrobe; his wife will often spend as much for hats alone
as he does for an entire outfit!

The difficulty in these great expenditures is that they set a pace. To
many women of wealth they are no doubt revolting. They recognize that
there are only two classes of women who can justify them--the actress
and the demi-mondaine. Yet insensibly many of these women yield to the
pressure of temptation. The influence is subtle, often unconscious,
and for this reason spreads the more widely. Women all over the
country find that the pressure is to spend more for clothes each year.
The standard changes. Occasions multiply. Fantasies entice. Before
they know it their clothes are costing them a disproportionate
sum--more than they can afford if their budget is to balance.

This does not apply to one class, it creeps steadily down to the very
poor. Investigators of small household budgets lay it down as a rule
that as the income increases the percentage spent for clothing
increases more rapidly than for any other item. It is