by Lois Jamieson
A highlight of the year for the StarShine high school girls, who are members of the Fashion/Etiquette Club, is a luncheon trip to the Ritz Carlton Hotel. For the past four years this trip has been sponsored by several wonderful supporters from St. Barnabas Episcopal Church.
The luncheon is usually held just before the Christmas break, so that the girls can experience the beautifully decorated hotel lobby and dining room at the Ritz. This year the luncheon will be a Spring event.
My partner, Ann Alleman and I spend many hours with the girls on dining out etiquette and we are greatly rewarded by their good manners and decorum at the luncheon. In a word, they have been up to the challenge and love going. However, we belatedly realized that we needed to discuss proper clothing with the girls as well. More than any other time, the skirts were too short and the tops were too low. Fortunately, we keep a supply of lovely fashionable scarves handy and were able to “drape” where needed! This semester we will hardly need to review the girl’s table manners, but plan to spend time discussing appropriate outfits.
Last year, on the way home from the hotel, one girl said, “Mrs. Jamieson I could live in the Ritz Carlton ladies bathroom. It is so beautiful.” She’s right, it is! We all had a good laugh as we traveled to the school where the girls changed back into their school uniforms.
