Some authorities say that dress-making as a trade is not so good a business in New York as it was some ten years ago. The large dress-makers who employ considerable help are obliged to select the best locations in the city for their establishments, where the rent is very high, and to furnish their places in a style very much more expensive than in former years. As a consequence they do not pay as good wages as they once did, on account of having to lay out money in these ways.
Another change from the old methods is that the work of dress-making is, at the present time, divided into various departments. One woman will make the skirt, another will finish it, another will work on the sleeves, another will work the button-holes, and the fitting and draping are branches by themselves. The woman who would receive the highest wages to be obtained in this industry should master the whole business, and make herself competent to do all, or nearly all, the kinds of work which have just been mentioned. If she does do that, she need have no fear about obtaining employment. There are thousands of dress-makers in the country, but very few good ones. It is a trade of which it may be emphatically said that there is "room at the top."
The dress-making season lasts from October 1st to February 1st; then there is very little to do until March 10th, when business becomes brisk and remains so until about the 1st of August. The hours of work are from 8 A.M. until 6 P.M. In the busy season it is often necessary to work in the evening. The pay ranges from $6 to $8 per week for ordinary hands, while competent women receive $10, $12, and $14 a week. The forelady in a dress-making establishment will receive $15 or $20 a week. It is her duty to superintend the girls, to see that they arrive on time, to give out the work, and to see that it is done promptly and properly.
Some women who follow this calling prefer to go out to private families and work by the day. For such service they receive $3 or $3.50 a day. In many respects this is a pleasant method, but it has its disadvantages. A woman is not always sure of how much she will earn unless, after years of work, she has secured the custom of a certain number of families, on whose patronage she can depend. There is so much responsibility and worriment attached to this way of working at the trade that the majority of dress-makers prefer to hire themselves out by the week, and feel sure of receiving each Saturday night a stated amount for their services.
The objection that applies to going out to private service is urged against a woman going into the business on her own account. Besides, in large cities it would require considerable capital to pursue such a course. A dingy, insignificant little place could not hope to get much custom, and to compete with the large establishments a woman would have to be prepared to pay a high rent, lay out a large amount in furniture, and then, probably, have to wait a long time before she could be the owner of a good paying business. Still, if she has plenty of capital, thoroughly understands the trade, and is enterprising in her methods of securing business, there is no reason why she should not succeed, provided she has a good location.
Only the rich and the utterly incompetent patronize the milliner nowadays. It seems that women are very prompt to attend the "openings" in the spring and fall seasons, but the great majority of them do so only to see the styles. They go home and, unless they are very poor hands with the needle, make their bonnets themselves. A hat that would cost $5 in the store, a woman of taste could make for $1.50; and one that would cost $15 she could duplicate for a five-dollar bill.
An idea can thus be formed of the profits of the business, and the suggestion will probably occur to the reader that it is a good business to follow. If a woman could secure a good store, at a reasonable rent, in a nice neighborhood, she would have a fair chance of doing well. Of course it is to be supposed that she understands the milliner's trade, and that she has gained her knowledge in a practical way. It is seldom, however, that women are successful as proprietors of such stores. Either they have made a mistake in selecting a location, or their means become exhausted while waiting for custom during the early dull days of their venture. It would take at least $2,000 or $3,000 to start a millinery store. A woman of unusually good taste and sound business judgment might get along with $1,000. The best location in New York City would be between Fourteenth and Thirty-third streets, and Broadway and Sixth Avenue; or on Broadway or Sixth Avenue.