Say please and DON’T rant on Facebook… these are the 50 things that show you have a touch of class
Shopping at Waitrose, covering up your cleavage and not drinking from the bottle are among the signs you are well brought up
HOW classy do you think you are?
If you hold the door open for others and avoid emotional rants on social media, you could be among the classiest Brit around, according to a new survey.
But if you swig your booze from a bottle and love a takeaway, you are lacking the touch of class that sets you aside.
Research involving 2,000 Brits has come up with the 50 signs of class in the modern era.
Avoiding text speak, being bilingual and maintaining great posture also made the top 50 touches of class.
There are also separate signs for men and women – with girls who drink from a bottle and display too much cleavage way down the list.
According to the study commissioned by European fashion brand Peter Hahn a classy female: “Wears dresses tight enough to show she’s a woman, but loose enough to prove she’s a lady.”
Men, on the other hand, should avoid football shirts as casual wear and stand up when ladies join the dining table.
For both sexes, saying “Please” and ‘Thank you” mark out your class, as does shopping at Waitrose, good posture and knowing more poetry than “I wandered lonely as a cloud.”
But even if you can’t check off more than a few on the list, you are in good company.
Only one in 10 Brits and confident they are classy while an honest 36 per cent admit to having no class.
But nearly three quarters believe that a touch of class is an important trait, but also think that manners, polite behaviour and fashion sense are dying out in modern times.
We also get classier as we get older, according to the survey and the peak of classiness is 45.
But 86 per cent of Brits believe that people lack class nowadays.
THE 50 SIGNS OF CLASS
- Says please and thank you
- Is well-read
- Has good table manners
- Doesn’t swear
- Knows what cutlery to use
- Is discreet
- Doesn’t start eating a meal until everyone else at the table has their food
- Holds doors open
- Never drinks directly from the bottle
- Doesn’t use text speak.
7Text speak is a bad signCredit: Getty Images
- Avoids emotional Facebook or Twitter rants
- Gives up a seat on public transport for someone else
- Able to speak more than one language
- Has great posture
- Doesn’t gossip
- Brings gifts for hosts when attending events
- Shops in Waitrose
- Doesn’t get drunk
- Knows correct way to pour a bottle of wine
- Places a napkin on lap when eating
- Doesn’t discuss money or how much things cost
- Knows more than two types of wine
- Knows correct way to hold a wine glass
- Doesn’t wear football strips as casual wear
- Is a good listener
- Doesn’t watch reality TV
- Knows Mozart from Beethoven
- Owns a timeless pair of shoes
- Is up to date with current affairs
- Has good culinary knowledge
- Has National Trust membership
- Only gives compliments when they actually mean it
- Attends the Chelsea Flower Show
- Prefers Champagne to Prosecco
- Pays the bill
- Isn’t easily flustered
- Doesn’t get into arguments
7Opening doors for others is a good trait for menCredit: Getty Images
- Never borrows money from friends
- Knows more poetry than ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ from William Wordsworth’s ‘Daffodils’
- Never forgets a meeting
- Doesn’t fill the wine glass to the top
- Uses the word ‘supper’
- Rarely eats takeaways
- Listens to Today on Radio 4
- Avoids drinking instant coffee
- Is a generous tipper
- Knows how to flirt properly
- Never caught running for the bus or train
- Arrives fashionably late to a party (but not too late)
- Owns a pedigree dog
RELATED STORIES
TOP 10 SIGNS OF A CLASSY WOMAN:
- Wears subtle make-up
- Ages gracefully
- Confidence
- Never drinks directly from the bottle
- Accepts compliments graciously
- Doesn’t wear heels higher than she can walk in
- Always smells nice
- Doesn’t downplay her intelligence
- Reveals cleavage sparingly
- Wears dresses tight enough to show she’s a woman, but loose enough to prove she’s a lady
TOP 10 SIGNS OF A CLASSY MAN:
- Respectful of women
- Holds the door open for others
- Takes pride in his appearance
- Stands up when women join the dining table
- Takes his hat off when indoors and in the company of women
- Has a firm handshake
- Knows when to admit he’s wrong
- Owns a tailored suit
- Always smells nice
- Wears crisp white shirts
7Football shirts are not acceptable as casual wearCredit: Getty Images
