1. This business is nearly allied to the foregoing, and is, therefore,
often carried on in conjunction with it. This is especially the case
in villages and small towns, where sufficient business cannot be
obtained in the exclusive pursuit of one branch.
2. The customers of the lady's dress-maker are not always easily
pleased, as they frequently expect more from her skill than it is
possible to accomplish. She, however, can do much towards concealing
the defects of nature; and, by padding and other means, can sometimes
render the person tolerably well proportioned, when, in its natural
shape, it would be quite inelegant. It is to be regretted, however,
that dress-makers are guided by fashion and whim in moulding the
external form of females, rather than by the best specimens of the
human figure, as exhibited by eminent painters and sculptors.
3. The dress-maker should have some acquaintance with the anatomy and
functions of those parts to which pressure is usually applied; for,
who that knows the structure, size, and office of the liver, and other
internal organs of digestion and vitality, would venture to apply to
them a compressive force calculated to interfere most seriously, if
not dangerously, with their healthful action?
4. The fashions for ladies' dresses are chiefly procured from France,
and the dress-makers from that country are, therefore, often preferred
by fashionable ladies. Sometimes, however, a dress-maker, having a
name with a French termination, will answer the purpose.
5. Corset-making is frequently a separate branch of business; but
corsets have become less necessary; inasmuch as small waists are less
admired by the gentlemen than formerly. On this account, also, the
ladies have discovered that tight lacing is somewhat uncomfortable,
especially in hot weather, and in crowded assemblies.
[Illustration: BARBER.]