More 1963 Etiquette for Teen Girls

 In “The Seventeen Book of Etiquette and Entertaining,” writing with strong personal conviction and a deep understanding of young people, Enid A. Haupt, who is editor-in-chief of Seventeen Magazine, explores all areas where teenage girls and boys may feel unsure and answers questions before they arise on subjects ranging from eating to dating, from meetings to skating. 

For the first time ever in an etiquette book, complete chapters are devoted to “The Art of Saying No Nicely,” a “16-Point Plan for Making Good on College or Prep-School Weekends” and “When You Eat or Entertain in Restaurants.” Subjects including beauty parlor etiquette, school, sports and spectator manners, job manners, dating, telephone talk, hotel and bus travel, and the formalities of life are handled.

“Boys, Boys, Boys” - “Other people rather enjoy seeing young lovers... but the radiance gets a little grimy if you don't place some limits on displays of affection. You don't have to kiss every time you're going to be parted for half an hour, hold hands in school corridors, sit on his lap when the family and their friends are milling around the house.”

When “You're a Spectator” - “Applause is the breath of life to performers - especially at the right time .. . Exceptions to the rigid rules about applause include jazz concerts, folk-song festivals, and coffeehouse performances of the sung and spoken word. A certain amount of foot-stomping and soulful uttering of an occasional outcry is really expected of you.”

“Where is the ladies' room?” -When dining out, “Don't ask your date. Obviously, he's unfamiliar with it. Excuse yourself, then rise from the table and ask the nearest waiter ... You needn't manufacture a telephone call as an excuse. A simple ‘Will you excuse me for a minute?’ without explanation is sufficient - and un-embarrassing.” Or, “On entering the restaurant, look for the ladies’-room sign. If you find it and fix it in your memory, you won't have to ask ANYONE.”

Whether it's going to the beauty parlor or going for a drive, going to a conference or on a trip by car, train, plane, bus or ship, “The Seventeen Book of Etiquette and Entertaining” offers words of encouragement and guidelines for teen behavior. “The Art of Saying No Nicely” encompasses every situation from “How to refuse a date so he'll ask again” to “how not to lend clothes and money” to “how to refuse a kiss.”

In “Good Sports Go Places,” Mrs. Haupt examines the latest teen fads and outlines modes of conduct for activities such as bowling, billiards, skiing and skating, telling readers about the games, how to accept victory and defeat and what to wear. For billiards, she suggests comfortable clothes, but warns girls, “Don't wear anything too low-cut in front because of all that bending over the table.”

For those going to banquets, teas, receptions, coming-out par- ties, weddings, christenings, funerals, confirmations, bar mitzvahs or graduations, all “The Functions of Life” are detailed in accordance with the customs and traditions of the Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Quaker religions. This chapter handles every aspect of important ceremonies, from how to answer a formal invitation, to what to wear, to the appropriate gifts to give.— San Bernardino Sun, 1963

 🍽️Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Ballerina Applauds Etiquette

Small, black hair, a crisp English accent, expressive features, vivacious, so unpretentious you can hardly believe she is connected with the egotistical world of the stage, she is the first who put in a good word for American audiences. She explains: “In London, they applaud, certainly.” Setting down her teacup, she pats her palms together to show what she means. “But they applaud at the end, it may be for 10 minutes but it comes at the end. And if anyone at all applauds in between, he’s sure to be shushed.”– Renowned British ballerina, Dame Margot Fonteyn

Toes to the Grindstone...

She Applauds Theater Etiquette

“It does not” . . . with a sharp, clipped, emphatic “not”. . . “upset us to be applauded and I want people to know it,” says Margot Fonteyn. Star of the famous Sadler’s Wells Ballet company, she is the first person among many who put in a good word of this kind for American audiences. She explains: “In London, they applaud, certainly.” Setting down her teacup, she pats her palms together to show what she means. “But they applaud at the end, it may be for 10 minutes but it comes at the end. And if anyone at all applauds in between, he’s sure to be shushed.” “Here in America,” she continues happily, “the audiences applaud the scenery when the curtain first goes up, they applaud the dancer when she first appears, they applaud any difficult step. They applaud at the end, too, but in between is just as delightful to us.” When she returns to her tea, it’s time to make a note: Small, black hair, a crisp English accent, expressive features, vivacious, so unpretentious you can hardly believe she is connected with the egotistical world of the stage. 

But make a further note: English though she is, you can't do her justice in English, you have to resort to other courtly, romantic languages: She is prima ballerina assoluta, she is petite, she is sans pareil. Miss Fonteyn does little or nothing except dance. She must sleep, to be sure, and she eats, but only a little. She has a one-track life. “Recreation none,” says the English “Who's Who.” She took one trip to Coney Island, but for the sake of the record, not for amusement; she is a dancer who keeps her toes to the grindstone. Though she could no doubt do her roles in “Swan Lake,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Les Sylphides” and other classics in her sleep, she still must rehearse. When you see her do a difficult step in the course of an evening, it is at least the third or fourth time she has done it that day, at a rehearsal and, always when there is time, in the last intermission before the step is danced. “We rehearse,” she says, “not in the hope that anything will go perfectly, but just so that only a minimum of things go wrong.” Furthermore, she's always ready at curtain time. – (UPI) New York, 1953

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Fastidious Victorian Etiquette

“Never in any crisis of your life have I known you to have a handkerchief!”

“At a lecture, a special personal respect is due to the speaker. This is shown by a courteous attention and a general demeanor of interest and appreciation. If applause is merited, it should be given in a refined manner. The stamping of the feet is coarse, and the pounding of the floor with canes and umbrellas is as lazy as it is noisy. 

“The clapping of hands is a natural language of delight, and, when skillfully done, is an enthusiastic expression of approbation. Some effort is being made to substitute the waving of handkerchiefs as a symbol of approval or greeting to a favorite speaker, but it is quite probable that this silent signal will not take the place of the more active demonstration of clapping the hands, except on very quiet and intellectual occasions. 

“Scratching the head or ears, and picking the teeth, are operations that are properly attended to in one's own dressing-room. The conspicuous use of the handkerchief is in bad form. Blowing the nose is not a pleasant demonstration at any time, and at the table is simply unpardonable. A person of fastidious taste will take care of the nose in the quietest and most unobtrusive way, and refrain from disgusting other people of fastidious taste.”  —Agnes H. Morton 1892

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia