Q. I have moved from Wiltshire to Cornwall and now
participate in a brisk social life accompanied by a certain increased degree of formality — doubtless due, in part, to the seniority of those involved. However,! recently received an invitation to luncheon inscribed 'jacket and tie', which I find unsettling. I am accustomed to instruction as to what to wear in the evenings, e.g., 'black tie',
'decorations', but this is the first time! have been told what to wear at luncheon. Do you share my sense of surprise?
E.D.G., Lostwithiel, Cornwall
A. Yes, but your hostess's puctice may be part of a reaction against the increasing wave of sartorial laxity enshrined in the concept 'anything goes'. This may well be flowing westwards from the capital as a number of readers have written to complain of guests arriving for country luncheons in open shirts, jeans, torn cardigans and the like. Your hostess is to be congratulated on a valiant attempt to stem this offensive tide.
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