For those who love love love etiquette
Let’s take a look at the Chocolate Set. I covered the rise of chocolate in my post on the chocolate spoon, but I want to say a few more words here. If you want to know more about hot chocolate, my post on Chocolate Spoons gives a little more back story. This will just cover…
Read More
These are all set during the Victorian, Edwardian, and 1910s periods. This is what most tableware lovers think of, when they’re looking for spectacular tableware and its placement. 1. Upstairs / Downstairs – Old To be honest this series hasn’t aged as gracefully as one would hope. The china is pretty wonderful though every now an…
Read More
One thing I can’t deny, the last three hundred years or so of history of the west has been a progression towards informality. Sure, there have been bumps on the road, but there is no mistaking, we’ve gone from a more formal culture to a less formal culture. One area that this is readily apparent…
Read More
I touched on this briefly when I discussed the breakfast tray and the tray cloth, but I love breakfast accoutrements and I can’t stop posting about this topic. Sorry, not sorry. Breakfast sets were china sets made specifically for both tray service and/or for your morning table service. Breakfast sets made for trays generally contained…
Read More
So, you’re in London and you want to eat a great meal? I’m going to be honest here, it’s true that most of the great meals I’ve had in London were Indian. I’ve been a bit let down by British fine dining, but always buoyed up by the street food. You just can’t beat fish…
Read More
In my earlier post, I mostly focused on the Upperclass and Upper Middle Class Victorian 5 O’Clock tea, which was very formal and had a specific etiquette to it. At the same time there was a less formal version of the formal home tea which might have been given in middle class homes, but also…
Read More
It seems that during the Regency and on into the turn of the century, people used any object at their disposal to send secret signals to the object of their desire, fans were no different. I hope you’re well and happy flirting!
Read More
Here is a quick overview of fans, fan anatomy and styles. This is not exhaustive and is just meant to be a quick reference. Fan Types Fixed Fans As I said in my last fan post, the fixed fan was likely the earliest form of man made hand fan. The earliest of these is a…
Read More
“What grace the fan lends to a woman who knows how to use it! It undulates, it flutters, it expands, it closes, it rises, it falls at will. It is the most powerful weapon in beauty’s arsenal.” – Madame de Stael Man made fans date from around 3000 BC. But really, what that means is that’s when we…
Read More
Hello! I think we need to have a conversation about the “Rules of Etiquette”. Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of videos and demonstrations that say things like, “Women in the Victorian Era never showed their ankles.” Or, “Until the 1920’s only prostitutes or actresses wore make-up.” And even, “Middle Class people in the Victorian…
Read More