DEAR ABBY: Allow me to offer a tip for those men about to pop the "big question" to their girlfriends: Let your fiancee pick out the ring style she will be wearing for the rest of her life. Arrange with a jeweler to have a tray of rings in different styles in your price range. Then present a ring with the proposal with the understanding it can be exchanged. -- WISE SOUTHERNER
DEAR SOUTHERNER: This is a subject that has been addressed in my column several times. A practical way to handle it is for the man to talk to the jeweler about what he can afford to spend beforehand, so the stones will be available to display to his fiancee, as well as a variety of settings from which she can choose. And, if none are to her liking, she might prefer the option of designing her own setting. Many brides do.