No Nice Girl Swears: Notes on High Society, Social Graces, and Keeping Your Wits from a Jazz-Age Debutante by Alice-Leone Moats
No Nice Girl Swearsis the original, trailblazing guide to the new etiquette, brimmingwith timeless advice on style, romance, and grace,andfinally back in print 90years after its original release. Forewords by todays editor in chief ofTown& Countryand the editor in chief ofVoguefrom19141952.
Heralded as the go-to guide for soon-to-be debutantes and ladies whod recently made their debut, No Nice Girl Swears ushered in a new etiquette on its release in 1933, much to the shockand delightof the high-society crowd of jazz-age America. Today it is equal parts time capsule (how to dress for dinner on your transatlantic voyage) and timeless missive (how to ditch a date whos had a few too many).
Worldly-wise socialite Alice-Leone Moats advises on everything from style and dating to travel and party throwing, and weeds through the dos and donts of weddings, weekend trips, and the workplace. Her wisdom, though steeped in the charm of her time, endures: treat othersand yourselfwith respect, always put your best foot forward, and dont throw a party without champagne. Its just good manners.
This keepsake volume includes a new foreword from Stellene Volandes, the editor in chief of Town & Country, the original foreword from Edna Woolman Chase, Vogues editor in chief from 19141952, and a contextualizing preface. It encourages consideration of what etiquette rules wed like instilled today, and shows how Moats helped usher in a world where women could speakand actfreely.