What conditions did a girl of the 19th century have to fulfill before her first appearance (5 photos)

Today I will tell you about the conditions that a girl had to comply with when she was first published.





For several centuries in Russia it was formed as a code of honor nobleman, and ideas about how a girl should behave from high society. These ideals reached their apogee around the 19th century. century, and their confirmation can be found in many literary works.

The key to success at the ball is long-term preparation

The girl is published no earlier than 16 years. Until that time she usually stays at home, receiving with a governess family education, in modern terms.



Needlework lesson at the Smolny Institute. 1889

If the girl is poor or an orphan, then her education received at a public school. But anyway girl should be able to keep up a conversation, be well-read, draw well, play music (playing a musical instrument is a prerequisite of that time), be fluent in several European languages, be able to sew and know a few dances. From what impression the girl will produce at the first ball, her further reputation largely depended.



Choir of pupils of the Smolny Institute. Graduation album of 1889.

Dress Requirements

An adult woman could afford a frilly outfit almost any color and style, but the debutante had to be dressed modestly and laconically. The dress was supposed to be sewn only from white matter without deep neckline.

A blue or pink ribbon could serve as a decoration for the dress, a string of pearls, a daisy or a small rosebud in your hair. An indispensable condition for the ball, and indeed for being in society, were gloves, as touching anyone with bare hands was considered unacceptable.

The girl was always accompanied to the first ball in her life parents. They introduced her to their friends. Thus arranged a kind of bridegroom, on which gentlemen could take a look a couple. If there was no father, the girl could be accompanied by her mother or another older relative: by the way, accompanying a daughter to a ball without a spouse is not was reprehensible, unlike other cases where a woman appeared alone.

Shyness is not the same as modesty

Modesty at that time was the main female virtue. To stare straight at someone was the height of indecency: the girl was supposed to look through her lowered eyelids, talk in an undertone and a little.



But here it was necessary to observe the golden mean, so as not to pass for a proud arrogant. A girl was supposed to be easy to talk to but not talkative, affable, friendly and not embarrassed at every question, but find an answer.

Good manners - keep a notebook and write everything down

The girl could be invited to the dance more than once. Not to get into an awkward position by promising a mazurka to two gentlemen at once, it was necessary to write down which dance was promised to whom. Confuse the dance or Cavalier was a nightmare for a girl of that time.



Unspoken rules told girls how to behave in society, but young men also had their own unwritten code, but we we'll tell you next time.