An invitation to be a bridesmaid is an honor which cannot be declined without some very good reason. Our idea of one of the better reasons is the impending arrival of a little stranger. ... any lady in this interesting condition should have the grace to refuse. We know that symbols of fertility are appropriate to the marriage ceremony, but they needn't be quite so obviously borne in on the congregation.
Alice-Leone MoatsIt used to be the custom for the bachelor dinner to take place the night before the wedding. Now, however, the bridesmaids' and ushers' dinner is usually on that night, for a groom realizes that he and his attendants need some time in which to recover sufficiently to be able to distinguish the altar from the organ and walk up the aisle with no mishaps.
Alice-Leone MoatsFor a second marriage a lady has to content herself with a quiet ceremony in a chapel or at home, if she doesn't want to be married by a magistrate. Having, it is to be hoped, lost her right to white satin she wears a simple afternoon frock and hat.
Alice-Leone MoatsNo longer is drinking an art with Americans; once they drank for the taste, but now they drink only for the effect. The more quick and fatal the liquor, the better they like it. They are either on the wagon or else.
Alice-Leone Moats[On Philadelphia society:] The parties remind me of the Gay Nineties -- the men are gay and the women are in their nineties.
Alice-Leone Moats