The gentleman does the ordering, fruit is ’embarrassing’ and never EVER leave a lipstick mark on a glass: 1950s dating tips revealed

Eating and restaurant etiquette have almost seemingly disappeared, however there are still a few  that apply till this day, in a copy of a 1950s Woman’s Own magazine reveals dating guide titled ‘How to Behave in a Restaurant’ complete with a  picture diagram

The story was recently covered by Bianca London for Mail-online in 2014 and wanted to share with you her article.

A vintage dating guide reveals exactly what first dates were like for the single women of the 1950s – and it seems that restaurants were a landmine.
The unearthed guide from the October 1950 issue of Woman’s Own sheds light on dating hurdles of the era.
The guide, ‘How to Behave in a Restaurant’, contains plenty of tips for young women, including this one: ‘The man always does the ordering, never ask the waiter yourself for anything.’
The magazine warned certain foods, such as celery, could ‘quite correctly be eaten with the hands’. However apples and pears should be approached with caution, because ‘fruit causes some embarrassment.’

‘The rules of correct procedure vary,’ the magazine warned. ”There are certain foods which are eaten in a manner entirely different from others. For instance, asparagus is one of the few foods which can be eaten with fingers.
‘On the Continent, fruit is always eaten with a knife and fork but in this country it is sometimes correct to cut the apple or pear into sections and eat it with your fingers or just the fork.
‘Cherries should be put into the mouth whole and the stones carefully placed on a spoon.’
And it wasn’t just dessert which could cause a problem, the magazine steered women away from fish because it could be ‘difficult to manage’ and when the meal was over, they were reminded it was ‘bad taste’ to leave lipstick marks on a cup.
Further advice suggests: ‘tipping your soup bowl away from you’ because lifting it towards you was the ‘height of bad manners’.
The guide also adds: ‘It is bad manners to put your elbows on the table. It is also very bad manners to powder your nose or put on lipstick at the table, and unforgivable to comb your hair at the meal.’
Dropped your knife on the floor? Heed Woman’s Own’s advice: ‘you do not start frantically hunting to retrieve it, ask the waiter to bring you a clean one.’
Although the type of Woman’s Own content has moved on since the ‘How to Behave in a Restaurant’ days, the weekly magazine say its mantra has remained the same since the 1930’s.