Manners are important, but they were absolutely pivotal in centuries past. And some were, based on today’s standards, quite bizarre. Try these on for size.
1880: Women should always wear their hair up. Goodhousekeeping.com says: “A woman was expected to look fresh, polished, and composed for her husband at all times. In Victorian terms, that meant her hair must be worn up, except when in the privacy of her bed chamber.”
1900: Children should never contradict. “One of the many rules a child was expected to follow in the age of being seen and not heard is to keep your opinions to yourself. It was considered disagreeable for a child to contradict anyone, for any reason.”
1910: Don’t be too playful with your newborn. “Experts advised parents to not be overly affectionate with their babies, even going as far as recommending parents not play with them until they’re four to six months old, so as not to spoil them.”
1930s: Pregnant women shouldn’t travel. “Primarily due to safety concerns, it became improper for a pregnant woman to travel during her expecting months at all, even by car.”
1940s: Proper hair care requires excessive brushing. “It was recommended for women to put in at least 100 strokes a night, for a ‘shining halo’, and keep brushing ‘until your scalp tingles’,” according to the 1944 etiquette book, Future Perfect: A Guide to Personality and Popularity for the Junior Miss.
1950s: The man is expected to order a woman’s food in public. Goodhousekeeping.com says: “It was typical for men to help women into the car, put on their coat, and even order a woman’s meal when at a restaurant.”
1950s: Men should escort women on their left. “When a man escorted a woman in medieval times, it was on his left arm so that if danger arose his sword arm (right arm) would be free for combat.”
1950s: A woman never pays the bill on a date. “It was unheard of and impolite for a woman to offer money while on a date. The most important piece of dating etiquette during this time was that the man always paid the bill.”
1960s: You should send your daughter to charm or finishing school. A charm school was busy turning young girls into ladies, teaching them subjects like exercise/diet, voice/speech, modelling, skin care/grooming, make-up, fashion and manners.
What etiquette rules can you add?
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