Intimate Apparel

In the boudoir of Mrs. Van Buren, an attractive, wealthy white woman who is in her early thirties, Esther is fitting her with a corset that she commissioned as a copy of one that Esther made for an unnamed singer. Mrs. Van Buren worries that the corset is too racy, but Esther reassures her that the style has become popular, although many women are choosing not to wear corsets at all. Mrs. Van Buren asks suspiciously if Esther is a suffragette, but Esther insists that she isn’t. Mrs. Van Buren plans to wear the corset underneath her gown at the Gardenia Ball that night but confides in Esther that she has been unable to conceive children. Mr. Van Buren is no longer interested in her and has started sleeping with other women. However, Mrs. Van Buren feels that she can’t leave him since she would be alone. Esther replies, “I don’t know that I’ll marry” (28). Mrs. Van Buren insists that she will when she meets someone. Esther admits that she has been carrying around the letter from George but can’t decide whether or not to respond.

Mrs. Van Buren is impressed with George’s handwriting and insists that Esther should write, but Esther confesses that she can’t read or write. Esther worries whether it is appropriate to correspond, as Mrs. Dickson told her it would be indecent. When Mrs. Van Buren offers to help Esther write the letter, Esther worries that her life is uninteresting. Her profession is sewing lingerie, which would be inappropriate to discuss with George, and the highlight of her week is going to the fabric shop. Briefly, lights come up on Mr. Marks, the attractive Orthodox Jewish gentleman who owns the store. Mrs. Van Buren tells her to slow down and they begin writing. Lights rise on George, who is writing, pleased to have received Esther’s letter. George talks about the seemingly impossible work of digging the Panama Canal, and how countless men have died in the process. George wonders, “But when the great oceans meet and the gentlemen celebrate, will we colored men be given glasses to raise?” (31) George tells Esther that he carries her letter in his pocket and imagines her in New York at her sewing machine.

Esther enters Mr. Marks’s fabric shop, which is in the bedroom of a small tenement apartment. She pretends not to notice that he clearly sleeps there as well. Mr. Marks shows her some fine Japanese silk, which is left over from a wealthy woman’s order, because he knows that Esther will fully appreciate it unlike most of his customers. The way they discuss and regard the fabric is almost sexual, and Mr. Marks suggests that Esther might use it to make something for her man. Shyly, Esther tells Mr. Marks that she is single. They notice at the same time that Mr. Marks’s suit has lost a button. He goes on to praise Esther’s hands and sewing ability. When Esther finally gives in and decides to buy it, she attempts to touch Mr. Marks’s hand, but he suddenly pulls back. Stunned, Esther says, “The color won’t rub off on you” (35). Embarrassed, Mr. Marks explains that his religion forbids him from touching a woman who isn’t family or his wife. He is also unmarried but admits that his family arranged an engagement for him a long time ago to a woman in Romania whom he has never met.

Esther knocks on the door of her friend Mayme, who is busy playing a ragtime tune on the piano. Mayme is black, thirty years old, and beautiful. She is also a prostitute. After a while, Mayme lets Esther in, explaining that she thought the knocking might be another customer and she’s tired. Mayme hates the men, who are always drunk and too rough. Esther has brought her a corset, a copy of the one she made for Mrs. Van Buren. Mayme is thrilled with it, and Esther mentions the fabric, another purchase that Mr. Marks persuaded her to make. Mayme asks about Mr. Marks, commenting that Esther sounds interested in him. Esther insists that she doesn’t look at him that way, and Mayme is surprised to realize that Esther is still a virgin. Defensively, Esther asserts that she is already “being courted by a gentleman” (41). Mayme teases her for harboring fantasies about a man in Panama who she’ll probably never meet but stops when Esther’s feelings are hurt.

Mayme explains that they all have fantasies. Mayme fantasizes about becoming a concert pianist. Esther admits that she wants to open a beauty parlor for black women, where her customers could be treated like elegant ladies. Mayme loves the idea, and Esther says that she has been saving money for years and storing it in the lining of her quilt. Esther brings up George, who writes every week, and shows Mayme her latest letter. Mayme reads it and warns Esther that George is asking what she looks like. Esther is worried, but Mayme reassures her that no man will care about her face—just her body. Esther persuades Mayme to help her write a response, and Mayme begins the letter by saying that she is wearing a silk robe. Lights shift to George, who explains that the rainy season has slowed down the work. In his free time, although there are young Indian girls who are selling their bodies, Esther’s letters save him from temptation because he wants to be respectable when they finally meet. 

Mrs. Dickson appears in Esther’s bedroom and hands her a letter, which she already opened “by mistake” (47) and announces that she does not trust George. Esther insists that they are only writing to each other, but Mrs. Dickson argues that George will take advantage of her and urges her to pursue Mr. Charles. Esther points out that she has money for her beauty parlor and doesn’t need Mr. Charles or his money. Mrs. Dickson tells her that the beauty parlor won’t be enough when she has to watch more young girls get married before her and Esther replies, “I’d give this quilt and everything in it to be with someone I care for” (49). Mrs. Dickson tears up the letter to show that Esther’s fantasy of George isn’t real. Lights shift briefly to George, who begins a letter by commenting on the pieces of fabric that had fallen out of Esther’s most recent correspondence.

The scene moves to the fabric shop, where Mr. Marks is convincing Esther to buy the silk and flannel that George would find in the envelope. There is chemistry between Esther and Mr. Marks, and Esther offers to sew the missing button back onto his jacket. Esther wonders why Mr. Marks, who has so many beautiful and colorful fabrics, only wears black. Mr. Marks explains that it’s an expression of faith. Esther asks if marrying a stranger is also an expression of faith, and Mr. Marks replies, “It is a thousand years of history and struggle behind the answer to that question” (51). Esther apologizes, but Mr. Marks is not offended. He goes on to tell her that the old suit belonged to his father and connects him to his ancestry. As he turns to wrap the fabric for Esther, she quietly touches his collar and “he doesn’t register the gesture. Or does he?” (51).

In Mrs. Van Buren’s bedroom, she is wearing a kimono made of the silk Esther purchased in the previous scene. Mrs. Van Buren confides that her husband had dragged her to an opera, which had bored her, but her husband refused to take her to something she would enjoy. Additionally, when she had gotten her period, her husband’s response had been to spit at her. Mrs. Van Buren muses that she had felt irrationally guilty for bleeding. They discuss the different performances they’ve seen and suddenly, Mrs. Van Buren touches Esther’s hand with surprising intimacy, stating, “It’s so easy to be with you” (54). Esther is uncomfortable and Mrs. Van Buren changes the subject to the letters she helps Esther write to George, commenting that it would be scandalous if her wealthy friends knew about her writing the letters and asks if Esther has ever done anything scandalous. Esther admits vaguely that she touched someone she wasn’t allowed to touch, and Mrs. Van Buren listens intently. Lights shift to George. They have been writing to each other for six months. George tells Esther that a young boy who worked beside him had died, reminding that life was short, and he asks Esther to marry him.

In Mayme’s bedroom, Esther is excited to tell her friend about George’s proposal and that she has said yes. George will arrive in a month. Mayme tells Esther that when she’s married, it won’t be respectable to visit Mayme anymore and Esther claims that she won’t allow a man to break up their friendship. Mayme plays the piano and they sing together. After two verses, Esther stops singing and thinks about her doubts about the wedding. Back in Esther’s bedroom, Mrs. Dickson is sad that Esther is packing to leave. Mrs. Dickson gives Esther advice about sex and intimacy and tells her to never allow him to hit her as, “if he raises his hand once, he’ll do it again” (60). Mrs. Dickson talks about her own late husband, admitting that she married him because owning a boarding house meant that she wouldn’t have to be a laborer like her parents.

Mrs. Dickson asks why, if Esther has money and talent, she would take a risk on someone like George. Esther says, “…love,” and Mrs. Dickson replies, “Don’t you let a man have no part of your heart without getting a piece of his” (64). George writes that he has been delayed in Cuba but is impatient to meet her. The scene shifts to Mr. Marks’s shop/bedroom. Mr. Marks is glad to see her, as Esther hasn’t been there in a while and he was concerned. Mr. Marks surprises Esther by inviting her to have tea. She accepts, smiling, and Mr. Marks says, “You have a lovely smile” (65), embarrassing them both.

Esther tells him that she needs fabric for a wedding dress and Mr. Marks is taken aback to realize that the dress is for her. Mr. Marks shows her his best wedding dress fabric, knowing that she will appreciate it like he does. Then he insists that it will be her first wedding gift. Esther starts to cry. Mr. Marks clearly wants to touch her but can’t. They exit. Lights shift to Mrs. Van Buren, drinking brandy and examining herself in the mirror, then Mr. Marks in his bedroom, considering his missing button, and then Mrs. Dickson holding a veil. George enters wearing a worn-out suit. Esther, anxious, enters in a beautiful wedding dress. They meet each other. Then there is a camera flash and an old photograph is projected with the caption, “Unidentified Negro Couple, ca. 1905” (68).