Fashions change so rapidly now that it is foolish to lay in a great stock of gowns.  The supply of these must be in accordance with her social position and its requirements.  After she is married, she will find her table-cloths and napkins, sheets, and pillow slips and towels a much greater source of satisfaction than a lot of passe gowns and wraps.  Her silver and linen are marked with the initials of her maiden name.  These initials are always embroidered on the latter.

The supply of table and bed-linen will depend upon the size of her house and the style in which she lives.  Six sheets and six pillow and bolster slips are allowed to each bed, and twelve towels, half of them bath towels, to each bedroom.  She should have dinner and lunch cloths, with napkins to match; it is usual to allow a dozen napkins to each cloth.  It is good economy to purchase all these in a good quality.  The dinner cloths and napkins should be of double damask, so called.  The very large dinner napkins—­seven-eighths of a yard square—­are less in favor than the medium, three-quarter size.  A fairly ample supply of comforts, down and silk quilts, and blankets, is often acquired by purchase before marriage.

[732 Mothers’ remedies]

Wedding festivities.

Very soon after the wedding invitations are out, the bride’s friends bestir themselves and a number of entertainments are planned in her honor.  These are dinners, luncheons, teas, and theatre parties, the latter often prefaced by a dinner at the house of the hostess.  Often these include the bridal party—­bridesmaids and “best man.”  To dinners and theatre parties the bridegroom-to-be is invited; luncheons and teas are given by the bride’s friends to her.  The bridegroom’s bachelor friends frequently give a dinner for him—­a farewell to the man so soon to rank as “Benedict, the married man.”

These functions in honor of the bride are exclusive, rather than general, invitations being restricted to familiar friends.  The bride’s relatives are the entertainers.  At such functions the bride expectant may wear one of the gowns of her trousseau.  Because of these entertainments, which are really quite a tax on the girl’s strength and vitality, the trousseau should be complete and the wedding preparations well under way before they begin.  Most of them seem to be crowded into the week or ten days preceding the ceremony.

Engagement “Showers.”—­“The shower”—­an entertainment that is somewhat on the order of an informal tea at which each guest brings some gift to the bride—­has been called “provincial.”  It has a recognized place in middle class society, at least, and may be made an enjoyable function.  No two “showers” are alike, hostesses vieing with each other in the endeavor to present something original and attractive.  The linen shower is one of the most popular, each guest bringing some contribution to the bride’s linen chest.  These are the more valued if the handiwork of the giver, and some girls always have a bit of work in progress which may, when finished, be their offering at a linen shower.