HomeRegency LifeAdvice on Good Taste from A Lady of Distinction

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Advice on Good Taste from A Lady of Distinction — 6 Comments

  1. Amazing, who knew? I’m glad you mentioned Lydia. That little miss was encouraged to dress way beyond her years by a mother that should have known better. The fact Mrs. Bennet nee Gardiner was not raised as a gentlewoman was a big disadvantage to her girls. In her quest for her daughters to catch a husband, she pushed them to overstep their years and what was proper, thus throwing their reputations and the moral standing of the family in question.

    Then we have Lizzy who arrived at Netherfield one hot mess after her 3-mile walk. No wonder Caroline was constantly berating the country ways and lack of fashion from the locals. Her schooling taught her to view ladies according to their fashion or lack thereof and she was quick to judge others using herself as the standard.

    This was a most excellent post. I saw so many things I had no idea was the prevailing thoughts of the day.

  2. I don’t know that the public today is less judgmental. Consider the shamming photos about Walmart shoppers. I have sat in classrooms with people who comment disparagingly on the attire of other students. And when my sister was in high school and sitting in on our father’s university class, another girl in class used to write down what my dad was wearing each day, then pass the list to my sister, who would then bring it home and read it aloud at dinner, where my dad would scramble to defend his sartorial choices.
    I once had a hiking group with one member who would show up in a short shirt, heels and jewelry to tramp through the woods, explaining she was going to shop at Superstore afterwards. We’d roll our eyes, as Superstore is far from upscale .

  3. How horribly hypocritical and judgmental all this is. Unless you obeyed all rules, recommendations and even hints to the letter (and risk being bland, unappreciated, blending into background or even being plain and ridiculed like Mary Bennet while she tried to do all as was expected) there would always be something you could be criticized for. Just like, in the matter of deportment, Jane Benet is caught in a fix: if she shows her feelings for Bingley, she is a vulgar, forward and a flirt; if she doesn’t, she risks losing him because he isn’t sure of her.

    Some aspects, however, exist also today. People don’t wear revealing clothes which show any imperfection of their body – or if they do, it invites ridicule even today (although, of course, it doesn’t cast an aspersion on their morals, only on their taste)

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