Column | Miss Manners: How do we clothing for the theater?

Dear Miss Manners: How does one outfit for the theater today? It’s our second appearance at the Met, and my wife and I both enjoyed our chairs.

In London, I wore a coat, and then after the epidemic, I wore trousers and a blazer. London is easygoing. Is New York uptight?

Snooty? Please do not use that term in any way near the theater, which you undoubtedly adore. People have been turned away from enjoying powerful music and stories about sex and violence because of this association, which claims opera is only appropriate for snobs who do n’t really enjoy it but think it conveys class and status.

Drivel. Historically, musical in America was large pleasure. Opera firms traveled throughout the nation, visiting towns with opera houses and crowded with arrogant audiences. How did they clothing? Possibly in their best on Sunday. Dressing up was a way to show appreciation and a sense of ceremony. Besides, it can be entertaining.

But it can also turn dynamic. And in 19th-century New York, the opera house was the center of the wealthy’s debate, not just about the wear and the jewels but also about who was permitted to purchase field seats. Normal people were forced to compete against one another, and they reacted by rioting in the streets.

But the idea stuck: that theater was a fairly crazy indulgence for showoffs, and not for fair traditions. Which explains why this again incredibly popular form of entertainment is currently in financial difficulty.

Use whatever you like. You wo n’t be the only one who dresses down, and Miss Manners may not be the only one who dresses up. And neither of us may sneer at the other.

Dear Miss Manners, I detest being asked what I do for job because I believe it to be the most lazy way to learn anything about who I am.

I am happy with what I do, the environment I work in ( academia ) and the people with whom I interact most frequently. I prefer that outsiders inquire about the causes of my last name, the shirt I own, or the newest food that made me giggle with pleasure when I’m asked what I do.

What might be a helpful error in the labor question? Although it is a popular discussion start, I am aware of it, but when I am asked what I do, my interest in life turns pale.

There is hardly anything left that some people do n’t find offensive. Even the weather is n’t safe, as it could lead to controversy about climate change.

Nor are your example. Questions about surnames may make it seem like someone is n’t really a person, and enquiring about purchases may seem like an inquiry into one’s financial situation. ( Miss Manners is completely perplexed by the one about giggling over meals. )

But as you say, the respondent is simply trying to start a chat. Thus began one, about whatever subject you like. Asked about your work, you could say, for case,” It leaves me occasion to garden, which is my favorite job”.

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