By GEORGE ELLINGTON, 1869
I have not read this book in entirety, but it sounds scintillating! from the preface:
"During the last few years many books have been written about New York—its secrets, mysteries and miseries—but no work so exhaustive or authentic as this has been offered the public. In it the women of the Metropolis are boldly and truthfully unveiled, and every phase of society is thoroughly ventilated. Where sin and immorality have tainted women in high life, and where fashionable wives and beautiful daughters have yielded to the enticer's arts, it tears the fictitious robes from their forms and reveals their habits of life, their follies and frailties. It may not be generally known that recruits for the army of prostitution are obtained from the higher classes; and not unfrequently the daughters of the wealthy—women who were once belles in society—may be found within the glittering palaces of crime in New York. Sketches of the lives of some of these are given, together with the methods employed to lure virtue into vice. Added to these, the lives of many actresses, women's rights champions, lady physicians and bouquet-girls in the city are fearlessly reviewed."
from CHAPTER VII~ HOW A FASHIONABLE WOMAN IS "MADE UP."
A carefully dressed fashionable woman is indeed a being " fearfully and wonderfully made." Consider the labor she has performed, the time spent and the material—its quantity, variety and shape—that is centred upon her. Reflect how many bones clasp her waist; the multitude of pins that flash and hold and defend her; the innumerable hooks and eyes that look out, catch hold and join to give strength, shape and comeliness to hosts of nameless things; the bands of steel that flaringly course about her; the cords that give tautness, and confidence, and supposed comfort; and the myriads of laces, and flowers, and jewels that ornament and add finish to the congress of prettiness. These are only a little of the untouched much. Although the masculine world is aware of this always mysterious and wonderful " make-up" of a woman, there are very few men who have thoroughly studied the subject in all its ramifications. They pay the piper, but they know not the kind or quality of goods which the said piper furnishes. Writers, too, alert for every "sensation" whereby an honest penny can be turned, have never treated the subject as a whole.
It is a theme about which every one knows something, but no one knows everything. We propose, in this chapter, to show how a pretty woman is " made up" (as the common phrase is) from her head to her feet, and how much it costs to make her up. The information contained herein will be interesting to the married man, who will know how to appreciate his treasure when he sees how much it has cost him in the total; also to the single man contemplating matrimony, who is advised to take a good long look before he leaps and commits the fatal deed.
We have already touched on the subject of hair in a previous chapter. A few facts as to the prices may be of interest. There are four varieties of false hair, viz., the chignons or waterfalls, wigs, curls and switches.
The chignon is made of a wire-frame network, stuffed with short hair or other material. It costs from one to thirty dollars, according to size and material.
The wig is made of real human hair attached to a frame and network. It ranges in price from fifty to two hundred dollars, according to style and quality.
False curls are greatly in demand, either singly or in a mass. They are composed of real hair, artificially curled, and imitate Nature to a wonderful degree of perfection. A single curl costs from six to twenty dollars. A good head of curly hair of the reigning hue costs about one hundred and fifty dollars.
Rolls or puffs are composed of horse hair or short-clipped human hair, rolled and compressed together, over which the rest of the hair is displayed. The cost of rolls or puffs varies from twenty-five to fifty cents apiece and upward. Switches are composed of short hair plaited together, or of a string of hair as long as the length of the longest threads of the human hair, and cost (full sets) from five to one hundred dollars, according to the thickness and the depth.
Fashionable women are in the habit of shaving and clipping the little hair around the forehead, so as to give the hair in front a pointed appearance; and the brow, consequently, presents an arched look. The eyebrows are penciled or painted with India ink, which gives them a rather bluish appearance. The poudre subtile for uprooting the superfluous hair costs one dollar a bottle, while noir pelmdte, with three pencils of various thicknesses for the eyebrows, can be procured for two dollars and a half. For the eyes, our New York belle uses belladonna to give the upper part of the face a languishing,half-sentimental, half sensual look. To " get up" this same look costs two dollars and a half in money, and an hour in time. Sometimes this substance is dropped into the eye, when it has the effect to give that organ an eager and expressive look.
Reference has already been made in a previous chapter to the practice of enameling the face and bust, which is fast becoming common among some of our fashionable women. The business is carried on by a chiropodist of Broadway. Our illustration represents a scene in this " enameling studio." The process may be described as follows: The lady is first carefully examined with a microscope, and any rough hairs or fuzz which exist upon the cheek or bust are at once removed with liniment or plaster, medicated soap, scissors or tweezers. The cheeks or bust are then coated with a fine enamel, which is composed of arsenic or white lead and other ingredients made into a semi-paste. An ordinary coating will last for a day or two, but to render the operation of permanent value, the process must be repeated once or twice a week. The prices of enameling vary, but average about as follows : For enameling the face to last once or twice, from ten to fifteen dollars; for enameling theface and bust temporarily, from fifteen to twenty dollars; for enameling the face to endure one or two weeks, from fifteen to twentyfive dollars; for enameling the face and bust to last about the same period, from twenty-five to thirty-five dollars; for keeping the face for six months in an enameled condition, from two hundred to three hundred and fifty dollars ; for keeping the face and bust in the same state for the same length of time, from four hundred to six hundred dollars.
If " cheek" is a requisite in a man, much more so is it in a woman. A pretty woman without a pretty cheek is like a peach without a bloom. The belle of the period can get whatever complexion she wishes by the use of liquid rouge or vegetable rouge, which is not expensive, and is applied to the face through the medium of wool or flannel or a hare's foot. Bismuth is sometimes used, also prepared chalk and preparations containing mercury. Then there is the French paste which comes in pots, at one dollar a pot, and is much used by the theatre and opera people. Thirteen varieties of chalk and powder, eight varieties of paste and twenty-three kinds of washes are for sale by one dealer in cosmetics in New York. Common prepared chalk can be bought for from ten to twenty-five cents a package. A box of Meen Fun, a species of chalk, can be procured at one dollar a box; Lubin's liquid rouge is worth a dollar and a half a bottle; Orient, with two sponges, costs a dollar and a half; vegetable rouge costs from three to five dollars, while what is called the " Lady's Pocket Companion," or Portable Complexion, a box containing white and red, with puffs for the cheeks and pencils for the eyebrows, can be procured for two dollars. Ali these various articles cost but little when bought separately, but when it is considered that they have to be replenished often and several different assortments used, the aggregate amount is considerable. One lady estimates the cost of keeping up her complexion at one hundred and fifty dollars per annum.
The dentist is often brought in requisition to display his skill in the manufacture of false teeth, which range in price from twenty-five to two hundred dollars per set. His services, however, are not confined to the mouth alone ; he deals also with the fashionable female cheek, which he often fills out from the inside by means of hard composite pads, which are placed on each side of the mouth, running upward. These cheek-pads are called "plumpers," and cost from twenty-five to fifty dollars.
The figure of our New York woman is generally good, with the exception of that very important part, the bust. Cotton and horse-hair have long been used for the purpose of developing the "female form divine" in this particular direction, but artificial means of a more elaborate nature are oftentimes employed. Apparatus known as respirators—or "patent heavers," as they are sometimes called—are in vogue. These consist of a pair of rubber bags, which can be blown up like life-preservers, and when filled with air answer the purpose of the natural breast, so far as external purposes are concerned. They vary in price from five to ten dollars, and are manufactured to a considerable extent in the Bowery. The perils of fashionable "shams" of this peculiar description were illustrated at a dinner-party given by a noted New York politician at his mansion on Fifth avenue. One of the ladies present was remarked for the exquisite proportions of her bust and the animation of her conversation. Those who sat near the lady suddenly heard, in the middle of the dinner and of some witty sally on her part, a sharp, small detonation, such as might be produced by the cracking open of a bean-pod. No one took any notice of the inexplicable sound; but it was observed that the lady became much less animated, that she kept one arm raised across her bosom, and fanned herself incessantly during the rest of the dinner, though the temperature of the dining-room was by no means too high. As soon as the company rose from the table, the lady, still fanning herself, suddenly disappeared; but, as certain sharp eyes among her rivals had caught sight of a diminished outline as she retreated from the sphere of vision, a good deal of suppressed merriment followed her disappearance. The lady's absence, however, was very short, for she returned to the drawing-room in the course of a few minutes, triumphant in the same plastic perfection that had excited so much admiration during the earlier part of the evening, and displayed all the aplomb and vivacity which had made her so charming. The screwing of the stopper through which the air is blown into the class of "fixtures" in question having been made this time sufficiently secure, the charms of Mrs. B underwent no further vicissitudes during the course of the evening.
The " Grecian bend " proper has ceased to be the rage, and is even going out of fashion. Still "traces of its lingering yet remain." Boots manufactured with unusually high heels, which necessarily throw the body forward, and bustles of a peculiar arrangement, are used to produce this monstrosity. The price of a "bend" is from ten dollars upward.
To supply the deficiency of plump, well-rounded arms, our fashionable lady has her sleeves padded, lined with cotton and wool. The padding is a cheap process, costing from nothing up to a few dollars, and is much in vogue for evening dresses.
The Italian women of high rank, in the olden time, painted the palms of their hands so as to produce a delicate effect. Our American ladies of the present day not only paint the hand, but powder it. They paint the veins so as to produce a delicate effect. Cream-paste is also applied to the hands. Blue penciling is done, and various French preparations used. The nails are regularly trimmed, cleaned and colored with a fine powder, applied with a brush. To keep the hand in proper trim costs about fifty dollars a year.
Corsets, having so much to do with the beauty of the female figure, are of course largely used. When the lady's waist is large and she wishes to reduce the size, the whalebone of the corsets is replaced by steel. Corsets are often padded about the waist and hips, so as to give those parts a rounded look. Corsets are of all qualities and shapes, and range in price from seventy-five cents to thirty dollars.
The subject of female limbs is a very delicate one, and we would pass it by, were it not that we are pledged to give a full and truthful account of how a woman is made up. False calves are very much used in New York by actresses, women of pleasure and women of fashion as well. They cost from seven to ten dollars, and are warranted to look in all respects like the natural limb, and in many respects a great deal better.
Not only are the ankles padded; when the knee is sharp and angular in its outline a pad is used. Large feet are made to look small by wearing shoes with the heel placed considerably forward. The high instep—the Spanish foot —can be procured at any bootmaker's for a consideration of twelve or fifteen dollars. Ladies' shoes of the very best quality, made to order, cost as high as twenty to twentyfive dollars. A certain actress boasts that she never wears "understandings" which cost less than thirty dollars.
Defects of a physical nature, which, at first sight. would seem to be irremediable, may be almost entirely concealed by the aid of appliances of machinery. A leading lady on Madison avenue, who has by nature one shoulder higher than the other, has, by art and her dressmaker, both shoulders of an exact height. Another lady, who resides in Twenty-second street, has one leg shorter than the other, but, by the art of her doctor and dressmaker, has this discrepancy entirely obviated in gait and appearance. Artificial eyes are common even among fashionable belles. It is sad to think that in the crowded party, the brilliantly-lighted ball-room, or at the opera, the eye that is beaming so softly and so brightly at us is only a glass eye after all; but such is frequently the stern fact.
All women of fashion, it may be remarked in conclusion, use artifice and deception in decorating the person. Age is no safeguard against the practice. There is a lady residing on the Avenue who is now eighty years of age, and who sixty years ago was a belle in metropolitan society. She fancies she is still the beauty she was once. She wears a wig, a set of false teeth, with plumpers, pads, a bustle, a Grecian bend, affects highlycolored French shoes, and almost half supports a cosmetic store on Broadway.
From what we have written in this chapter it will be seen how false the woman of the world can be, as far as outward appearance goes. We say nothing of the heart of the fashionable woman, if she possesses such an article ; we do not allude to the vows made and broken, the promises forgotten as soon as uttered, the good resolutions laughed at, the noble ambitions for a "surer, purer, sweeter life" thrust aside in the whirl of social excitement. Did we speak of the falsity of women as regards their heart and their inner life, we would not only tire the reader, but make him lose all faith in human nature, at least as far as women are concerned.
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