Evening star., 1920-11-21
BY ANNE RITTENHOUsE.


innings in society in the country.
They had raced from country club to
each others country houses. They
have worn many of their simplest
summer evening frocks.
x x X ;.
Nothing was demanded of them
They were being tried out. as it were
Their manners and department, their
morals, their method of attacking life
ability to dance, their judgment as to
what companions to make, have been
keenly watched by their elders.
Where criticism was needed it has
been given, sometimes arrogantly tax
en-. it is true. for the young are over
sensitive or calmly superior.
Colts being tried out on the race
track, is the verdict of the old fash
ioned English squire. And so they
are, impertinent as the comparison
may be to those who do not care for
or do not understand horses.
The motor is responsible for vast
and important changes in social life
and this method of bringing out the
deputante is one of the changes that
is to be commended. The transporta-
tion question having been reduced to
the minimum of inconvenience, far
away places linked together by gaso-
line and time overcome. social life is
welded into one component whole no
matter how far apart the neighbors
are.
Talk to the young girl concerning
this modern fashion of giving her the
social track during the summer and
autumn months and she will tell you
that it has saved many girl from
being failure.
If she were plunged into the formal
tiles of big balls where her elders
dominated. where the young men look
ed more self-conscious. if possible.
than she did. where the engagement
for supper was looked upon as a ter
ror, when she realized that she did
not know how to etricate herself from
the clutches of an undesirable part
ner, nor how to keep from being with
one man for more than one dance, she
might want to retire into social well
fare work before Thanksgiving.
Instead of losing sleep over these
youthful tragedies (and life has few
that produce more unhappy reactions).
she enters the race with the grand
with the, laughter of self-confidence
and knowledge Of how to carry her
self
She has chosen her companions. Her
mother has ceased to advise her every
moment with the result Of making her
Several. if not many.
young men have attached themselves
to her standard. they wear her eolors.
They need only the glance of an eye
or the beckoning finger over the shou1-
der Of an undesirable to bring one of
them to her aid.
She and. all her chosen set know
their particular S. O.. S. This gives
them serene confidence. They know
where to go in case of trouble. In
other words, they have gotten the
knife of experience inserted under the
shell OF the oyster Of worldly knowl-
edge.
Gayly. then. she opens the morning
mail and looks forward to the social
occasions to which she is invited. She
does not know how much she has been
spared of anxiety and disappointment
by the change in social life since her
mothers time. Things were more diff
ficult for young women then Free
dom of action. the lack of motor cars,
the necessity for elaborate attention
from men resting upon the fashion to
have a cotillon always instead of gen.
eral attention, the bouquet to be sent
and carried. the frowning by the eld-
erS upon sitting out dances in obscure
corners. these were the social troubles
which mother had to meet.
y 4 y
Informal as life got to be before the
war 1t is now reduced to something
IKE natural intercourse. One can.
aged, is now taboo. The girl who says
"prunes and prisms" gets nowhere.
Frank and open-speeched as the young
human should be. she now is. What
burden is lifted from the shoulders
Of society.
bad manners through this process.
Politeness is not a natural human
trait, in many cases. 1t is a cultural
condition founded. not on artificiality,
but the desire to keep people in a
good humor. Politeness is the buffer
which life has reared up to protect
oneself and others from sharp edges.
So far the average young girl who
has come into society through the in
formal process has not bothered her
head about the elaborate evening
frock. Fashion has permitted her tn
dance and dine through the Iong-sus
tanned Indian summer on this conti-
nent in the muslin, the organdie. the
georgette frocks that suited the
weather.
Dancing is warm work at best and
the best fabrics go down under il. so
the usage Of such materials as can
stand constant trips to the cleaners
and the home laundry are advisable
for nights that permit one to see as
much Of the moon as the electric
lights.
Those days are over. Town life be-
gins. One more mad, wild social fling
in the country during THANKSGIVING
week and the steady grind Of indoor
society begins. The muslin is out OF
place. Organdie won't do. The few
gowns left from the dances and din
ners of October that still show signs
Of life are freshened and started in Tor
life in ones own home. to be worn
during those few occasions when there
is an empty space in the calendar.
There remains strong feeling in
most households that one can save
money on evening gowns and wraps
in order that more may be put into
the necessarily expensive street clothes
Tailored suits cannot be manufactured
in the home sewing room. Top coats
to the satisfaction Of any debutante
who must pass the critical eyes of a
world that is gazing at her.
But frocks of filmy fabrics. things
that can be discarded without qualms
when dancing has done its worst to
them. can be built in the sewing ROOM
not with the skill and finish OF those
the half-forned figure Of the eighteen
year girl they do well enough.
X y X i
Here is where economy comes in
Gowns that have seen better days on
elders can be freshened UP to serve
for the affairs that are not formal.
She needs it. The two evening gowns
that may serve her economical mot ther
are merely foundation stone for her
Dancing somewhere every night is
pastime that requires a generous
wardrobe. The sewing room is busy