Upper class habits?

[Anonymous]

Let's take Prince William and Kate as an example of upper class (not just upper class but Royalty).

I think that they are in the habit of always looking capable, competent, in control and are always well groomed and tastefully attired. Appearances are everything.

They quietly outsource - nannies, tutors, house cleaning, grooming, dog training, yard work, catering, party planning, interior decorating, etc - to the best pros in the business that money can buy. Every detail is attended to with great care and expectations are extremely high. They are confident, educated, well traveled and this makes them well spoken and interesting. They are highly competitive but are well mannered about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:not cursing or having screaming fights in public. I can't believe how much of that I see on certain blocks in DC.
Reading all the time to their kids, starting as infants. To the point of obsession.

Right. That's why they always have cocktails in their hands... because they repress everything, never express an emotion, never say what they really think/feel. And then they fill that emptiness with alcohol.

This is me! Wealthy mannerisms despite my blue collar upbringing.

[Anonymous]

My experience : always good grammar and speak clearly unless being cool. Prompt social manners. Smooth and self confident. Visit each other at second homes. Wary of outsiders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Flossing and bidet

That's funny. We bought a house in DC for $325. It came with a bidet. My DD is 10 at the end of the month. She flosses morning and night and uses the bidet before her shower. (I do too). We are TRULY not upperclass-but... she can roll with the best of them. Private school, private violin lessons, ballet lessons and swim team. Well-traveled with a passport since she was 22 months old. 3 cruises and ski vacations-out west. I always think-who is this AA child going to marry.

So-not sure that the bidet and flossing make one upper class-at least not in my house-but it does make you cultured. We are well-rounded and cultured.

get her into Jack and Jill stat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Flossing and bidet

That's funny. We bought a house in DC for $325. It came with a bidet. My DD is 10 at the end of the month. She flosses morning and night and uses the bidet before her shower. (I do too). We are TRULY not upperclass-but... she can roll with the best of them. Private school, private violin lessons, ballet lessons and swim team. Well-traveled with a passport since she was 22 months old. 3 cruises and ski vacations-out west. I always think-who is this AA child going to marry.

So-not sure that the bidet and flossing make one upper class-at least not in my house-but it does make you cultured. We are well-rounded and cultured.

Flossing and toilet is middle class and up. Lower middle class, at that. The rest of the stuff you list is upper middle class and aspirational. Who's she going to marry? Some other upper middle class kid that she met in college or at her first law firm job.

Well the bolded is a dead giveaway. Sailing is one thing cruising is another thing entirely.

+100
Also, listing the things you personally do that could be considered upperclass. Old money wouldn't ever do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So when Kate Middleton got engaged and showed the world her ring, she looked PERFECT - hair, outfit, teeth, smile, manicure etc. When Zara Phillips got engaged and showed the world her ring, it was extremely modest and her nails were tatty and she had a hole in her sleeve. This is the difference between strivers and the truly wealthy.

Also yes to being unflappable and stoic.

+1,000,000.

And if Kate had done that, she'd have been torn apart for it and all the "she's not worthy"/"she can never be a proper royal"/"the UK deserves better from their future Queen" sort of stuff would have begun in the media.

Kate Middleton knew she wasn't just marrying the love of her life, wasn't just marrying into a family or a social circle or a class but was marrying into a position and a role, and she obviously lived up to that. In general, people tend to expect their princesses to be PERFECT...from the moment of engagement on she belonged to the public and she knew what was expected of her.

Kate Middleton and Zara Phillips isn't really much of a comparison.

Exactly. The pressure is completely off of Zara Phillips to be anything other than herself. She wasn't marrying the future king, headed for a life constantly in the press, photographs everywhere. It must be pretty freeing to be Zara Phillips, actually. No one expects from her what they expect of Kate Middleton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So when Kate Middleton got engaged and showed the world her ring, she looked PERFECT - hair, outfit, teeth, smile, manicure etc. When Zara Phillips got engaged and showed the world her ring, it was extremely modest and her nails were tatty and she had a hole in her sleeve. This is the difference between strivers and the truly wealthy.

Also yes to being unflappable and stoic.

+1,000,000.

And if Kate had done that, she'd have been torn apart for it and all the "she's not worthy"/"she can never be a proper royal"/"the UK deserves better from their future Queen" sort of stuff would have begun in the media.

Kate Middleton knew she wasn't just marrying the love of her life, wasn't just marrying into a family or a social circle or a class but was marrying into a position and a role, and she obviously lived up to that. In general, people tend to expect their princesses to be PERFECT...from the moment of engagement on she belonged to the public and she knew what was expected of her.

Kate Middleton and Zara Phillips isn't really much of a comparison.

Exactly. The pressure is completely off of Zara Phillips to be anything other than herself. She wasn't marrying the future king, headed for a life constantly in the press, photographs everywhere. It must be pretty freeing to be Zara Phillips, actually. No one expects from her what they expect of Kate Middleton.

The pressure is completely off Zara because she's the queen's granddaughter. No one will ever say she doesn't look perfect because of her background, lack of resources, etc.. Kate, on the other hand, in addition to all the other factors, has to overcome being the daughter of a flight attendant and descended from coal miners (a big deal in the UK but if we're going to talk ridiculous class systems, they have one).

The media spotlight make the Kate/Zara example irrelevant. The real issue is what do people do when there aren't any cameras around? In my experience, people from "established" backgrounds tend to be much more relaxed in terms of what they wear/own -- old Volvo, ratty (but cashmere) sweater, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah I agree Kate Middleton is expected to look a certain way. However look at her family. Hyper groomed try hards, which is not what true wealth or upper class people. The comparison still holds for illustrative purposes.

Totally agree and that's how they're perceived in England too with their ridiculous signet rings they just got 3 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So when Kate Middleton got engaged and showed the world her ring, she looked PERFECT - hair, outfit, teeth, smile, manicure etc. When Zara Phillips got engaged and showed the world her ring, it was extremely modest and her nails were tatty and she had a hole in her sleeve. This is the difference between strivers and the truly wealthy.

Also yes to being unflappable and stoic.

+1,000,000.

And if Kate had done that, she'd have been torn apart for it and all the "she's not worthy"/"she can never be a proper royal"/"the UK deserves better from their future Queen" sort of stuff would have begun in the media.

Kate Middleton knew she wasn't just marrying the love of her life, wasn't just marrying into a family or a social circle or a class but was marrying into a position and a role, and she obviously lived up to that. In general, people tend to expect their princesses to be PERFECT...from the moment of engagement on she belonged to the public and she knew what was expected of her.

Kate Middleton and Zara Phillips isn't really much of a comparison.

Exactly. The pressure is completely off of Zara Phillips to be anything other than herself. She wasn't marrying the future king, headed for a life constantly in the press, photographs everywhere. It must be pretty freeing to be Zara Phillips, actually. No one expects from her what they expect of Kate Middleton.

The pressure is completely off Zara because she's the queen's granddaughter. No one will ever say she doesn't look perfect because of her background, lack of resources, etc.. Kate, on the other hand, in addition to all the other factors, has to overcome being the daughter of a flight attendant and descended from coal miners (a big deal in the UK but if we're going to talk ridiculous class systems, they have one).

The media spotlight make the Kate/Zara example irrelevant. The real issue is what do people do when there aren't any cameras around? In my experience, people from "established" backgrounds tend to be much more relaxed in terms of what they wear/own -- old Volvo, ratty (but cashmere) sweater, etc.

It's also the way Kate dresses her kid -- he looks like a cross between Chucky, Louie Anderson and Little Lord Fauntleroy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saying "please" and "thank you."
Not talking about money, religion or politics.
Promptly responding to and reciprocating invitations.
Proper hygiene and dress.

All this. Also being gracious when faced with any situation.

Not bragging.
Not being ostentatious
Having grace

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Flossing and bidet

That's funny. We bought a house in DC for $325. It came with a bidet. My DD is 10 at the end of the month. She flosses morning and night and uses the bidet before her shower. (I do too). We are TRULY not upperclass-but... she can roll with the best of them. Private school, private violin lessons, ballet lessons and swim team. Well-traveled with a passport since she was 22 months old. 3 cruises and ski vacations-out west. I always think-who is this AA child going to marry.

So-not sure that the bidet and flossing make one upper class-at least not in my house-but it does make you cultured. We are well-rounded and cultured.

She's going to compete with much less "cultured" black women for the three black men in the area who have jobs. After six years together, he will reluctantly propose, after which he will waste four or five more years of her life before leaving her because she is not good enough. He will then marry a trashy white woman with horrible blonde extensions within six months.

Alternate ending: He finally marries your daughter at the 10-year mark, but cheats constantly with trashy white women. Your daughter is too embarrassed to leave because you have raised her to look down on single mothers and divorced women.

Alternate ending: She has standards too high to tolerate the snobbery and promiscuity of black men. She ends up single all her life like Oprah and Condie Rice.

[Anonymous]

^ Wow. Are you black or white?

[Anonymous]

I talk about money, does that make me low class?

[Anonymous]

Heavy drinking, sportiness, anti-intellectualism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's take Prince William and Kate as an example of upper class (not just upper class but Royalty).

I think that they are in the habit of always looking capable, competent, in control and are always well groomed and tastefully attired. Appearances are everything.

They quietly outsource - nannies, tutors, house cleaning, grooming, dog training, yard work, catering, party planning, interior decorating, etc - to the best pros in the business that money can buy. Every detail is attended to with great care and expectations are extremely high. They are confident, educated, well traveled and this makes them well spoken and interesting. They are highly competitive but are well mannered about it.

Interesting. I disagree. They happen to be royalty. You can spend and arm and a leg and still get awful service from your employees. Of course, you fire them, but you still have to screen them and consider all angles of their hiring/firing. It can be an issue just to have a manager to do so; and you have to be involved at least minimally. There are also families that are dirt cheap, and try to pay $10. an hour, if that, so the "help" can get on their hands and knees and scrub behind the disgusting stove. So, point being, having help it is not as easy as it sounds.

As for "competitive but well mannered"....I suppose. They are not resorting to trying to kick the hot MILF out of the neighborhood because the creepy husbands notice her. Or pulling every string possible and eating burgers every night, to get their not so bright son into Georgetown Day, so he will have a shot at college. So, there's that.

Let's face it, royalty is royalty - and you are not royalty.