The Captain’s Dinner
On an ocean voyage, one encounters a ruler as absolute as any throned monarch. The captain is usually most genial, but he is the man upon whose shoulders rests total responsibility for the vessel, the passengers, and the crew. He is an accessible ruler, however, and invites many in his shipbound world to dine with him.
Cocktails in the Captain’s private suite may precede the dinner. There will be no time for a change of clothes between, so one must go to the cocktail party prepared for dinner. And it will be a feast for the eyes as well, with many parts of the world represented. Each woman will be adorned in accordance with the customs of her land. And each must keep in mind that she is, in some measure, an ambassador. Most persons abroad have no way of judging America save through prejudiced newspaper stories and flashy Hollywood films. Among the films Hollywood sends abroad are the grim gangster melodramas and teenage delinquency films and the gaudy sentimental dream-stories with happy, wealthy endings. Our paintings and our literature give a truer picture of real Americans and for the direct, most meaningful impressions on the largest number of people, there are only our soldiers and our tourists. In spite of spread stories of military misbehavior (good news is no news) and cartoons of uncouth tourists, Americans abroad are in the main as good-natured and as decent as they are at home. The Captain’s dinner is a good place to make the pleasing first impression.
Women make a spectacle of splendor there. The Maharanees are attired in delicate draped saris, six yards or more long, with Indian jewels exquisitely and finely set in bright yellow gold. The Chinese ladies wear elaborately embroidered mandarin robes, tight-fitting and slit at the sides, with smooth green jade jewelry worn more smooth by loving generations. The English ladies will wear many sapphires, that jewel deservedly popular with them, for it is most becoming to light hair and fair complexions. The American woman must equally represent the charm and beauty of her land. A wide range of jewels is appropriate here, within the limits of moderation and good taste.
Embassy Parties
In the capitals of the world, next to the formal functions of the government itself, come the parties at the embassies. Just as the embassies in Washington and the Ambassadors at the United Nations in New York hold festive parties on their national holidays, so in other lands important American holidays are celebrated by the United States Embassy. Perhaps the most famous of these is the annual party for that special American holiday, Thanksgiving.
An embassy party, however, is festive rather than official. The key is color. Diamonds will naturally flash and sparkle, elegance will prevail; but amid the brilliants there is opportunity for the display of other precious stones. As always, the central factor from which other considerations radiate is the wearer’s complexion. This has already determined the choice of emerald, ruby, or sapphire as the gem around which to build a parure. The choice of the parure leads to the color of the evening gown, which, even if mainly white, may well be touched with the chosen color. A matched necklace of the chosen precious stone interspersed with diamonds is admirable. Pearls are in place, but carefully chosen, so that their tint has part in the total harmony.
An American woman may, of course always within the bounds of good taste, wear somewhat more elaborate jewelry if the party is at a foreign embassy. If it is at the United States Embassy, she will do better, as an American citizen, to wear a more modest set of jewels, graciously giving consideration to the guests from other lands. In a sense, every American woman at a United States Embassy party is hostess. She has in part probably been invited for this reason; keeping it in mind will help her select the right jewels.
Meeting Royalty
There has been a spread of royal houses across the continents, in the tumultuous years marked by two World Wars. It may well be that, in homes in the United States or abroad, a woman will be invited to a gathering at which a member of the nobility or of a royal family will be present. Whether the person is in actual power or dethroned by the vicissitudes of revolution, there is no need to wear more elaborate jewels than the occasion in itself calls for. A woman should always be herself, at her best; there is no need to seek better than that best for any nobleman. The effort would be undemocratic; the result would be overdone. Good taste, and the requirements of the particular party, formal or informal, should reign.