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Invitations to these entertainments are issued in the name of the hostess only, and are sent out from ten days to two weeks in advance. Informal occasions, however, give very short notice, and it is well to use the word "informal" in the invitation, that guests may not put themselves to inconvenience as regards dress. It must be remembered that this term is too often misleading in its nature, and many a sensitive guest has been seriously annoyed by finding herself, after a too literal interpretation of the "informal" character of the entertainment, in a crowd of gay butterflies, a misuse of the word that should be seriously protested against.

Invitations to evening parties and private balls are less elaborate than formerly; the word "party" or "ball" is never used unless on the occasion of some public affair, such as a charity ball, but any especial feature of the evening may be mentioned in the invitation.

To an evening party where dancing may, or may not, be a feature of the entertainment, the following, either engraved or written on a small sheet of note paper, is a very good form:

Mrs Stuyvesant Wentworth Requests the pleasure of the company of Mr and Mrs Mark Cowden, On Wednesday evening, July 4th, At nine o' clock. Informal.

All invitations are to be considered as "formal" unless the word "informal" appears on the card. If the card states that the entertainment is to be "informal," the invited guest is fully justified in considering it so, and dressing accordingly. Neither host, hostess, nor other guests can take any exception if the invitation is treated just as it reads.

If dancing is the feature of the evening, the same form may be used with the word "Dancing" added in the lower left hand corner. Or:

Mrs. John Burrows, At Home, Thursday evening, October first, At nine o'clock. 1080 LeFrance Avenue. Quadrilles at ten.

If the ball is at a public place, as at Delmonico's, in New York, the following form is appropriate, always making use, in case of so public an entertainment, of the host's name in connection with that of the hostess:

Mr. and Mrs. George Douglas Request the pleasure of your company, Thursday evening, December twelfth, At nine o'clock. Delmonico's.

Another form that would be equally appropriate is as follows:

Mr. and Mrs. Augustus Saltus, Sanger Halle, Wednesday evening, January twentieth. German at nine. R.S.V.P.

If any of these occasions are intended to introduce a débutante, her card may be enclosed. If they are given in honor of a friend, or some celebrated individual, the following form is appropriate:

Mrs. Henry Alexander Requests the favor of your company on Tuesday evening, October tenth, From eight to eleven o'clock, To meet the Rev. Prof. Dr. Kemp, Of the Princeton Theological Seminary. 684 West 49th Street. R.S.V.P.

Or, if very formal, the name of the guest may be given first, as: To meet the Chief Justice of the United States and Mrs. Fuller. Mrs. Harold Courtright, At Home, from eight to eleven o'clock, Thursday, February seventh. R.S.V.P.

This same precedence may be given to the name of an honored guest in a dinner or other invitation. Still another form is where the name of the guest is written on a separate card, thus: To meet Mrs. Summerville. Enclose this in the same envelope.

For a club party the following may be used: The La Salle Club requests the pleasure of your attendance Wednesday evening, June eight, at nine o'clock. 555 West 51st Street. R.S.V.P.

A still more simple form for a party invitation is an "At Home" card filled out thus: Mrs. Don Carlos Porter, At Home, Tuesday evening, March fourth. 1021 Broadway. Cotillion at ten. R.S.V.P.