Hmm. I don't know the exact reason for leaving out the articles in that passage either, but it's a common enough practice in certain situations that I didn't see it as odd at all. It actually sounds better and more evocative without the articles -- adding them in seems to detract from the passage. But it IS a special usage, and you would have to really know what you were doing to do it appropriately.
And it isn't a British thing, or an old-fashioned thing -- witness the '70's song "Countin' Flowers on the Wall" (not THE flowers, just flowers), which has the line: "Last night I dressed in tails, pretending I was on the town". "Tails" means formal dinner wear, as in the jackets that once had the long split piece in the back.
And it isn't a British thing, or an old-fashioned thing -- witness the '70's song "Countin' Flowers on the Wall" (not THE flowers, just flowers), which has the line: "Last night I dressed in tails, pretending I was on the town". "Tails" means formal dinner wear, as in the jackets that once had the long split piece in the back.