Manners for the Modern Ladybelle

How does one develop Impeccable manners if not raised at the knee of a Southern belle like your own Miss Impeccable? While challenging, all of us can strive to become a ladybelle, even in these modern etiquette-challenged times. If you are not a lady now, don’t despair. Books, my dear, are your little pocket-sized Southern mamas.

My suggestions:

The classics are classic for a reason-

• Etiquette, by Emily Post (Miss I. has a first edition, but you can do just fine with this newer version)
• Amy Vanderbilt’s Everyday Etiquette (mine is (c) 1954- this one is a good new edition)

And some more modern ideas:

• The Art and Power of Being a Lady, by Noelle Cleary and Dini Von Mueffling
• Better than Beauty: A Guide to Charm, by Helen Valentine and Alice Thompson
• How to Be a Lady, by Candace Simpson-Giles

In the coming weeks, Miss I. will be providing reviews and useful tips from all of the above and more. In the future, I hope you will all join me in my Ladybelle Book Club, where we will choose books on modern lady-hood and get our brains wrapped around the challenges of seeking style, grace, and class in these busy times.

If you need manners and you need them now, go here where you can read Miss Emily’s original book in its full text online. While you may not need calling cards or guides to how to treat “the help” (and if you do… bless your heart), the basics haven’t changed- thank you cards are non-negotiable. Period.