Extravagance is the besetting sin of New York society. Money is
absolutely thrown away. Fortunes are spent every year in dress and in
all sorts of follies. Houses are fitted up and furnished in the most
sumptuous style, the building and its contents being sometimes worth a
million of dollars. People live up to every cent of their incomes, and
often beyond them. It is no uncommon occurrence for a fine mansion, its
furniture, pictures, and even the jewels of its occupants, to be pledged
to some usurer for the means with which to carry on this life of luxury.
Each person strives to outdo his or her acquaintances. Those who have
studied the matter find no slight cause for alarm in the rapid spread of
extravagance among all classes of the city people, for the evil is not
confined to the wealthy. They might afford it, but people of moderate
means, who cannot properly make such a heavy outlay, are among those most
guilty of the fault.
In no other city of the land is there to be seen such magnificent
dressing on the part of the ladies as in New York. The amount of money
and time expended here on dress is amazing. There are two objects in
view in all this--the best dressed woman at a ball or party is not only
sure to outshine her sisters there present, but is certain to have the
satisfaction next day of seeing her magnificence celebrated in some of
the city journals. Her vanity and love of distinction are both gratified
in this way, and such a triumph is held to be worth any expense. There
is not an evening gathering but is graced by the presence of ladies clad
in a style of magnificence which reminds one of the princesses in the
fairy tales. Says a recent writer:
"It is almost impossible to estimate the number of dresses a very
fashionable woman will have. Most women in society can afford to dress
as it pleases them, since they have unlimited amounts of money at their
disposal. Among females dress is the principal part of society. What
would Madam Mountain be without her laces and diamonds, or Madam Blanche
without her silks and satins? Simply commonplace old women, past their
prime, destined to be wall-flowers. A fashionable woman has just as many
new dresses as the different times she goes into society. The _elite_ do
not wear the same dresses twice. If you can tell us how many receptions
she has in a year, how many weddings she attends, how many balls she
participates in, how many dinners she gives, how many parties she goes
to, how many operas and theatres she patronizes, we can approximate
somewhat to the size and cost of her wardrobe. It is not unreasonable to
suppose that she has two new dresses of some sort for every day in the
year, or 720. Now to purchase all these, to order them made, and to put
them on afterward, consumes a vast amount of time. Indeed, the woman of
society does little but don and doff dry-goods. For a few brief hours
she flutters the latest tint and _mode_ in the glare of the gas-light,
and then repeats the same operation the next night. She must have one or
two velvet dresses which cannot cost less than $500 each; she must
possess thousands of dollars' worth of laces, in the shape of flounces,
to loop up over the skirts of dresses, as occasion shall require.
Walking-dresses cost from $50 to $300; ball-dresses are frequently
imported from Paris at a cost of from $500 to a $1000; while
wedding-dresses may cost from $1000 to $5000. Nice white Llama jackets
can be had for $60; _robes princesse_, or overskirts of lace, are worth
from $60 to $200. Then there are travelling-dresses in black silk, in
pongee, velour, in pique, which range in price from $75 to $175. Then
there are evening robes in Swiss muslin, robes in linen for the garden
and croquet-playing, dresses for horse-races and for yacht-races, _robes
de nuit_ and _robes de chambre_, dresses for breakfast and for dinner,
dresses for receptions and for parties, dresses for watering-places, and
dresses for all possible occasions. A lady going to the Springs takes
from twenty to sixty dresses, and fills an enormous number of Saratoga
trunks. They are of every possible fabric--from Hindoo muslin, 'gaze de
soie,' crape maretz, to the heavy silks of Lyons.
"We know the wife of the editor of one of the great morning newspapers of
New York, now travelling in Europe, whose dress-making bill in one year
was $10,000! What her dry-goods bill amounted to heaven and her husband
only know. She was once stopping at a summer hotel, and such was her
anxiety to always appear in a new dress that she would frequently come
down to dinner with a dress basted together just strong enough to last
while she disposed of a little turtle-soup, a little Charlotte de Russe,
and a little ice cream.
"Mrs. Judge ---, of New York, is considered one of the 'queens of
fashion.' She is a goodly-sized lady--not quite so tall as Miss Anna
Swan, of Nova Scotia--and she has the happy faculty of piling more
dry-goods upon her person than any other lady in the city; and what is
more, she keeps on doing it. To give the reader a taste of her quality,
it is only necessary to describe a dress she wore at the Dramatic Fund
Ball, not many years ago. There was a rich blue satin skirt, _en train_.
Over this there was looped up a magnificent brocade silk, white, with
bouquets of flowers woven in all the natural colors. This overskirt was
deeply flounced with costly white lace, caught up with bunches of
feathers of bright colors. About her shoulders was thrown a
fifteen-hundred dollar shawl. She had a head-dress of white ostrich
feathers, white lace, gold pendants, and purple velvet. Add to all this
a fan, a bouquet of rare flowers, a lace handkerchief, and jewelry almost
beyond estimate, and you see Mrs. Judge --- as she appears when full
blown.
"Mrs. General --- is a lady who goes into society a great deal. She has
a new dress for every occasion. The following costume appeared at the
Charity Ball, which is _the_ great ball of the year in New York. It was
imported from Paris for the occasion, and was made of white satin, point
lace, and a profusion of flowers. The skirt had heavy flutings of satin
around the bottom, and the lace flounces were looped up at the sides with
bands of the most beautiful pinks, roses, lilies, forget-me-nots, and
other flowers.
"It is nothing uncommon to meet in New York society ladies who have on
dry-goods and jewelry to the value of from thirty to fifty thousand
dollars. Dress patterns of twilled satin, the ground pale green, pearl,
melon color, or white, scattered with sprays of flowers in raised velvet,
sell for $300 dollars each; violet poult de soie will sell for $12
dollars a yard; a figured moire will sell for $200 the pattern; a
pearl-colored silk, trimmed with point applique lace, sells for $1000;
and so we might go on to an almost indefinite length."
Those who think this an exaggerated picture have only to apply to the
proprietor of any first-class city dry-goods store, and he will confirm
its truthfulness. These gentlemen will tell you that while their sales
of staple goods are heavy, they are proportionately lighter than the
sales of articles of pure luxury. At Stewart's the average sales of
silks, laces, velvets, shawls, gloves, furs, and embroideries is about
$24,500 per diem. The sales of silks alone average about $15,000 per
diem.
A few years ago the dwelling of a wealthy citizen of New York was
consumed by fire. The owner of the mansion soon after applied to a
prominent Insurance Company for the payment of the sum of $21,000, the
amount of the risk they had taken on the wearing apparel of his daughter,
a young lady well known in society for the splendor of her attire. The
company refused to pay so large a sum, and protested that the lady in
question could not have possessed so costly a wardrobe. Suit was brought
by the claimant, and, as a matter of course, an enumeration of the
articles destroyed and their value was made to the court. The list was
as follows, and is interesting as showing the mysteries of a fashionable
lady's wardrobe:
6 silk robes--red, enamelled, $950
green, blue, yellow, pink,
black--with fringes, ruches,
velvets, lace trimmings, etc.
1 blue Marie Louise 300
gros-de-Naples, brocaded with
silver taken from the looms of
Lyons; cost, without a stitch in
it
Silver bullion fringe tassels and 200
real lace to match
1 rose-colored satin, brocaded in $400
white velvet, with deep flounce
of real blonde lace, half-yard
wide; sleeves and bertha richly
trimmed with the same
rose-colored satin ribbon; satin
on each side, with silk cord and
tassel; lined throughout body,
skirt and sleeves with white silk
1 white satin of exceedingly rich 2500
quality, trimmed with blonde and
bugles; two flounces of very deep
point d'Alencon, sleeves of the
same, reaching down to the
elbows, and bertha to match, with
white bugles and blonde to match
1 royal blue satin dress, 1500
trimmed, apron-shape, with black
Brussels lace and gold and bugle
trimmings, with one flounce,
going all around the skirt, of
black Brussels lace; body and
sleeves to match; sleeves looped
up with blue velvet roses set in
lace, to imitate a bouquet
1 dove-colored satin dress, 425
trimmed with velvet, half-yard
deep; a long trail with the
velvet going all around, with
llama fringe and dove-colored
acorns, forming a heading to the
velvet, and going all up the
skirt and around the long Greek
sleeves; the sleeves lined with
white satin and quills of silver
ribbon going around the throat;
lined throughout with white silk,
having belonging to it a cloak
and hood, lined and trimmed to
match; made in Paris
1 black Mantua velvet robe, long 500
train, sleeves hanging down as
far as the knees, open, lined
with white satin, and trimmed all
round with seed-pearls, as well
as all round the top of low
body--the seed-pearls forming
clusters of leaves going down
front of skirt and all round the
skirt and train
1 rich moire-antique dress, 400
embroidered in gold from the body
to the skirt and sleeves and all
round, taken up and fastened up
with gold embroidery to imitate
the folds and wrinkles of the
dress, trimmed round the edge
with white Brussels lace, having
an underskirt of amber satin
trimmed with Brussels lace, to
show underneath; lined throughout
with silk
1 large Brussels shawl, of 700
exquisite fineness and elegance
of design, to go with it
1 crimson velvet dress, lined 400
throughout with rose-colored
silk; train very long, trimmed
with rich silk, blonde lace
covering the entire train, being
carried around and brought up the
front of the dress and body,
forming the bertha; and sleeves
looped up with white roses;
turquoise fan and slippers to
match
1 blue mercantique (lined), low 200
body, trimmed with Honiton lace,
body and sleeves; one piece of
silk to match, unmade, intended
for high body, and bons; sleeves
slashed open and lined with white
satin
1 rose-colored robe, with $250
flounces; high and low body,
having fringe and trimming woven
to imitate Russian fur; both
bodies trimmed with fringe
ribbons and narrow lace
1 mauve-colored glace silk, 180
braided and bugled all around the
bottom of skirt, on the front of
body, around the band of
Garibaldi body, down the sleeves
and round the cuffs of Garibaldi
body; the low body, with bertha
deeply braided and bugled, with
sleeves to match; long sash, with
end and bows and belts, all
richly braided and bugled with
thread lace
1 vraie couleur de rose 300
gros-de-Naples, with flounces
richly brocaded with bouquet in
natural size and color, made to
represent the same in panels,
trimmed with gimp and fringe to
match; also, high and low body,
with bertha and trimmings to
match
1 pink morning robe, very superb, 250
trimmed down the side with white
satin a quarter of a yard wide,
sleeves trimmed to match,
satin-stitched, with flounces in
pink silk on edge of satin,
passementerie cord and tassels
1 gold-colored silk aersphane, 100
with three skirts, each skirt
trimmed with quillings of yellow
satin ribbon, looped up with pink
roses: body to match, trimmed
with silk blonde; white blonde
round the neck; satin quillings;
silk blonde on the sleeves, and
lace and yellow satin; rich
underskirt to match
2 very richly embroidered French 100
cambric morning-dresses, with
bullion and heavy satin ribbons
running through; one lined
throughout with pink, the other
with blue silk
1 rich black silk glace, trimmed 200
with bugles and black velvet
1 blue-black Irish silk poplin, 125
made in Gabrielle style, trimmed
with scarlet velvet all round the
skirt; sleeves and body-belt and
buckle to match
1 Cashmere, shawl pattern, 100
morning-dress, lined; sleeves and
flies lined with red silk, cord
and tassels to match; not twice
on
1 white Swiss muslin, with double 90
skirt and ribbon running through
the upper and lower hems of each
skirt, of pink satin; body with
Greek sleeves to match
1 straw-colored silk dress, 80
trimmed with black velvet, and
body of the same
1 white Swiss muslin robe, with 95
one plain skirt and one above,
graduated by larger and smaller
tucks to imitate three flounces;
the sleeves with puffs, and long
sleeves with tucks, down and
across to match skirts, and
Garibaldi body made to match; one
pink satin under-body to go with
it
1 white Swiss muslin dress, with 90
three flounces, quilled and
tucked, graduated one above the
other, with headings of lace on
the top of each flounce; low
body, with tuck, bretelles and
broad colored sarsnet ribbon
1 India muslin dress, very full, $110
embroidered to imitate three
flounces; and Greek body and
sleeves, also embroidered to
match sky-blue skirt and body to
go underneath
1 India muslin dress, double 90
skirt, richly embroidered, with
high jacket and long sleeves
embroidered to match
1 pink satin skirt and bodice, to 25
go underneath
1 white long morning dress, 60
embroidered round the skirt and
up the front, in two flounces,
one hanging over the other;
sleeves and cuffs to match
1 white muslin, with white spots, 80
skirt and bodice trimmed with
bullion and narrow real
Valenciennes lace
2 white cambric morning-dresses, 275
one very richly embroidered, in
wheels and flounces; and jacket
to match
1 white Swiss muslin jacket, very 100
richly embroidered; skirt and
bodice to match
3 cambric tight-fitting jackets, 120
with collar and sleeves very
richly embroidered, to imitate
old Spanish point
5 Marie Antoinettes, made 300
entirely of French muslin, with
triple bullion and double face;
pink satin ribbon running
through. Cost $60 each
1 pique morning dress and jacket, 75
richly embroidered
1 pique skirt, richly embroidered 50
6 fine Swiss muslin skirts, four 55
yards in each, trimmed with two
rows of real lace, to set in
full, finely finished
2 very rich bastistes, for 120
morning-dresses
2 very fine cambric skirts, 60
delicately embroidered, to wear
with open morning-dresses
2 fine linen skirts, embroidered 40
in open work
2 silk grenadine dresses, trimmed 200
with Maltese lace and velvet; two
bodices to match, blue and green
2 silk bareges, trimmed with 200
velvet and fringe, and bodice to
match
1 Scotch catlin silk full dress, 100
Stewart, trimmed with black
velvet and fringe, made to match
colors of dress
3 Balmoral skirts, very elegant, 90
embroidered in silk
1 ponceau silk dress, trimmed 250
with llama fringe and gold balls;
body and sleeves very richly
trimmed to match
1 blue silk to match, trimmed 250
with steel fringe and bugles;
body and sleeves richly trimmed
1 French muslin jacket, with 40
lapels and sleeves to turn back,
very heavily embroidered
1 set point d'Alencon, consisting 120
of shirt sleeves, handkerchief,
and collar
1 point d'Alencon extra large 100
handkerchief
1 set Honiton lace, consisting of $80
handkerchief, collar, and sleeves
1 set Maltese lace, consisting of 300
handkerchief, collar, velvet cape
1 set Irish point lace, very 80
rich, consisting of wide, deep
sleeves, handkerchief and collar
1 cape of ditto, going up to the 35
neck and shut at the back
2 black lace mantillas 40
1 black lace jacket 15
1 cape, composed of Valenciennes 75
lace
2 dozen very rich embroidered 120
cambric chemises, with lace
6 ditto, with puffed bullions in 100
front
18 Irish linen chemises, with 200
very rich fronts
7 Irish linen, embroidered 40
1 dozen night-dresses, very rich 216
fronts
3 linen ditto, very rich 75
1 dozen embroidered drawers 72
2 very rich ditto 50
11 new pairs silk stockings, in 40
box
1 dozen Lisle thread stockings 20
9 pairs boots and shoes 45
3 pairs embroidered slippers, 40
very rich, in gold
1 pair Irish point lace sleeves 30
(extra)
1 black velvet embroidered 450
mantilla, imported
1 ditto, silk, embroidered with 100
bugles, imported
1 glace silk, tight-fitting 65
basque, with black zeplore lace
cape; trimmed in every width with
narrow lace to match
1 black silk Arab, with two 25
tassels
1 dust-wrapper, from Cashmere 18
4 magnificent opera-cloaks 175
1 red scarlet cloth cloak, 12
trimmed with yellow cord
1 cloth, drab-color cloak 8
1 cloak, with hood lined with 10
silk
2 dozen cambric, embroidered, 24
with name Fanny
1 set Russian sable muffs, cape 100
and boa
1 tortoise shell comb, made in 50
one piece and very rich
6 fancy combs 30
1 very rich mother-of-pearl, gold 85
inlaid, and vol. feathers
beautifully painted by hand
1 fan of mother-of pearl, inlaid 45
in gold, with silk and white and
Job's spangles
1 blue mother-of-pearl, with 35
looking-glass; imitation ruby and
emeralds
6 other fans, of various kinds 25
1 parasol, all ivory handle 100
throughout, engraved with name in
full, covering of silk and Irish
point lace, very fine, covering
the entire parasol
Several other parasols $25
1 real gold head-ornament, 100
representing the comet and
eclipse appearing
About twenty hair-nets, silver, 40
gold, and all colors and pearls
4 ladies' bonnets, some 100
exceedingly elegant
1 box marabout feathers, for 50
dressing the hair
1 box artificial flowers l5
1 lot new ribbon, for sashes; 35
velvet, silk, and satin
1 small miniature model piano, 50
played by mechanism, from Vienna
1 lady's writing-desk, inlaid 200
with tortoise-shell and
mother-of-pearl, lined with silk
velvet, with compartments and
secretary; carved mother-of-pearl
paper-knife, gold seal, gold
pencil, case full of fancy
writing paper; made in Paris
1 bula work-box, elegant; inlaid 125
with silver and lined with
ci-satin, fitted with gold
thimble, needle, scissors,
pen-knife, gold bodkin, cotton
winders; outside to match French
piano
1 long knitting-case to match the 40
above, fitted with needles, beads
and silk of every description
1 papier-mache work-box, and 5
fitted up
1 morocco work-bag, ornamented 3
with bright steel; fitted up with
scissors, thimble, etc
1 lady's Russia leather 15
shopping-bag, with silver and
gilt clasps for chain and key
1 18-karat gold filigree 20
card-case
1 set gold whist-markers, in 50
hands on little box, a present
unto her
1 lady's small work-bag, silk 5
fittings
1 solid silver porte-monnaie 19
1 little blue porte-monnaie; 3
velvet, and cords and tassel
1 ladies' companion, with fixings 45
in silver; a present
1 hair-pin stand; a small 14
book-case, with small drawers and
mirror
1 basket of mother-of-pearl, and 35
gilt and red satin, full of
wax-flowers
1 elegant Bible in gilt, edge 30
mounted in gold
43 volumes various miniature 100
books, bound most elegantly in
morocco, and brought as a present
from Europe
1 silver pin-cushion and sewer 23
for fastening on the table
1 elegant, richly carved ivory 400
work-table, brought from Mexico,
inside fitted up with silk and
different compartments, standing
three feet high
1 lady's solid silver rutler, 25
from Mexico
1 gilt head-ornament, 3
representing a dagger
1 lady's English dressing-case, $250
solid silver fittings, English
make and stamp, rosewood, bound
with brass and gilt, fitted and
lined with silver
1 pair rich carved ivory hair 155
brushes, engraved with name and
crest
1 ditto engraved and crest 55
1 small ivory hair-brush 12
1 ebony hair-brush, inlaid with 20
mother-of-pearl
1 Berlin-wool worked cushion 50
1 sewing-chair, elegantly 75
embroidered seat and back
1 Berlin-wool Affghan 100
1 fire-screen, Berlin work, 125
beads, representing Charles II.
hunting
1 large sole-leather trunk, about 250
four feet long and three feet
deep, lined with red morocco,
handsomely ornamented in gold,
embossed on the red morocco, with
seven compartments; very
scientifically constructed for
the necessities of a lady's
wardrobe, with springs to hold
open each compartment; and the
lace compartment could, at
pleasure, be rested on two steel
legs, covered with gilt embossed
morocco, representing a writing
table, with a portfolio,
containing writing materials; it
had two large French patent locks
1 lady's travelling trunk, with 73
cover, containing a quantity of
worn dresses, zouave cloth and
gold, druided jacket cloaks,
woollen ditto, opera cloak, etc
Total $21,000
Such lavish expenditure is a natural consequence of a state of society
where wealth is the main distinction. Mrs. John Smith's position as a
leader of the _ton_ is due exclusively to her great riches and her
elaborate displays. Mrs. Richard Roe will naturally try to outshine her,
and thus rise above her in the social scale. Many persons seeking
admission into such society, and finding wealth the only requisite, will
make any sacrifice to accomplish their end. If they have not wealth they
will affect to have it. They could not counterfeit good birth, or high
breeding, but they can assume the appearance of being wealthy. They can
conduct themselves, for a while at least, in a manner utterly
disproportioned to their means, and so they go on, until their funds and
credit being exhausted, they are forced to drop out of the circles in
which they have moved, and the so-called friends who valued them only for
their supposed wealth, instantly forget that they ever knew them. No
more invitations are left for them, they are not even tolerated in "good
society," and are "cut" on the street as a matter of course.
Not a year passes but records the failure of some prominent business man
in New York. His friends are sorry for him, and admit that he was
prudent and industrious in his business. "His family did it," they tell
you, shaking their heads. "They lived too fast. Took too much money to
run the house, to dress, and to keep up in society." Only the All Seeing
Eye can tell how many men who stand well in the mercantile community are
tortured continually by the thought that their extravagance or that of
their families is bringing them to sure and certain ruin; for not even in
New York can a man live beyond his actual means. They have not the moral
courage to live within their legitimate incomes. To do so would be to
lose their positions in society, and they go on straining every nerve to
meet the demands upon them, and then the crash comes, and they are
ruined.
Those who dwell in the great city, and watch its ways with observant
eyes, see many evils directly attributable to the sin of extravagance.
These evils are not entirely of a pecuniary nature. There are others of
a more terrible character. Keen observers see every day women whose
husbands and fathers are in receipt of limited incomes, dressing as if
their means were unlimited. All this magnificence is not purchased out
of the lawful income of the husband or father. The excess is made up in
other ways--often by the sacrifice of the woman's virtue. She finds a
man willing to pay liberally for her favors, and carries on an intrigue
with him, keeping her confiding husband in ignorance of it all the while.
She may have more than one lover--perhaps a dozen. When a woman sins
from motives such as these, she does not stop to count the cost. Her
sole object is to get money, _and she gets it_. It is this class of
nominally virtuous married and unmarried women that support the infamous
houses of assignation to be found in the city.
The curse of extravagance does not manifest itself in dress alone. One
cannot enter the residence of a single well-to-do person in the city
without seeing evidences of it. The house is loaded with the richest and
rarest of articles, all intended for show, and which are oftentimes
arranged without the least regard to taste. The object is to make the
house indicate as much wealth on the part of its owner as possible. It
makes but little difference whether the articles are worth what was paid
for them, or whether they are arranged artistically--if the sum total is
great, the owner is satisfied. It is a common thing to see the walls of
some elegant mansion disfigured with frescoes, which, though executed at
an enormous cost, are utterly without merit or taste. Again one sees
dozens of paintings, bought for works of the old masters, lining the
walls of the richest mansions of the city, which are the merest daubs,
and the works of the most unscrupulous Bohemians. Not long since, a
collection of paintings was offered for sale in New York, the owner being
dead. They had been collected at great expense, and were the pride of
their former owner. With a few exceptions they were wretched copies, and
in the whole lot, over five hundred in number, there were not six genuine
"old masters," or "masters" of any age.
Entertainments are given in the most costly style. From ten to twenty
thousand dollars are spent in a single evening in this way. At a
fashionable party from twelve to fifteen hundred dollars' worth of
champagne is consumed, besides other wines and liquors. Breakfasts are
given at a cost of from one to three thousand dollars; suppers at a still
higher cost. This represents the expense to the host of the
entertainment; but does not cover the cost of the toilettes to be
provided for the family, which make up several thousand dollars more.
Suppers or dinners are favorite entertainments, and the outlay required
for them is oftentimes very heavy. The host frequently provides nothing
but viands imported from foreign lands. Sets of china of great cost, or
of silver equally expensive, or even of gold, are displayed
ostentatiously. Sometimes the supper-room is entirely refitted in red,
blue, or gold, everything, even the lights and flowers, being of one
color, in order that the affair may be known as Mrs. A---'s red, blue, or
gold supper. Some of the most extravagant entertainers will place at the
side of each cover an exquisite bouquet inside of which is a costly
present of jewelry.
All this reckless expenditure in the midst of so much sorrow and
suffering in the great city! "The bitter cold of winter," says the
Manager of the 'Children's Aid Society,' in his appeal for help, "and the
freezing storms have come upon thousands of the poor children of this
city, unprepared. They are sleeping in boxes, or skulking in doorways,
or shivering in cellars without proper clothing, or shoes, and but
half-fed. Many come bare-footed through the snow to our industrial
schools. Children have been known to fall fainting on the floor of these
schools through want of food. Hundreds enter our lodging-houses every
night, who have no home. Hundreds apply to our office for a place in the
country, who are ragged, half-starved, and utterly unbefriended."