LONDON AND CLOTHES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 249, 9 July 1918, Page 3

LONDON AND CLOTHES

SOME WAR-TIME FACES AND FIGURES

BOGEY OF HIGH PRICES

DISPELLED

There were extremists who said that by the year 1918 it would 1)0 impossible to got a durable and presentable suit of clothes for a middle-class citixon i'or less that from ten to twelve guineas to taljo tho place of suits that wcro available at from four to five guineas before the war. These doleful prophets have been confounded, as far at all evonts as Loudon is concerned.: and tho provincial prices are no higher than in the capital, while in many areas they are a good deal lower. Sensational increases have not come to pa6s; and, morever, cloth is plentiful and thero is abundance of materials and patterns from which to choose. The paper suit figures only in the pages of the 'comic periodicals and in humorous newspaper articles. Board of Trade, and other Government figures havo' their usen and immense value, of course, but it is preferable here to Rive figures supplied direct by retailers in large ways of business in London. After all it does not deeply concern the average citizen what is the wholesale price of cloth, leather, and so on; what concerns and affects him i.-> the retail price of tho manufactured or made-up articles at the shops with which ho is accustomed to deal. The following particulars are from a Haymarket, London, ifailor, who has an extensive connection with -professional men :— Similar ' Before finality the war. to-day. £ s. d. £ s. d. Lounge- suit (trousers, waistcoat and jacket) 5 0 0 710 6 Morning coat (or as the .Americans call them, cutawnvs) with waistcoat 4 0 0 6 0 0 AVorsted trousers for wear toith morning coat 110 0 2 5 0 Winter overcoat a's 0 7 7 0 Dress suit (for which there is now almost no demand) 8 8 0 11 11 0 "There is abundance of cloth," says the tailor, who adds that he would have not tho sligntest difficulty in filling .his large building with cloth within a week. As to quality, lie remarks: "It is quite all right. Splendid wo_ol. Quite as good as wo ever got. Thero are perhaps, not so many shades nnd designs." On the whole, tho increases arc smaller than he has expected. Stout ready-made suits that formerly , we're priced at 355. or 375. 6d., now cost 1 Us., and there is an abundance of them. Keady-mado trousers are listed at 13s. Gd. as against 10i. lid. A representative increaso in the price of a man's hat is tho rise of 2s. 6d. on a hat which used to be sold for 10s. Gd. Tho increase in tho cost of other hats is' 1 proportionate. Men's shirts that could be bought for ■Is. (id. before August, 1914, are", at practically the same figure to-day; linen collars cost about 'M. each more; neckties are as before, save those made of silk; but there is u marked rise in the pace of all woollen wear—such as mufflers, socks, etc. Gloves are up in price, but scarcely any men wear them. Since tho war, they nave disappeared, with tho stove-pipe,hat, which used to bo tho regulation headwear of all barristers, solicitors, doctors, and city. men. As for the clothing of middle-class women these are figures:—

Woollen undergarments that used to bo 7s. 6d. arc now lis. Gd.; woollen gloves havo risen from lis. lid. lo Cs. or 7s. per pair; tweed costumes show an increase, remaining at from three- to seven guineas, but a good serge costume that used to be procurable at from three guineas onwards, now cost eight guineas. Hats remain at tho old prices practically, 6«vo in tho case of very fashionable models. All tho decorativo accessories of a woman's attiro aro very littlo more expensive than in the days of peace. Umbrellas and shades in endless variety aro at unaltered prices.; and the same has to be said of "vanity bags, 1 ' whilo silk blouses aro not much more costly than they were. As a matter of fact, it costs the London woman much less to dress now than it did, for she has dispensed with many obvioiis superfluities, and she buys fewer dresses. In addition, the "evening dress" bill is nil, for "evening dress" has gone.

Tiiero are increases, naturally, in the clothing outlays of the working classes, but tho working classes of London have always had a wonderful knowledge of where and how to buy clothing cheaply, and in this respect they are as clover during tho war as before it. Tho men and women of these classes are fully acquainted with tho possibilities and resources of the second-hand shops, and aH of the women aro skilled home dress-' makers. To the workers, the chief increase in the clothing bill is clue to boots, particularly where there is a large family of young children. Boot repairs, too, cost more; and it may bo that wartime leather has not all tho wearingpower of tho leather wo used to know.

In regard 1.0 men's boota the manager of a large retail firm in London says:— "Roughly speaking, all kind, of men's and women' 6 boots of the better class are up in price by one-bait' to double prewar cost. At the same time, there is no lack of supplies, and I have never heard of any Londoner who had difficulty in getting a strong and comfortable pair of boots or shoes for what, in war-time, cannot be regarded as an unreasonable cost. You have to remember how vast are Hie quantities of leather required for the boots of the soldiers and for other military pm poses. The main difference to-day is that those' who iised in be so fastidious as to seeing that they got glaco kid, patent leather, box-calf, and so on, have shed their fastidiousness and are satisfied if thoy get strength and comfort. There, is no grumbling concerning either tho price or the quality, and the are as smart and effective as before;'in fact, thoy have not changed in the least. Yes, I have beard regarding tho predicted ,£5 boots that tho war was to bring to our counters and shop windows, but that was only wild talk. Men pay 21s. or 255. for boots that used to cost about ios., and there are similar increases for all qualities and grades. Tliore is no boot or shoe famine, I assure you, and there will not be one. Q'wo years ago I was of opinion that if the war went on for another year Hie position us to prices would bo infinitely worse than it haa turned out. Tho boot trad 3 and the public have no grievance; everything lias proved quite satisfactory." The •manager slates that the increases in the. 1 cost of boots for middle-class women are similar to those, in the cost of boots for middle-class men.

The manager in question has what is called a city trade. In tlio suburbs— where, after all the vast majority of Londoners dwell and do their sbopping—tho rise in prices has not been so high, and men's boots have gone up only a few shillings per pair, while a common increase in tlio price of women's boots and 1 shoes is from 7s. to 9s.