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I recently picked up a young men's ettiquette guide from 1938. The title is MANNERS FOR MODERNS, and it was written by Kathleen Black.
I thought I'd share a passage from Chapter 6 with my fellow Loungers, as it concerns a young man's wardrobe and personal hygiene.
I thought I'd share a passage from Chapter 6 with my fellow Loungers, as it concerns a young man's wardrobe and personal hygiene.
PERSONAL PUBLICITY
Whenever a person (or a business concern) wants to have himself brought to the attention of the public, he hires a "publicity agent." The agent will arrange for pictures and stories in the newspapers, interviews in magazines, public appearances, radio speeches, and whatever else he can think of to arouse public interest in his employer. Every stage and movie star has a publicity agent, and even as large a concern as the Standard Oil Company has employed a "public-relations specialist." The real job of the publicity agent is to make the public like and sympathize with his client. He tries to make him (or her) popular with everyone.
At first thought it may seem that an ordinary individual (who has no ambition to be a movie star) would have no need of a publicity agent. But upon further thought it would appear that any of us might need such an agent far more than someone who is already rich and successful. For what we all have to do is sell ourselves to the world around us, -- make ourselves popular with our friends, our employers, and our associates. If we don't succeed, we are going to be failures in all the things we attempt. What are we going to about it (since we can't afford to hire someone to make us popular)? There's just one answer: Each of us must be his own publicity agent!
First of all, let's review the things which advertise to the world the sort of man one is. Probably the first thing which strangers notice about an individual is how he dresses. This doesn't mean whether or not he wears expensive clothes but how well chosen they are, how clean, how neat, how suitable for the occasion. So watch clothes. Keep them clean, well pressed, and well brushed. Arrange the things you carry in your pockets so that they won't bulge and spoil the lines of your suit.
Be careful of the ties you choose. It's far better to wear one that's dark and conservative than to splash out in one of such violent colors that it stuns the beholder. The same idea holds for the practice of stringing a watch chain across your front loaded with a lot of glittering jewelry. You want people to notice you as a person, not as a signboard. So keep the trinkets, charms, fobs, and pins out of sight.
Choose your shirts with the same care you do a suit. If you operate on a limited budget, you'll find plain white or blue shirts the best investment. A white shirt is correct for every occasion, looks well with suit and tie of any hue, and is more becoming to every complexion than a colored one.
Don't buy white-flannel trousers unless you're sure you can afford to keep them spotless and pressed. Nothing looks quite so sad as slightly mussed and soiled white trousers.
Keep your dark shoes shining and your white shoes white. Two minutes a day and a generous amount of elbow grease will do this perfectly. Shoes are tremendously important in advertising personal pride. If you can't afford shoetrees, you can stuff paper in the shoes when you aren't using a pair. That will help them keep their shape. Have run-over heels repaired at once.
Once a business executive who employed hundreds of men said to us: "Whenever a man comes to me for a job, I look first at his shoes and hat. If he keeps them looking neat, I know he'll attend to small details on the job efficiently."
Don't forget that! The difference between looking neat and looking sloppy is attention to small details of dress.
Being careful about your clothes will help you along with the girls, too. Every girl knows that a man who is proud of his appearance will appreciate the primping she does for him. Keep your clothes in good shape all the time and never appear in public unless you are looking your best. It's a fatal mistake to spend most of your days in public in careless disregard of your clothes and then appear at parties "all dressed up." Its always shows, because you can't help being self-conscious about your appearance.
Keep away from fads in clothes unless you can afford a huge wardrobe. One good dark-colored shirt will last you much longer and be more useful for many occasions than will a couple of suits too light in color or too "sporty." Wear a hat that looks as though there's some spice in life. Don't wear one that looks as thought it had weather a dozen cloudbursts and was sick and tired of the whole business.
Suspenders are a big help in keeping the crease in trousers. But, for goodness' sake, don't wear them without a coat and don't buy such loud ones that they shriek to high heaven.
Wear garters. They help in the neatness campaign and they are flattering, for they make your ankles look smoother than drooping socks will ever do.
Neatness about your person counts as much as neatness in clothes. Keep your nails shorts and clean, but not polished. Keep your hair clean, cut, well-brushed, and well-combed. Don't plaster a lot of smelly, sticky paste on it. It will have more appeal for the ladies if you leave it as nature intended. There's nothing very romantic about running one's fingers through a field of grease. If you are bothered by a thatch of wild hair, perhaps your barber can arrange a haircut that will tame it. Keep your face looking clean and smooth-shaven.
Never, never, never appear in public looking as though you'd forgotten what a razor is intended for.
Take plenty of baths. As often as necessary, particularly after hard work or a dusty ride, make the bath a real bath for the whole body, not just a once over for the high spots. At least one bath a day is a habit that's taken for granted by men who know their way around. Use the soap enthusiastically and scrub thoroughly. The fresh-bathed look is appealing to everyone.
Right here we'd like to mention a little matter that is overlooked by a lot of men. Maybe you've thought it was a joke. Some people do. But most people, including girls who do much dancing, don't think so. It is the matter of deodorants. There are inexpensive ones at your drugstore, and plenty of regular he-men use them. It's a mighty good idea to get into the habit of using one all the time. You want to smell clean as well as look clean. Please, don't forget this little habit. Girls notice all these things; so do employers.
Keep your teeth shining and fresh. This will be easy enough if you brush them a couple of times daily, use a mouthwash before going out, and see your dentist when you should.
Whenever a person (or a business concern) wants to have himself brought to the attention of the public, he hires a "publicity agent." The agent will arrange for pictures and stories in the newspapers, interviews in magazines, public appearances, radio speeches, and whatever else he can think of to arouse public interest in his employer. Every stage and movie star has a publicity agent, and even as large a concern as the Standard Oil Company has employed a "public-relations specialist." The real job of the publicity agent is to make the public like and sympathize with his client. He tries to make him (or her) popular with everyone.
At first thought it may seem that an ordinary individual (who has no ambition to be a movie star) would have no need of a publicity agent. But upon further thought it would appear that any of us might need such an agent far more than someone who is already rich and successful. For what we all have to do is sell ourselves to the world around us, -- make ourselves popular with our friends, our employers, and our associates. If we don't succeed, we are going to be failures in all the things we attempt. What are we going to about it (since we can't afford to hire someone to make us popular)? There's just one answer: Each of us must be his own publicity agent!
First of all, let's review the things which advertise to the world the sort of man one is. Probably the first thing which strangers notice about an individual is how he dresses. This doesn't mean whether or not he wears expensive clothes but how well chosen they are, how clean, how neat, how suitable for the occasion. So watch clothes. Keep them clean, well pressed, and well brushed. Arrange the things you carry in your pockets so that they won't bulge and spoil the lines of your suit.
Be careful of the ties you choose. It's far better to wear one that's dark and conservative than to splash out in one of such violent colors that it stuns the beholder. The same idea holds for the practice of stringing a watch chain across your front loaded with a lot of glittering jewelry. You want people to notice you as a person, not as a signboard. So keep the trinkets, charms, fobs, and pins out of sight.
Choose your shirts with the same care you do a suit. If you operate on a limited budget, you'll find plain white or blue shirts the best investment. A white shirt is correct for every occasion, looks well with suit and tie of any hue, and is more becoming to every complexion than a colored one.
Don't buy white-flannel trousers unless you're sure you can afford to keep them spotless and pressed. Nothing looks quite so sad as slightly mussed and soiled white trousers.
Keep your dark shoes shining and your white shoes white. Two minutes a day and a generous amount of elbow grease will do this perfectly. Shoes are tremendously important in advertising personal pride. If you can't afford shoetrees, you can stuff paper in the shoes when you aren't using a pair. That will help them keep their shape. Have run-over heels repaired at once.
Once a business executive who employed hundreds of men said to us: "Whenever a man comes to me for a job, I look first at his shoes and hat. If he keeps them looking neat, I know he'll attend to small details on the job efficiently."
Don't forget that! The difference between looking neat and looking sloppy is attention to small details of dress.
Being careful about your clothes will help you along with the girls, too. Every girl knows that a man who is proud of his appearance will appreciate the primping she does for him. Keep your clothes in good shape all the time and never appear in public unless you are looking your best. It's a fatal mistake to spend most of your days in public in careless disregard of your clothes and then appear at parties "all dressed up." Its always shows, because you can't help being self-conscious about your appearance.
Keep away from fads in clothes unless you can afford a huge wardrobe. One good dark-colored shirt will last you much longer and be more useful for many occasions than will a couple of suits too light in color or too "sporty." Wear a hat that looks as though there's some spice in life. Don't wear one that looks as thought it had weather a dozen cloudbursts and was sick and tired of the whole business.
Suspenders are a big help in keeping the crease in trousers. But, for goodness' sake, don't wear them without a coat and don't buy such loud ones that they shriek to high heaven.
Wear garters. They help in the neatness campaign and they are flattering, for they make your ankles look smoother than drooping socks will ever do.
Neatness about your person counts as much as neatness in clothes. Keep your nails shorts and clean, but not polished. Keep your hair clean, cut, well-brushed, and well-combed. Don't plaster a lot of smelly, sticky paste on it. It will have more appeal for the ladies if you leave it as nature intended. There's nothing very romantic about running one's fingers through a field of grease. If you are bothered by a thatch of wild hair, perhaps your barber can arrange a haircut that will tame it. Keep your face looking clean and smooth-shaven.
Never, never, never appear in public looking as though you'd forgotten what a razor is intended for.
Take plenty of baths. As often as necessary, particularly after hard work or a dusty ride, make the bath a real bath for the whole body, not just a once over for the high spots. At least one bath a day is a habit that's taken for granted by men who know their way around. Use the soap enthusiastically and scrub thoroughly. The fresh-bathed look is appealing to everyone.
Right here we'd like to mention a little matter that is overlooked by a lot of men. Maybe you've thought it was a joke. Some people do. But most people, including girls who do much dancing, don't think so. It is the matter of deodorants. There are inexpensive ones at your drugstore, and plenty of regular he-men use them. It's a mighty good idea to get into the habit of using one all the time. You want to smell clean as well as look clean. Please, don't forget this little habit. Girls notice all these things; so do employers.
Keep your teeth shining and fresh. This will be easy enough if you brush them a couple of times daily, use a mouthwash before going out, and see your dentist when you should.
