Nineteenth Century Woman Tailor

During the day, the stove retained some residual warmth. By blocking all the air vents, the charcoal burned more slowly.

Eloise assessed the fabric in her hands, estimating that it could make two corsets. She held the needle, sewing with meticulous stitches, and began finishing the edges.

Though the items were small, they required precision, and she calculated that it would take another two or three days to complete.

The outer layer was made of poplin, with sweat-absorbing, pre-shaped double cotton padding in the middle, and a breathable soft gauze lining on the inside. The back featured seamless brass wire hooks.

In terms of design, there wasn’t much room for creativity—aside from adding lace or embroidery. After deducting costs, she would be satisfied with earning three to five dollars.

Eloise sewed until her eyes grew tired before taking a break. She ate a simple meal of bread, washing it down with hot water from the kettle, and then returned to her work.

She planned to finish the items she needed to deliver to the boutique first. After that, she would tackle the orders Louise had brought back. Those were mostly alterations of old clothes, which didn’t require much effort—just making them presentable would suffice.

In the evening, her aunt and Louise returned home with Bella.

Eloise remained seated upright at the table, her back straight. She only moved to stretch her stiff neck when she heard Bella’s laughter on the stairs.

The door wasn’t locked. Her aunt and Louise entered, already accustomed to the house feeling like an icebox every time they returned.

Without even looking, Louise knew that only one piece of charcoal had been added to the stove, which was why the room was so cold.

Eloise was frugal. She rarely indulged herself, and when alone, she was even stricter.

Louise clicked her tongue, shaking her head as she walked in. She set down a bundle of clothes to be altered, freed her hands, and immediately added more charcoal to the stove.

Meanwhile, Eloise remained absorbed in her work, finishing the last few stitches before finally looking up.

Her aunt was washing Bella’s face, and Louise had dropped off a bag of old clothes.

“Are all these for alterations?” Eloise asked, yawning.

“Yes. Two more people asked for your services today. I thought you might be too busy, but then I remembered you said to accept all requests, so I agreed. Here’s the money they gave.”

Louise placed a few coins on the table, which Eloise nodded at and planned to put into her money pouch later.

The charcoal in the stove emitted black smoke, and Louise pushed the window open wider to let it out. She unwound her scarf from around her neck, removed her hat, and let her light-colored curls fall loose.

She took off her shoes to dry them by the stove and asked Eloise why she had taken on so much work—was there something she needed money for?

Eloise scratched the tip of her nose.

She had planned to wait until after dinner to break the news about their landlord asking them to move out. But since Louise had asked, Eloise had no choice but to explain.

“I wasn’t going to rush into it, but now it seems necessary,” she said with a bitter smile.

Her aunt, having finished tidying up Bella, turned around and asked, “What’s going on?”

“The landlady said her husband sold the house. We need to move out by the week after Christmas at the latest.”

Her aunt had heard rumors and wasn’t entirely surprised, but it was still rather sudden. She had thought they would at least have until spring to move.

“That gives us just over two weeks. Where are we supposed to find a place?” her aunt sighed, resting her forehead in her hand. At that time of year, even the cheap rental agencies would be closed for the holidays, their agents having returned to their rural homes.

“I can take some time to walk around the streets and ask if there are any vacant houses. We’ll have to search one by one,” Eloise said. It was the only solution she could think of.

“I think, since there are so many of us, we should try to rent a two-bedroom place. Rent shouldn’t be too much of an issue—we can always take on more work to cover it.”

Her aunt nodded in agreement.

“That’s what I was thinking too. At the very least, we need enough space to move around. A balcony would be even better.”

Louise chimed in, “Even if we can’t afford a place with a bathroom, we should at least find somewhere less crowded.”

Currently, they had to wait for their neighbors to finish using the shared facilities, whether it was for washing or using the toilet, which was quite inconvenient.

Terry had also been bothered by these difficulties for a long time and nodded in agreement.

In a month, the snow would stop, and their expenses would decrease.

Besides, Terry had already decided to quit her job after Christmas and set up a small stall near Central Park to sell fried snacks.

It wouldn’t require much capital, and even if things didn’t go well, the losses would be minimal—as long as her luck held.

If everything went smoothly, they could afford a slightly larger place, even if it meant paying an extra dollar or two in rent each week.

After a while, Eloise cleared her tools to make space for everyone. She opened the bundle Louise had brought back, revealing a pile of clothes that needed alterations.

She organized her work plan in her mind just as her aunt finished cooking a simple soup.

After dinner, the family, weighed down by the bad news of having to move, took turns using the shared bathroom to wash up before going to bed early.

At the Ritz Hotel, it was payday again.

With so much on her mind, Eloise couldn’t sleep well and decided to leave for work an hour early.

She arrived so early that there were only a few people queuing at the gatehouse. After changing into her uniform, she carried a paper package downstairs to the kitchen dormitory to find Amy and knocked on her door.

The door, its paint peeling and yellowed from kitchen fumes, opened after a moment.

Eloise handed her the clothes, and Amy, still half-asleep, rubbed her eyes and examined them closely, showering Eloise with praise.

Since Amy wasn’t on duty today, Eloise prepared to head upstairs to wait for the morning meeting. But Amy called her back, handing her a jar.

“This is some candy my brother brought back. I have plenty, so take some.”

Eloise smiled and accepted it, only to remember with dismay that, according to local tradition, this was the time of year for exchanging gifts and maintaining social ties.

She couldn’t just accept gifts without giving something in return.

At the very least, she needed to prepare gifts for her family and close friends like Amy.

It was an expense she couldn’t avoid.

Eloise went upstairs just as the familiar sound of the brass bell rang. The morning meeting didn’t cover anything out of the ordinary.

Mrs. Morrison, wearing a feathered cloche hat, announced that Mr. Benjamin, a guest staying in the Opal Suite, had prepared holiday gifts for all two hundred employees of the hotel.

She instructed them to collect their gifts from the accounting office after their shift.

Eloise worked with a sense of anticipation, not even complaining when Laura assigned her to clean the sixth floor.

Finally, when her shift ended at noon, the accounting office was already crowded with people.

Taking advantage of her slim frame, Eloise squeezed through the crowd and was among the first to receive her gift.

It was a large paper box, surprisingly heavy, wrapped in colorful printed paper. She shook it gently, guessing that it probably wasn’t chocolate this time.

After returning home, Eloise finally unwrapped the package.

Inside the box was a set of porcelain cups and saucers. She wasn’t sure what they were meant for, but they were pure white in color, with a relatively simple design. The bottom of the cups bore the brand’s insignia.

In Eloise’s household, they typically used inexpensive glassware, wooden utensils, or pottery.

Such porcelain was rarely used by the working class, as a single piece would cost at least a few dollars, and a full set could easily run into the tens or even hundreds.

She thought to herself that perhaps she could sell it secondhand for some extra cash.

Setting it aside for now, Eloise tidied up the house and prepared to continue working on her corsets.

…