The Wasp — 1895 — page 266: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes the behavior of wealthy society women in San Francisco. The caption states: "Scarcely a day passes in San Francisco but some naughty society belle comes into a shoe-store to have a pair of bicycle leggings fitted." The image shows a female customer standing imperiously while a male shoe clerk kneels to fit her footwear. A second male figure (possibly the shop owner) sits nervously in the background. The satire targets upper-class women's demanding behavior toward service workers, combined with mockery of the bicycle-legging fashion trend among society women. The "ordeal" of the title refers to the clerk's uncomfortable position—both literally kneeling and figuratively subjected to a difficult customer's whims. It's a class-conscious jab at wealthy women's entitlement.