Evening star., 1929-12-15
When Santa Claus Has
Clothes in Stock,
There Must Be Some
knowledge of the
Taste of Each Per.
son Who Is to Be Fa.
vored- Habit of Civ.
ing Precisely the
Right Thing Is
Worthy of Cultiva.
tion-Ref1ectS Taste
of Giver and Re.
ceiVer.
BY MARY MARSHALL.

- ONE people protest against the
practice of giving things to wear
at Christmas time. Their argu-
- ment Is that clothes and jewelry,
gloves, handkerchiefS, scarfs and
other accessories are so personal that o
woman or young girl who has any in
dividuality whatever likes to choose
them herself Lacking the powers Of q
mind reader, they say, 1t Is impossible
for the giyer to know what to choose.
But then-any gift worth giving must
be selected with q knowledge OF the
taste of the recipient.
If we give sweets we must know
whether to choose chocolates or bon
bons or candied fruits and nuts or an
assortment of all four. Certainly to at
tempt to choose q book without very
intimate knowledge OF the taste OF the
one who Is to receive 1t Is hazardous
procedure. Besides half the pleasure OF
Christmas giving comes from the fur
tive inquiries that we must make con-
cerning the preferences OF those we In
clude on our Christmas list.
This game of selecting just the right
present at Christmas time Is one that
may be carried through the entire year,
and a hint dropped last July or last
January may serve as clue In choos-
ing the most acceptable present for
Christmas.
THE habit of giving precisely the
l.. right present at Christmas is one
that Is well worth cultivating. Not only
must your gift reflect your own good
taste, but even more it must reflect the
taste, of the one to whom it Is given.
To give a friend amber when she pre-
ferS amethyst, or q lace-trimmed hand
kerchief when she has expressed her
preference for untrimmed handkerchiefs,
Is to make q very poor investment OF
your Christmas funds, and there are
few women who can look without
pang of disappointment at . Christmas
gift that shows disregard Of their per-
sonal preferences.
So il you have q friend who has re-
| Gently gone modern in the furnishings
| Of her apartment, don't make the mis-
| take of giving her a Colonial candle
stick, because If she Is consistently mod
| ernistic she won't want candlestickS in
any form, least of all in Colonial de-
sign. And If you have friend who
| is a crank on perfumes don't give her
| any scented dressing table dainties
without knowing the scent that she pre-
| fers this season.
| A ND be very sure, II you are giving
"A something to wear, to have Q good
| idea of the color scheme of the Winter
wardrobe Of the friend for whom you
are making the selection.
Granted that you are qualified to
make the right selections, there is moth
ing better that you can give another
woman or girl of your acquaintance
| this year than some really attractive
| bit of apparel or an accessory, because
! fashion demands. more accessories than
most women feel that they can possibly
buy for themselves and the recent dras-
tic changes in styles have left most Of
US with q rather depleted wardrobe.
Scarfs, handkerchiefS, gloves stockings,
dainty pieces of underwear, purses, cos
tune jewelry, artificial howers-what
woman can truthfully say that she has
all of them that her heart desires!
Copyright 1921 z.