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The Art of Southern Charm

by habituallychic

04 . 04 . 17

00-holding-southern-charm-patricia-altschul-life-lessonsEvery reality show has a break out star and Patricia Altschul has become the grande dame of Bravo’s Southern Charm. The fourth season just debuted last night. Her bon mots and advice are legendary so it’s no surprise that she has a book on etiquette and luxurious living about to be released. The Art of Southern Charm will be available on April 18th which happens to be my birthday and two days after Patricia’s birthday. I should have known that someone who would call a fellow cast member a “shameless strumpet” is also an Aries.

Vogue just posted this fun list that I thought was worth reposting today. I’d add that the most important lesson is to not take yourself or this list too seriously.

10 Lessons Southern Charm’s Patricia Altschul Has Learned After Three Marriages, a Renovation, and Becoming the Breakout Star of a Reality Show.

1. Don’t forget to put your face on!
Today, women run around in their sweatsuits. Their hair is uncombed, and they look just ghastly. When you look like you’ve just been shot out of a cannon you can’t be attractive to the opposite sex, or any sex for that matter.

2. Makeup is important, but you need a light touch.
You don’t want to look like the Whore of Babylon. In case you don’t know who she is, the Whore of Babylon was “the mother of harlots and abominations of the Earth” in the Bible’s Book of Revelation. Apparently, she was a flashy, overdone sort, with tacky makeup and loud clothes—not someone you want to emulate.

3. Plastic surgery certainly isn’t off the table, but only make subtle improvements.
Some plastic surgery can be a boon, but you don’t want to look as if you’ve been through a wind tunnel, where everything is stretched so tight you’re begging for slack. Cosmetic surgery and injections should not make a person look like a reject from the cast of La Cage aux Folles.

4. Nothing beats a million-dollar smile.
If you are making an investment in your appearance, put your money where your mouth is. Clean, white teeth will always make you look pretty and young. It is so important to take care of your teeth. Explore straightening, bonding, whitening . . . anything you can do for a better smile.

5. There’s something to be said for keeping the same hairstyle.
Truman Capote said that if a woman maintains the same hairstyle over the years, she will never age. This philosophy applies to hair color, too. If you were a brunette, stay with your natural color as long as you can remember it! Too many women drift into being blonde or redhead as they get older, when their skin tone is screaming for a more authentic shade. If you’re not a natural blonde, think twice about adding too many highlights; they can strip your hair and make it dry and brittle.

6. Curate your wardrobe.
Don’t buy trendy clothes. Instead of having an excess of lesser “options,” add one really good piece to your collection every year.

7. Refuse to wear ripped jeans.
They make a woman look as if she has been dragged through a thorny hedge backward.

8. Get a good tailor.
Most people don’t know this but a good tailor can make a garment look as if it were made for you. Simple alterations—a slight pad to offset uneven shoulders, a hem adjustment, a seam taken in or let out—can make all the difference in the world. Bulges and pooches are never a good look, so buy the correct size and then let a tailor customize your clothing to minimize your flaws.

9. Don’t schlep.
Evening bags should always be small—a little clutch, for example—holding lipstick, money, keys, and if you can squeeze it in, a cell phone. Just the essentials.

10. Know the news.
Always stay up to speed on current events. I believe in Southern belles, not dumb belles, wherever they’re from!