of black coats. Whatever hours are
decided on, they should be engraved on the cards sent out two weeks
before the tea. These are of the form and size of an ordinary
visiting-card and include the daughter's name below that of her
mother's. If she is the eldest unmarried daughter or the only girl in
the family the card reads as follows:
Mrs. Geo. Baker Blank
Miss Blank
December 9, 1911
4 to 7 o'clock
The daughter's given name is only used in case she has an older
unmarried sister.
Ball and Evening Reception.
A more elaborate form of coming-out party consists of a ball or of an
evening reception followed by dancing, and in this case the card
contains the word "Dancing" below the date of the entertainment and the
hours at which it is given. Few homes are large enough to provide for
even a small dance, and so a party of this sort is generally given at a
hotel. The guests as well as the receiving party wear evening gowns
without hats, and men are expected to come in full evening clothes,
which means the long-tailed coats and not the popular Tuxedo, white
gloves, and, although this is not obligatory, white waistcoats.
After a girl has been introduced into society she has her individual
visiting-cards, makes her own calls and is allowed to receive her own
friends. Social customs differ with locality, and the chaperon is less
customary in the West than in the East. In many cities girls are allowed
to go to the theater and to evening parties with a man friend without a
married woman being included in the party. A wise girl, however, is
careful that any man she meets shall be introduced as soon as possible
to some older member of her family and to introduce a young man calling
for the first time to either her mother or father. Also when she accepts
an invitation to an evening's entertainment she insists that her escort
shall call for her at her own home and bring her directly home at the
close of it. Dining or supping at a restaurant alone with a young man is
sure to expose a girl to criticism.
A Woman's Lunch.
There are many pleasant forms of entertainment offered to a young girl
entering society in which men are not included, and the most popular of
these is a woman's lunch. This is a favorite form of entertainment for a
young married woman to give in honor of some girl friend who has just
come out in society or whose engagement has just been an
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