The Invention Of The Teenager Was A

You Don't Want To Look Too Chic At A Washington Party Or People Will Think You Don't Have A Job Worth Losing.

Like Language, A Code Of Manners Can Be Used With More Or Less Skill, For Laudable Or For Evil Purposes, To Express A Great Variety Of Ideas And Emotions. In Itself, It Carries No Moral Value, But Ignorance In Use Of This Tool Is Not A Sign Of Virtue.

A Wedding Invitation Is Sent By People Who Have Been Saying, "do We Have To Ask Them?" To People Whose First Response Is, "how Much Do You Think We Have To Spend On Them?

People Say When You're In Love, You Don't Need Etiquette. Well, You Need It Then More Than Anything. Or They Say, "at Home I Can Just Be Myself." What They Mean Is They Can Be Their Worst Selves... They Always Mean They Will Save All Their Anxiety About How To Behave For Somebody Like The Head Waiter Of A Restaurant, Someone They'll Never See Again.

The Etiquette Business Has Its Emergencies, Heaven Knows, But It Is In The Nature Of Etiquette Emergencies That Once One Realizes What One Has Done, It Is Too Late. One Might As Well Get A Good Night's Sleep And Send Flowers With An Apology In The Morning.