I will never be a "Belle", too much Kansan in me. Yet, after 20+ years of living here, it can "rub" off. The thing that my old friends in Kansas notice is "flair". How one dresses, turns a phrase or as DZRose mentioned-the ability to tell someone off (velvet glove).

My daughter is NOT a Belle, but anyone north of Texas thinks she is! That girl has such a lilt in her voice and she flirts with her eyes to the point that those northern boys just melt. :D

once i was chewing gum, my mom made me take it out. she said, 'gum is not ladylike. you look like a cow. always get certs or tic tacs.'

to this day, when someone is chewing gum, i stare at people with this annoyed look when they are talking and chewing gum. or just chewing gum period.

Hey, Sistermadly, here's a question for ya!

Some of us Damn Yankees (no use avoiding it) are in the South to stay, and like some of these ladies said, you can't "make" someone a Belle.

So how does a Yankee best adapt to their new life?

Anyone? Bueller?

Adrienne (PNAM-2003)

PS--Sis--get a shine on that badge! Tomorrow's the big day and I'm with you in spirit!!! {{{}}}

Along with all of this...what are the Southern Belle "rules" for handling your man?

AND....sorority women;)

I was born/raised in upstate New York...But but but!!!! My middle name is LaBelle -- Does that count?? :D :p

There is a perfect book on this subject: What Southern Women Know (That Every Woman Should) by Ronda Rich. It is an adorable book and it really details the strategies that DZRose was talking about. It's subtitled, "Timeless Secrets to Get Everything You Want in Love, Life, and Work". The only thing is, I can't imagine a non-Southern woman ever doing ANY of that. It would just be too bizarre.

~I too was raised not to drink from a can (at least in public, I still do at home) and not to chew gum (but it's REALLY hard for me, I like gum very much).
~Juniorgrrl, it is ALL about the monogram... I have my monogram on my tote bag, my sheets, my stationary, my scarf... anything you can put a big ol' L on.
~As far as ettiquette schools, does cotillion count? Everyone goes to cotillion in the fifth grade. Oh, I HATED dancing with strange boys I didn't know!
~Y'all, I don't know about the "no pantyhose with open-toed shoes" thing... I was always raised that if you had on a suit (or wearing a dressy outfit to an occasion where someone ELSE might wear a suit) you had better not have bare legs, no matter WHAT shoes you were wearing. Obviously it would be tacky to wear summery, casual sandals with hose... but a nice pair of open-toed shoes? It's a judgement call.
~Speaking of which, another Belle-ism... Southern Belles know the appropriate uses of "tacky" and "precious".

I just went to Amazon.com and ordered this book! I have the Southern Belle Primer and think it is just precious! I hope I enjoy this book just as much!!

With grace, charm, humor, wit, and a steel backbone. :D

I do believe that you can adapt traits of a certain area if you live there long enough. I'm becoming more Canadian by the day, it seems!

http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/jump.gif

What a precious thread!

Somewhat on the same lines as y'all, I feel that a Belle is born & bred, not created. I was raised both north & south of the Mason-Dixon Line, but with a mama named Dixie Lee, well, guess which way I lean? I've known other women in the same situation, and they too were raised by the gospel according to Mama!

Y'all have already mentioned so many of the social don'ts, so let me leave y'all with a positive note: Always be sure to say thank you - and it sounds so much more sincere with a Southern accent!


honeychile

I am from the north, and all I have to say is thank god I'm not a Southern Belle!! I love to chew gum, drink a cold can of soda from the can, use bad language, and I happily have no table manners. And furthermore, I recently vacationed in the South, and several southern women made it clear that they did not like me because I was from the North. So what happened to that thing about smiling sweetly while telling a person in your head to go to hell...:rolleyes:

Well, it's good to be proud of something. :rolleyes:

Absolutely precious! ROTFL!!

honeychile

Well honeychile aren't you just darlin'!!!! :p (Another favorite belle-ism of mine)

OK, the previous two posts actually helped me understand the "precious" thing.

You learn something new every day....... ;)

Adrienne (PNAM-2003)