Believe it or not, I went to
modeling school (aka charm school.)
I don’t think I’m their best
endorsement, but it’s true nonetheless!
My parents decided to send me
because at the time I was ‘blossoming into womanhood’ we lived in a less than
sophisticated area.
Plus I was at the age where I
no longer listened to or believed anything they told me.
So my mother thought if I
learned the ‘social graces’ from strangers I’d be more amenable.
I had a totally different
reason for going.
I was going to be the next
Twiggy! (For those of you reading this who don’t understand that reference,
Google it! She was HOT!)
So every Saturday I gave up
hanging out with my friends to schlep into the ‘city’ and learn from strangers
how to be a proper young lady.
I learned how to put on
makeup with a tongue depressor. (I never wore any after that!)
I learned how to walk through
a door properly. (Who knew there was a right and a wrong way to walk through a
door? I always figured if you got to the other side you were doing it right!)
I learned to fence. You know,
thrust and parry alá Errol Flynn.
I learned how to walk like a
model, stand like a model, turn and sit like a model. (For which my aching back
is forever grateful! snort!)
There were lessons in manners
and deportment.
How to properly introduce
people to each other. (Here again I thought if you just told them each other’s name it was all good. Apparently not! There is a pecking order!)
I learned that my purse had
to always match my shoes.
I learned that properly brought
up young ladies AT ALL TIMES wore gloves in public. (C’mon! This was the sixties!
Who the bleep wore gloves anymore?)
The last three classes were
ballroom dancing classes. The ONE lesson that maybe, possibly, might have had
at least a remote chance of being relevant and I missed them because we moved!
I’m here to tell you that NONE of what I learned was ever any
help whatsoever in my real life.
AND I never got to be the next Twiggy!
En Garde!
En Garde!
I wanted to be like Twiggy, but was too much of a tomboy to bother with makeup. At 13 I got my hair cut like Twiggy's and have been wearing my hair short ever since. That's as close to her as I got. As for charm school, the nuns taught me how to sit with my feet crossed only at the ankles and gloved hands neatly folded in my lap. I took fencing at an adult ed. evening class after I graduated from college. I love Errol Flynn
ReplyDelete....so did your parents get their money back!?!
ReplyDeleteoK. Why the tongue depressor and what part of putting on makeup was that? All I can picture is "slathering on foundation" with it?
ReplyDeleteDid you forget to tell us about the lesson on when to put away the sandals and white clothing? Very hoity toity school you went to there. But no matter...in real life...you are perfectly charming!
ReplyDeleteCharming ;)
ReplyDelete