Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 25

DETROIT FREE PRESSTHURSDAY, SEPT. 1 1 1 980 3C Who's on top of bottoms: Poor dear, she's perfect By JUDITH MARTIN Dear Miss Manners Now don't get me wrong I am not a boor. I know perfectly well to keep my elbows off the table, I do not take my shoes off at formal gatherings and I have never asked for a doggie bag at the For those of you who put off buying your fall wardrobe to see which designer would be tops in the jeans industry, it's a good thing you dawdled. For those of you who raced out and filled your closets with Sassons, Gloria Vanderbilts and Calvin Kleins too bad. It appears that the names of famous fashion designers simply no longer will be the coveted status symbol for blue jeans fans.

According to the Daily News Record, a New York fashion publication that predicts designers are going to be "bumped from the rump," another type of signature is going to be filling up rear pockets from now on: the country-western After all, what could be more apropos of Western wear than a cowboy singer or a rough-and-tumble Texas legend certainly not some New York high-fashion designer. Already hot items are Gilley's jeans, named after Mickey Gilley, country-western singer and owner of the Texas bar made famous by the movie "Urban Willie jeans, named for country star Willie Nelson, complete with a map of Texas; and Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty jeans and jackets. And soon to be emblazoned on rear ends all over the country will be J.R. insignias. l-rco Press Sketch by JON BUECHEL Miss Manners Watergate.

I seem to be suffering, however, from a case of severe social jealousy. The problem is that my best friend is a well-born, upper-class, blue-blooded gentlewoman. I am not talking about the kind of ostentatious display of manners of the nouveau riche; my friend has the real thing authentic social eclat. What it boils down to is this: She has taste. Her makeup is flawlessly done with Princess Marcella Borghese; I slap a little Vaseline Put an end to your identity crisis.

Well monogram your initials for FREE! on knit turtleneck dresses $36 I I 7" i The slim shape of things to come, of acrylic knit. Cherry, purple, french blue and black, sizes S-M-L. 130 units' and velour tops $22 Rich and velvety. Taking a ribbing at the cowl and cuffs. Burgundy, forest green, sand, navy, sapphire blue and bittersweet, sizes S-M-L.

340 units Dress not available at Monroe, Jackson, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti from now thru IRA "I'M; i Saturday, September 13. AMM ARBOR FARMIMGTON JACKSOn LIVOniA MOMROE MT. CLEMEnS ROCHESTER SOUTHFIELD TREnTOM TROY WARREn YPSILAMTI TWELVE OAKS EASTLAHD Intensive Care onto my face each morning and consider myself ready for the day. She turns heads when she wafts into a room; I raise eyebrows in the same room because I trip over furniture. She lifts her Coquilles St.

Jacques gracefully to her lips without spilling a drop; it is all I can do to get my coffee from table to mouth without pouring it on my lap. Several weeks ago, we were in a restaurant and the waiter was so overcome by her that he spent three-quarters of an hour describing to my friend everything on the menu and left with her order, only to return a few minutes later to ask if, by any chance, did I also want anything to eat? My friend has background, sophistication, edification. She can name any piece of music within the first two bars: "Why, it's Bruch's Swedish Dances for Piano with Four Hands, Opus 63," she says casually in response to hearing a few notes on the radio. My singular musical achievement was learning Fur Elise by heart in high school. I played it on the piano over and over, regaling joyfully in my cultivation, until my father, desperate for quiet, pleaded with me to stop.

Miss Manners, what I need to know is this: Can a friendship between an aristocrat and a bourgeoise possibly survive? Is there common ground somewhere between those who have presence and those who just take up space? Miss Manners urges you to continue this friendship, for the sake of common humanity. You are probably the only friend this poor lady has. Believe Miss Manners, it is not easy to be perfect these days. It is quite out of fashion and attracts the admiration of no one except garrulous waiters. And yet, there are those of us who cannot help it, and we, too, have souls and crave affection from those more fortunate than ourselves.

It was not always thus. Until recent years, people strove for perfection, and the person who achieved it was universally admired and imitated. Once it might have been a charity for a person such as your friend to overlook the awkwardnesses and anxieties of someone as yourself and value you for your best qualities. Now, however, it is our faults for which we are loved. Imperfect table manners are considered a sign of subscribing to the principles of democracy; ignorance of high culture to be an indication of spirituality, and blurting, rough speech to be a clue to perfect honesty.

Miss Manners hopes you will be grateful for what you have, and tolerant of the handicaps of your friend. Dear Miss Manners My husband and I disagree on how to respond to a frequent demand: We live in the city and own a small car that we use only when very inconvenient not to do so, for example, to attend parties in the suburbs. Almost inevitably we are asked to give other guests without a car a lift home. Can we politely refuse these requests? If so, how? Or are we being mean to even think of refusing? It is not that hard to accommodate others without giving up your freedom. It is, after all, your car.

You could say, "We'd love to give you a ride we'll be leaving in probably about another hour," thus leaving the petitioners the choice of waiting or of seeking earlier or later departures with others. Or you could say, "Certainly, if you don't mind waiting while we stop for a snack on the way home." Flatly refusing to give people lifts is the privilege only of people whose cars never break down. Shop most stores daily to 9. Shop Sundays from 12 to 5 P.M. in Trenton, Mt.

Clemens, Warren, Southfield, Ypsilanti, Twelve Oaks and Eastland. Thr Slorr Thai Hat Vour Si. 3-11. mdtht AAAAA to C. Women Footwear NORTHLAND SOMERSET MALI EASTLAND WONDERFUL WOOLs Very poised, very polished, lvl' JT very Austin Hill.

You'll want to If 3 vt make these classic collectibles 1 Fj lf KW ijr'V. first on your fall fashion list. I wA Shown are three pieces from a if ff I Ji I collection of the most wanted I I li I I il vWIn blazers, skirts, slacks, blouses i and sweaters. Each piece is fJ u. SBTCiiMiT.

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