It has the Kinsella seal of approval (plus a really girly cover :-P) so it’s a no-brainer that I’ll buy it. This book is a fabulous fiction that contains tips on how to be capable and still be ladylike in this modern-world.
Heaven knows if there’s someone who needs to start rethinking about being a lady, it’d have to be me. I can never be called a lady. We can jolly well start with my, erm..infectious laughter. LOL!
There was a time when I was discussing with my two good friends about how I’d like to explore myself and become a dj (yes, a radio jock!! Haha!!) Nothing, I just feel like I’m funny enough to qualify. :P So I was telling them this over snacks and both of them gave their encouragement. But I was daunted with one thought:
Me: Kaya lang dapat malakas tumawa dun eh.
I was talking about the trend of these so called “masa” radio stations which sort of require the jocks to have an uproarious laughter.
They both just gave me this incredulous stare enough to contradict what I said. LOL!
So, I decided to write down some of the tips that I found useful. These ain’t nothing new believe me. But I believe sometimes we tend to take these for granted.
On fashion,
1. Chic is in your distinctive details – a signature scent, a favorite cocktail, the perfect red lipstick.
For this, I can only think of The Cherry Blossom Girl, how she had these bangs and owned it! I can also put here Bee of The Atlantic Pacific and her distinctive hair-do or her panache for accessorizing. Soo Blogging This has a raging blog crush on those two sites. Hehehe. :-P (Don’t you find that word “blog crush” cute? Hehe.) Or this could mean Carrie of SATC’s favorite cocktail, Cosmopolitan. So go ahead and find that distinctive detail in you, and OWN IT! ;-)
On financial matters,
2. Smart girls need a rainy day account for emergencies.
This is sooo true. I know a friend of mine who shares her bank account details to her boyfriend (he inspects it regularly which I find weird) and another who opened up a joint account with her long time boyfriend since they started dating. Well so far nothing bad has happened to both (and I really hope none) and I don’t have anything against those two as it is purely up to an individual to decide but what is important is to keep something for yourself. Coz who knows what might just happen? Financial independence is vital.
A close friend of mine sort of went through this kind of ordeal. It wasn’t really a classified emergency type, but she was broke then having transferred to a new company while her savings are in a rock bottom and she had to cancel some of our scheduled trips. It made me rethink about my ways of spending. :-| Of course we don’t want those “rainy days” coming but we must be prepared in our own.
On a recent discussion with acquaintances, I heard someone say that us girls should just worry about getting pretty and let the men buy things for us. Well, I didn’t really voice out my opinion that I disagree on this statement. I don’t have anything against men who buys luxurious things to their girlfriends (nor to girls as the recipients of these) but for me it’s different when you relish that moment of having finally able to purchase that designer bag or shoes that you've been dreaming of out of your own hard work. Isn’t it? Only then I can finally sing to DC’s ‘the shoes on my feet, I bought it..the clothes I’m wearing, I bought it’ of Independent Women. :-P
On health,
3. Breakfast like kings, dine like paupers.
This is an ancient saying and very British as the novel was set on finishing schools in London but the advice still rings true today. An empty stomach is a false economy. You don’t need a gym membership to actually check on your weight. Just know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day so go ahead and indulge as you have the chance to burn it for the entire day and eat less at night. Simple.
On manners,
4. Put a good thick coat of manners over everything. It’s the manners that matter – not etiquette.
I believe real ladies should be well-mannered, behaves properly and even dresses appropriately. :-P I just love one quirk of the old ladies who took care of the heroine Betsy in the book, they wouldn’t let her use the word toilet but rather lavatory. Hehe. Of course that thing is not applicable to us nowadays but what about foul language or cursing? I don’t think that’s being ladylike noh? Hmm, how about giving seats to the elders in the train? The look of gratefulness from an old lady is just priceless I tell you. And also ladies, doing another round of flushing in the toilets wouldn’t hurt. Please. It’s a matter of being courteous to the next user. These are just some things I can think of. I love this quote, "Be pretty if you can, be witty if you must, but be gracious if it kills you."
I wanted it to be a magic 5 and inasmuch as I want this to be about men love, I can’t really find a solid tip from the book about it. So I will just make up for it with the top tips I got:
Top Tip #1: A woman’s bag is the inside of her brain in portable form. When I saw this, I was mortified to see how people can interpret my addled brain easily, hahaha! I am drawn to big bags because (1) I always carry a lot of things and (2) I like throwing in a lot of things in my bag. Haha! So slowly, slowly I’m learning to compartmentalize. I hate how I always have to literally take everything out of my bag before I can find my keys. Aaaargh! XD I know a friend who’s so very good about this. She gets lady points from me in this department. ;-)
Top Tip #2: Keep the safety pins off your drycleaning in your handbag – you never know when something might snap. Actually, pins aren’t just used for snapping. I wonder if this is the reason why the pins that are attached to keys in the gym are always missing. Haha! But actually not just for snapping purposes but for keeping it together purpose, I was a loyal user of safety pins in my college years because of those buttoned shirts I often wear (we call it ladies’ polo, told you I’m not a t-shirt type girl right? :-P) wherein the gap between two buttons might show off your undergarments. A lady never exposes her underwear. Or lack thereof. Hullo, brit brit. Haha!
If I might just add a personal top tip, for days when I’ll be wearing a rather swishy skirt or short dress, I make sure to wear a black cycling shorts underneath. Sometimes it amuses me whenever some compromising movements might present a chance for some guys to peep at what’s underneath your dress, I can’t just help but think “Sorry perv, no underwear exposure for you.” LOL! Remember girls, "You're dress should be tight enough to show that you're a woman and loose enough to show that you're a lady."
Top Tip#3: If you can’t afford a new party outfit, invest in a salon blowdry and a red lipstick for an instant glamorous upgrade. This tip err, might not be necessarily be applicable to me (haha!) but I can comment on this by having LBDs (little black dress) of which I’m a fan of and owns atleast not less than 10 definitive ones that I keep on revisiting and revamping in this blog if you’re a regular reader. :-P Oh and yes, sometimes the only accent is a red lipstick. I just really have to master applying it. ;-)
Top Tip#4: The right shoes can transform the way you walk. There’s something about being able to carry off a pair of heels that makes men take you very seriously. Again, you are no privy to my love affair with shoes in this blog. Haha! And this part needs no further elaboration on my part.
I’ve some more tips here in my notes but nah, this post is getting too long already. From all the common book reviews I read, most of them just like me were resolved to become a lady after reading the novel. Haha! I guess it’s because as the saying goes, “Being a lady never goes out of style.”
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