Miss Manners: Navigating generational fashion differences on the high seas

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am an 89-year-old lady. My daughter is taking me on my very first cruise. She insists that I must wear nail polish on my toenails if I wear open-toe sandals.

I have not worn any kind of nail polish since I was in my 20s. I do not want to polish my toenails, or my fingernails, either. My toenails are neatly cut regularly by my podiatrist.

What should I tell her? She is very firm about this.

GENTLE READER: Cruises involve a lot of free time. So while Miss Manners does not want to pick a fight, she does think it would be well to establish from the start that the primary activity on this cruise will not be Telling Mama How To Behave.

If “Thank you, but I don’t like to wear nail polish” is not working, you may have to escalate to, “In my day, ladies did not do that.” Or even, “I’ll be at the bar.”

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

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