It would be ridiculous to attempt to list the articles that must be included in the trousseau of the bride of to-day. This matter must be entirely dependent upon circumstances, means and convenience. There can be no definite set of rules to govern the contents of one's wedding outfit. But there are certain conventionalities we can discuss that may be of value to the bride in preparing for her wedding.
There is, of course, something very beautiful in the thought of making one's trousseau entirely by hand. And there is an old tradition about "sewing happiness into the wedding outfit" that brides like to believe. But when we glance at the shop windows with their lavish displays of the daintiest creations, and when we think of the professional modiste with her developed sense of the artistic, we must admit that it is not a practical custom.
It used to be the practice for each young girl to have a "hope chest" into which she put linens, etc., against the wedding day. This was during the time when most of the trousseaux were made by hand.
It seems rather a foolish waste of time for the girl of moderate means to sit for endless hours sewing on rows and rows of lace when machine made garments may be had at reasonable figures. If she chooses her things carefully they will bear the stamp of her personality almost as much as if she had fashioned them herself; and, of course, there are many finishing touches that she can add which make the things peculiarly her own, such as initials and monograms, crocheted edges, etc.
It is gratifying to note that the trousseau of to-day does not contain such frilly, useless things as did the trousseaux of our grandmothers' time. Linens boast deep folds of the material and neat hemstitching instead of huge borders and inserts of lace. Under-things are made and bought with a regard for wear and utility, rather than merely to be pretty to look at. The entire outfit shows a tendency to be more useful and less ornamental. Which is, of course, as it should be.
And now let us consider some of the more important items to be included.
ABOUT THE LINENS
In selecting her linens the bride should pay particular attention to quality; the amount she buys depends upon the size of the new home, and upon the means at her command. There must be sheets and pillow-cases; bath towels and kitchen towels, napkins and table-covers. If she is fond of handwork, there may be hand-embroidered linens for the bed-spreads, hand-embroidered linen scarfs and hand-embroidered centerpieces of linen. One bride we know included a twenty-yard bolster of uncut linen in her trousseau in addition to the items mentioned above. If one can afford it, it is best to start out with a generous supply of linens, as somehow the older they grow, the longer we have them, the more precious they become.
Linens are usually initialed. When household and personal linens are marked, they bear the initials of the bride's maiden name. Towels for the bath are marked with a single initial in white or colored thread, to match the border. Table-covers, if initialed at all, have the letters placed in the center, half-way between the middle and edge of the table; napkins are initialed in the corner. White linens are invariably initialed in white.
FOR THE BRIDE