THE PRICE OF A SUIT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 2083, 29 January 1920, Page 1

THE PRICE OF A SUIT.

WHERE THE MONEY’MOUNTS UP. IS THERE COMFORT IX KXOWLEDOE? An item of etthled news recently predicted the possibility of an increase in the cost of a suit of clothes in'England to £2O. It did not say whether this would be a tailored or a ready-to-wear suit, but as it is already quite easy t„o find tailors iii London who will charge £2O and more for a suit of clolli.es, it is probably the reference is to the ready-to-wear variely. How does this extraordinary price compare' with Ihe charges made ia Xew Zealand for chillies .' ‘An Auckland commercial, man who is in close lunch with the handling of wool, from the time ft is bought till it is metamorphosed into a piece of finished worsted cloth, expressed the opinion that while the price mentioned in the cable certainly sounded high, a great deal depended upon circumstances. English worsteds, ho remarked, were much dearer than Ihe Xew ( Zealand manufactured cloth, • although’the cloth made hero was the equal of the English cloth tor cpialily, and in paint of fact, is superior in actual purity, as no shoddy went into i! of any. sort. An English cloth cos! the Xew Zealand tailor or clothing manufacturer aboul three times the price of the locally made article, and some ol this liad i n he import ml, as the mills in the Dominion were not able at present to. maintain a supply equal to the demand. The, consequence was that the tailor or clothier often pooled Ihe materia Is. so to speak, and averaged up the prices. Otherwise the ordinary customer would he" likely to choose the cloth al, say. 13s a yard ami leava the 33s stud on his hands. The only advantage which the English-made article had over our own wad in the variety of design, but with most buyers of suits now that would not compensate for paying more than double for the material. FROM SHEEP'S BACK TO MAX’S.

Coming to the actual cost of this suit of clothes, he said that the cost of the wool off the sheep’s back might he 20d per lb., and alter trealmenf il would probably lake aboil! 2 lb. of this wool |o make a yard of olotb. The actual weigh! of wool lhal won! to Ihe yard was from (2nz. to a little over a pound, hul something like half of the original wool would he combed out in the making of ihe suitings because of being; too short. By the lime I lie cloth was ready for the tailor Ihe price of the wool in it had risen to roughly 13s or 14s per lb., 'that is to say a yard, and now the making of Ihe suit itself is readied. He ostimafed this as follows :—Three and a-half yards of medium quality material at, say. 15s per yard, £2 12s Gd, trimmings, £1; wages, £1 10s; and distributing and other expenses at 20 per cent., £l. «This brought the cost of the suit to the maker up to £6 2s fid, and he would probably want to see a £1 profit on it, bringing the cost to the wearer to roughly £7 2s 6d. This, declared the informant, was a fair estimate for a medium quality ready-to-wear suit in Xew Zealand at Ihe present time. What was known as a box suit would cost rather less, because such suits wore turned out in large quantities at a cheaper .finish. As for a tailored suit, that depended on the tailor, who might charge for fashion, cut, and' reputation.

There arc, of course, many questions which the layman Avould like t-o ask. concerning details about the progress'of the 40 or 50 oz, of avool in that suit of clothes, for in the competition ‘of trade it is said that fractions determine the profit. But one cannot reasonably expect secrets to be divulged for the benefit of the purchaser by the man interested in the purchase. One has to find what comfort one may in the knowledge that there is still a margin of profit and loss between £7 and £2O.

For a wager, three men some years lniek tested their waterdrinking powers. The winner drank 12 quarts; the second, nine; the third, seven. But they all died shortly afterwards. For several successive Sundays pigeons have 'entered Harlesden Parish Church as soon as the windows have been opened, remaining all day and leaving alter the evening service.

The-Uintah Railroad, from Mack, Colorado, to Watson, Utah, a distance of 62 miles, runs over the Atche Mountains, which are over 9,000 ft. high, with 75 per cent, curves.