For those who love love love etiquette
I love old stuff. You’ve probably guessed that. I’ve loved collecting old ephemera for years and have bits of paper coming out of every drawer and closet. But one fact has always made me a little sad. When I look at vintage ephemera, if I see people who look like me, they are more likely…
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I love Halloween! I wish kids came by our house, but they don’t. There just aren’t a lot of kids in our area. Missing the fun of handing out candy and toy bags, (oh, yeah, I said it… candy AND toys) I started manning the door at my mom’s house, which for a few years…
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I’m only covering the Victorian/Edwardian period here. 5. The Importance of Being Earnest A Lovely version of Oscar Wilde’s stage play. The costumes are insane with very 60’s fabrics. The interiors on the other hand are gorgeous! Everyone seems to be having tea in every scene. The muffin stand is impeccable with very realistic looking…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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I want to take a moment to talk about difficult conversations. Grief, death, illness and other life tragedies are some of the toughest subjects to broach with others and because of this, we often don’t. In the past people generally avoided discussing these topics as taboo. There were elaborate social customs which allowed one to acknowledge a…
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Hello friends, File this tidbit of information under useless things – I graduated college with degrees in Art History and English. Yup. Two majors, not one with a job prospect attached to it. I can’t say I regret it. I loved studying Art History and English Literature. When you study a painting, you don’t just…
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I was asked recently, “Why do a blog about old etiquette? No one’s going to change the way they act.” That’s probably true and that’s ok. I love the minutia of historical etiquette, but it is rather like looking at a wonderful piece of very stuffy old art. While it might delight me in a museum,…
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“Secret languages” are one of the most wonderful sources of unintended humor when one reads Victorian etiquette books. Living in repressive times, lads and ladies on the make were forced to use all sorts of hidden methods to woo and win love. You’ve probably have heard of the language of flowers. I’ll give that a glance at…
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