INVITATION TO A FORMAL DANCE
The word "dancing" is usually placed in the lower left-hand corner of the invitation to denote the object of the evening's gathering; thus no specific mention that the entertainment is to be a ball is necessary.
Following are the most approved forms of invitations used for the very formal balls:
Mr. and Mrs. James Kilgore
request the pleasure of your company
on Thursday evening, January the tenth
at nine o'clock
Dancing Scarsdale
or
Mr. and Mrs. James Kilgore
request the pleasure of
........................
company, at a costume dance
to be given at their home
on Thursday, January the twenty-sixth
at eleven o' clock
Costume de Rigueur 14 Main Street
The words, "Please reply," may be added although they should be unnecessary since every person of good breeding will reply immediately to such an invitation whether he intends to accept or refuse.
ACCEPTING THE INVITATION
When the invitation to a dance bears a request for a reply, a prompt answer should be sent. If the invitation itself is in the third person, the reply should follow the same form. For a formal ball, an acceptance or regret should be mailed within forty-eight hours after receipt of the invitation. Here are the correct forms for the invitations above:
Mr. and Mrs. John Harris
accept with pleasure
Mr. and Mrs. James Kilgore's
kind invitation to be present
for dancing
on Thursday evening, January the tenth
at nine o'clock
148 Grand Boulevard