Manners Maketh Man

The Principle Of Style Is Character, And The Core Of Character Is Conduct.

- KELLY LEWI

PEOPLE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT how first impressions matter. I figured that people often interpret it as 'first looks matter', which isn't necessarily incorrect. People fuss over what they should wear and how they should look. Linen seems too casual, but a button-up seems too stuck up. Do I style my hair with cream or mousse? What perfume should I use? All seemed like white noise in the face of the overlooked ace in the hole: manners.

It feels pompous for me to write that sentence. Perhaps more aptly, it makes me sound like a boomer, youth parlance for an old person. It may be partially because my parents always taught me to be 'ladylike'. Not in the most conservative sense, either. It went beyond understanding the cutlery to use for different dishes or how I sat, but harnessing intelligence and social awareness, traits that are increasingly becoming rare commodities.