What can one think of duties of over $30,000 paid on personal articles by one woman who yearly brings back similar quantities of jewelry and clothes.  This $30,000 in duties meant an expenditure of probably about $100,000.  It included over $1200 for hats, over $3000 for corsets and lingerie.  This was undoubtedly exceptional; that is, few women of even great wealth buy so lavishly.  Yet good round sums, even if they are small in comparison, are spent by many women in their European outings.  They will bring from six to twelve gowns which will average at least $150 apiece, and an occasional woman will have a half-dozen averaging from $450 to $500 apiece.  One might say that eight to twelve hats, costing $25 to $50 apiece, was a fair average, though $800 to $1200 worth is not so rare as to cause a panic at the customhouse.

The comparative amounts which men and women spend affords an interesting comment on the relative importance which men and women attach to clothes.  In one case of which I happen to know Mr. A. brought in $840 worth of wearing apparel:  Mrs. A. nearly $10,000 worth, of which $7000 was for gowns.  A man may have eight to ten suits of pajamas which cost him $10 apiece, a dozen or two waistcoats, a dozen or two shirts, a few dozen handkerchiefs and gloves, a dozen or so ties, eight or ten suits of clothes, but from $500 to $1000 will cover his wardrobe; his wife will often spend as much for hats alone as he does for an entire outfit!

The difficulty in these great expenditures is that they set a pace.  To many women of wealth they are no doubt revolting.  They recognize that there are only two classes of women who can justify them—­the actress and the demi-mondaine.  Yet insensibly many of these women yield to the pressure of temptation.  The influence is subtle, often unconscious, and for this reason spreads the more widely.  Women all over the country find that the pressure is to spend more for clothes each year.  The standard changes.  Occasions multiply.  Fantasies entice.  Before they know it their clothes are costing them a disproportionate sum—­more than they can afford if their budget is to balance.

This does not apply to one class, it creeps steadily down to the very poor.  Investigators of small household budgets lay it down as a rule that as the income increases the percentage spent for clothing increases more rapidly than for any other item.  It is true in the professional classes, and especially burdensome there; for the income is usually small, but the social demand great.

There are certain industrial and ethical results from this preoccupation with clothes which should not be overlooked, particularly the indifference to quality which it has engendered.  The very heart of the question of clothes of the American woman is imitation.  That is, we are not engaged in an effort to work out individuality.  We are not engaged in an effort to find costumes which by their expression of the