| Show Cost of Feminine Beauty By Frederic J. J Haskin Hoskin WASHINGTON The The women of the District of Columbia spend more money on their beautification tion than those of oC any state in the union not not- excepting California where movie actresses are scattered scat scat- scattered up and down the state slate or New York the domicile of millionaires mil mil- To be sure the District District District Dis Dis- of Columbia is a small jurisdiction jurisdiction jurisdiction juris juris- diction and largely occupied by a asin sin single le city Washington tho the national national national na na- capital Still there arc many farms in the District and it must be compared on a basis with the states status Even from a purely urban point of at view the District ranks third in beauty expense Only two cities clUes Los Angeles and Boston show higher per capital expenses for beautification The IThe actual score will doubtless come as a surprise to readers of movie fan magazines and the advertisements of cosmetic cosmetic cosmetic cos cos- and beauty treatment manufacturers It is not Hollywood Beverly Hills and those other motion picture picture pic plc- ture centers all incorporated within the city of ot Los Angeles which show first place Boston in bleak New England where Puritan traditions are presumed to prevail is by this test at least leas the city of at vainest women The Hub tops all other American cities titles and therefore all cities in inthe inthe inthe the world in the amount of money spent on feminine beautification Dr Mary Sumner Benson In her work on Women in EIghteenth Eighteenth Eighteenth Eight EIght- Century America has cited contemporary evidence to the effect ef effect effect ef- ef that even in colonial times foreign visitors persons of position position position tion and taste from the European courts regarded th the women of Boston as the most beautiful in America It seems that throughout through through- out a couple of centuries Boston women have maintained their reputations reputations always ons always provided they have received their moneys money's worth Beston Boston tho the Top The score is Boston per capita Los Angeles and Washington or rather the District District District Dis Dis- of Columbia The civic comparison may not be quite fair Perhaps if the farm women of oC the District of Columbia were omitted and only those of purely urban Washington enumerated it might well be found that Washington Wash Wash- Washington ington led the entire countr country These figures may look rather small It is true of course that many women spend the highest per capita per annum figure figure- I every week or oftener for personal beautification Such census figures are based on total population counting every soul 1 the total expenditures being divided divid divid- ed by the total numbers to arrive at a per capita figure So as a measure to indicate how relatively high the quoted figures are one may cite some comparisons Thus New York City the dwelling dwelling dwelling dwell dwell- dwellI I ing place of the four hundred shows a figure of oC only Detroit Detroit Detroit De De- troit shows Florida where such places as Palm Beach and Miami are packed with beauty shops shows a figure of only Perhaps the closest comparison with the geographical situation of or the District of oC Columbia is tobe to tobe tobe be found in Rhode Island Here is a state which is nearly all urban The two cities of oC Providence Provi Provi- Providence dence and Newport are among the richest in the countr country Newport especially is the seat of wealth and the home of beautiful wo wo- men Yet Rhode Island shows aper a aper aper per capita beauty expense of only compared with the Districts District's Then for extreme comparisons compari compari- sons one may go to Arkansas where the per capita expense is and to Mississippi where it is but 56 cents It was the Indiana sage Abe Martin Marlin who once remarked that most of the women one sees coming coming coming com com- ing out of beauty parlors look as though they had not been waited on The fact of high expenditures expenditures expendi expendi- tures in any jurisdiction on personal personal per per- onal beautification may indicate a crying lack of natural beauty It may mean that the necessity for tor artificial aid lId Is imperative The figures ma may mean that the Boston schoolmarm with a top figure of needs to spend that much while while- the southern belle of Mississippi can easily casily pass muster at an annual cost of 58 56 cents The figures as is the way with figures may mean anything or nothing at all But there they arc Largo Large Lar o Industry The beauty industry has become become become be be- come tremendous American women women women wo wo- men spend half a billion dollars a year in beauty shops The growth of the tho industry in tho the last 15 years has been marvelous In 1920 there were women employed employed em em- in the beauty shops of the country By 1930 this had grown to and now there are some women In each eachor of or 13 cities of or the country there are more than 1000 women ems cm em played in the work New York leads with Boston where most money is spent has only 1247 women beautifiers Los Angeles Angeles Angeles An An- geles has and Washington 1144 While many women pay large sums in an effort to enhance their beauty the girls who act as their priestesses who apply the torture machines to their hea heads s who rub their features into shapeless masses do not receive very high pay Ethel Erickson of the women's women's women's wo wo- mens men's bureau of the department of labor has just prepared a re report report report re- re port on working conditions and wages in the beauty industry and has turned up some som valuable data For a group of oC typical large cities where it would be expected the largest pay would be re receIved received re- re it is shown that only 43 per cent of all the women operators operators operators opera opera- tors are paid 25 25 or more a week The largest group consisting of 32 per cent of all receive between 15 and 20 20 a week The second largest group consisting of per cent of the total receive between between be be- tween 10 10 and 15 a week Nearly quarter one-quarter of oC all the women workers in these big city beauty shops have weekly earnings of less than 10 Some of the women work oh straight salar salary some on an hourly basis for the time put in and some on a basis of oC salary and commission This report has to todo todo todo do with the women employed in inthe inthe inthe the beauty industry but a passing reference is necessarily made to the men also employed and it is bitterly noted that when a commission commission commission com com- mission basis obtains the men receive commissions twice as high as those allowed the women Industry Expected to E Expand and It is found that the Industry isa is isa isa a young womans woman's industry Forthe For Forthe Forthe the industry as a whole 80 percent per percent percent cent are arc less than 40 years of age and in the large arge cities this proportion proportion proportion pro pro- portion rises to 94 per cent The most numerous group group consists of oC that between 20 and 25 23 years of age In a typical group of large cities per cent of the tho women were single per cent married and per cent widowed separated separated separated sepa sepa- rated or divorced Some of the cosmetic manufacturers manufacturers manufacturers might not like the government government government govern govern- ment statement concerning the hazards of the occupation that the beauty operator is constantly exposed to soaps creams astringents astringents astringents as as- deodorants hair dyes des antiseptics and so forth types of compounds that may cause der der- However it is stated that there is little HUle incidence of disease disease disease dis dis- ease from these beauty hazards There are arc about negro women employed in the beauty industry Conditions are arc much the same in a general wa way as in inthe inthe inthe the white branch save save sav that earnings earnings earn earn earn- ings are arc lower The whole industry may be expected expected expected ex ex- to expand It will have to apparently if the graduates of the beauty training schools now in operation are to find employment employ employ- ment Poets and novelists have written much concerning fatal beauty One thing is certain the quest of beauty may conceivably be fatal to the purse |
