Q Dear Miss Abigail: I am seventeen and a girl. Unfortunately for me, so is my extremely pretty best friend. I’m a cute girl, but nowhere near Jen. All the guys fawn over her and I can’t help but feel inferior to her good looks. I know that I should flaunt what I have, but […]
Category: Beauty and Charm
Beauty and charm tips.
How to Light a Cigarette
Q Dear Miss Abigail: What is the proper etiquette for lighting someone else’s cigarette? A friend of mine said if you’re using a lighter you light their’s first and your’s next, but if you’re using matches you light your’s first because of the sulfury taste of matches. I though you always light their’s first, but […]
Mermaidiana
I’m just back from a weekend trip to Nags Head, N.C., where I picked up some more books at a favorite shop on the Outer Banks. I also tested out a few of the tips listed here, from John Robert Powers and Mary Sue Miller’s Secrets of Charm. Well, ok, I didn’t really try these, but […]
Daintiness
So much can be learned from the dedications of books. I quote Mr. Lelord Kordel, author of this selection (from Lady, Be Loved): I do not believe that the American woman is as desirable as she can be, although I will grant that she excels the women of other nations in almost all points of outward attractiveness. […]
Personality Counts More Than Appearance
This selection is from Eighteen: The Art of Being a Woman. It was written by Catherine Atkinson Miller. My copy is a discarded library book, and had the checkout card in the back of the book. In case you were wondering, it was borrowed by “McKellar” on 10/15/35 “to keep indefinitely – OK’d by Mr. D,” […]
A Sunny Disposition
“This little book is born of a desire to help and encourage our girls who are struggling with the problems that come up in teens,” Mabel Hale writes in the foreword to Beautiful Girlhood. “Youth has its problems, its heartaches, and disappointments. It is not always a smooth path to the perfection of womanhood.” Ya got […]
She Smells Worse Than Wet Mulch!
Q Dear Miss Abigail: I have a co-worker who smells worse than wet mulch. It’s not that she looks dirty, or dresses in dirty clothing or even has a trace of filth on her person. No, it’s just that there seems to be an invisible cloud of BO floating where ever she roams. Before I […]
Family Feuding
Q Dear Miss Abigail: My mother and I disagree about a lot of things, especially the way I dress. I am perfectly neat, and I feel like I choose things that suit me and my personality. Still, she feels like picking a fight with me about every little thing. How can I tell her that […]
1933: The Question of Nudism
Here is a little insight to how I pick the classic advice quotes to share with you. It is incredibly scientific and thought out process, as you shall see. This week, in the Washington, D.C. area, we hit 90+ degrees for a few days straight, sending shockwaves into our gardens and bodies ~ after all, […]
1956: Framework for your Lingerie Trousseau
Last time I introduced you to the concept of the lingerie trousseau, and promised more details from Marguerite Bentley’s Wedding Etiquette Complete. Her entry on this special trousseau continues below. This should help brides-to-be (or others just trying to stock up) plan their shopping lists. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I have compiled a sort of framework for your lingerie […]