Act Like You've Been to Finishing School
Do you want to act more classy, sophisticated, and feminine? Well, in the olden days, young ladies went to a finishing school. But since you can't go back in time to the Victorian Era and attend Miss (insert stuffy English name here)'s Charm School, read on to become a lady!
Steps
- Read a book on etiquette. This will teach you how to be polite. All finishing school grads have impeccable manners.
- Buy your own personal stationary but not childish, "Hello Kitty" pink flowery stuff. Buy mature, cream-colored cardstock and get it monogrammed with your initials. Use your stationery to slip people little notes or to write thank-you letters (as you'll see from reading etiquette books, thank-you notes are very important).
- Cultivate fine tastes in food. Don't chomp away on Twinkies or Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Instead, eat some Ghirardelli's chocolate squares, or get yourself a Toblerone bar. It also helps if you can learn to cook some simple, sophisticated dishes, too, like pasta tossed with olive oil and sun-dried tomatoes. Watch cooking shows or read Martha Stewart Cookbooks.
- Learn French or Italian. You can do this easily, by getting a language instruction book from the library. It's very classy to speak a romance language. Avoid tossing an occasional French word in a sentence - it can come across as pretentious and snobby, which is never classy.
- Update your wardrobe. Make sure you have several basic pieces in neutral colors, such as dresses, tank tops, formal and informal pants, jackets, etc. Then, add colorful accessories, or layer on colorful shirts. Also, make sure you have an appropriate amount of formal wear depending on the number of formal events you attend. Most importantly, your clothing does not need to be expensive, it just needs to be clean, neat, and mended if necessary.
- Learn to carry yourself with poise. Try balancing a book on your head. That'll improve your posture. Slouching is not cute.
- Work on how you talk. A classy woman doesn't curse or use expressions like "up your butt" or "totally hot." She uses proper grammar, a wide vocabulary, and will only curse if there is a gun pointed at her head.
- Be generous. Give friends gifts even for small occasions, like having braces removed, or moving into a new apartment.
- Place a photo on your desk of yourself on a horse. Black and white photos, in silver frames, look much more refined - especially photos where your eyes are focused off camera - as if you are watching a polo match.
- Practice good hygiene
- Don't do this if you're in the middle of the school year. Try to start after summer break.
- When you go to ask for a drink or washroom say May I? Instead of Can I?" And add Please at the end. It will drastically change how you asked. In addition, the teacher is more likely to say yes.
Tips
- A good trick to know regarding table manners is that if you have a lot of forks and spoons, you should work your way from the outside, in. So with the first course, use the fork farthest away from you, etc.
- Don't be too showy with jewelry.
Warnings
- Don't be rude to other people who don't behave as you do.
- But really, don't get too pretentious. This is all sort of for fun.
- Some people may say you're stuffy. They're jealous.
