0:00:20 > 0:00:25'Once upon a time, most women aspired to be ladies.'
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29'A lady was easy to define.
0:00:29 > 0:00:35'She wore corsets and voluminous skirts and rode side-saddle.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38- 'She had impeccable manners.' - How do you do, Mr Ferris?
0:00:38 > 0:00:41'And above all, a lady knew her place.
0:00:42 > 0:00:47'That veiled Victorian ideal of a decorous femininity
0:00:47 > 0:00:52'was ripped away by a century of sexual and political progress for women.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56'The lady became associated with male oppression and inequality.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59'Her prim ways had no place in a world
0:00:59 > 0:01:02'where women could behave as badly as men.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05'The lady was, well, a bit ridiculous.'
0:01:05 > 0:01:09- Two ladies for tea, please! - Yes, of course, this way.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15'My name is Rachel Johnson
0:01:15 > 0:01:17'and I believe we've been a bit hasty
0:01:17 > 0:01:20'in giving the lady her marching orders.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25'Somehow a global recession and a royal wedding
0:01:25 > 0:01:27'have led to a renewed interested in all things ladylike,
0:01:27 > 0:01:33'not least as an alternative to the ladette excesses of the noughties.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36'Given the years I spent editing The Lady magazine,
0:01:36 > 0:01:40'you may think I would say that. But just look around you
0:01:40 > 0:01:42'at the way we're encouraged to behave and dress
0:01:42 > 0:01:46'and at who our latest style icon is.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48'In this film, I'm going to take a closer look
0:01:48 > 0:01:52'at this unlikely return of the lady
0:01:52 > 0:01:55'and find out what it takes to be one today.
0:01:56 > 0:02:01- 'From etiquette classes in how to be ladylike...' - THEY LAUGH
0:02:01 > 0:02:04'..to the reinvention of the debutante's ball,
0:02:04 > 0:02:08'and I'll even learn to ride side-saddle.'
0:02:08 > 0:02:11This is very Downton. It's very Lady Mary, this.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16'So is the lady revival part of a marked return to all things refined and restrained?'
0:02:16 > 0:02:19It's about bringing a kind of formality and elegance
0:02:19 > 0:02:22back into a culture which is really quite vulgar.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27'Or is it an attempt to fashion a more socially-conservative,
0:02:27 > 0:02:31'economically-secure future for young females?'
0:02:31 > 0:02:34I think it was a good thing that we got away from the lady
0:02:34 > 0:02:38and I don't want to see her back.
0:02:38 > 0:02:44'This is my quest to find out how the idea of the lady has changed over time
0:02:44 > 0:02:46'and what it means to be a lady now.'
0:03:03 > 0:03:06'As your self-appointed guide for this programme,
0:03:06 > 0:03:08'I need to put something out there.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12'I'm not entirely sure that I can claim to be a lady.'
0:03:13 > 0:03:17I don't, in all situations, put others first.
0:03:17 > 0:03:22I can be rude, I can be abrupt, I can be pushy.
0:03:22 > 0:03:28Am I a lady? Well, my husband defines me as everything a lady is not.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32He says his definition of a lady is everything I am not.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Which is fair-minded and generous of him.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38SHE LAUGHS
0:03:45 > 0:03:48'The original definition dates back to the chivalrous age
0:03:48 > 0:03:51'of fair maidens and gentile parfit knights,
0:03:51 > 0:03:56'when a woman of royal blood or high birth was given the title Lady.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59'It reflected her rank in society
0:03:59 > 0:04:03'and was the equivalent to male titles such as Lord.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10'But what began as a term of aristocratic respect
0:04:10 > 0:04:16'gradually evolved into something much broader and indefinable.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20'Being a lady became almost a job description
0:04:20 > 0:04:24'rather than a signifier of rank. It was a profession,
0:04:24 > 0:04:28'and like all professions, it had its willing apprentices.'
0:04:28 > 0:04:31What is it you want?
0:04:31 > 0:04:34I wanna be a lady in a flower shop
0:04:34 > 0:04:37instead of selling on the corner of Tottenham Court Road,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39but they won't take me 'less I talk more gentile.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43'Therefore there had to be compendious guide books and magazines
0:04:43 > 0:04:49'to set out what it took to achieve the exalted state.'
0:04:51 > 0:04:56"What is a lady? The question is not one of birth, position or means.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59"True ladyhood is of the heart rather than of the head..."
0:04:59 > 0:05:05'It all sounded rather romantic and, let's be honest, a bit vague.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07'So with these etiquette books to guide me,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10'I set out to see whether Pygmalion was still possible.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14'Is a lady to the manor born or made?'
0:05:23 > 0:05:27"The first attribute of a lady is habitual courtesy,
0:05:27 > 0:05:31"not only to her nearest and dearest but to everyone who crosses her path."
0:05:31 > 0:05:34'I'd heard about a company called The English Manner
0:05:34 > 0:05:39'that claimed to teach accomplishments to aspirant young ladies,
0:05:39 > 0:05:44'so I travelled to Cheshire to attend a crash course in flower arranging and table manners,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47'hosted by William Hanson and Diana Mather.'
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Hello. How do you do? I'm Diana Mather.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52- Hello, Diana. Rachel Johnson. - Hello, Rachel.- Nice to meet you.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55- May I introduce first of all William Hanson?- Hello. How do you do?
0:05:55 > 0:05:57Hello, William, I'm Rachel Johnson.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59And then our other students.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04So, one of the first things to teach you is a proper handshake.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07So, if you'd like to stand up please, girls, and shake each other's hands
0:06:07 > 0:06:10and judge your handshake and the other person's handshake.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13- What can you learn? - Rachel, I'll shake your hand.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Yes, that's not a bad one.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18- I would say just a couple... - Not a bad one?- Yes.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21- I would say there are a few too many pumps there.- Few too many pumps?
0:06:21 > 0:06:24OK, let's try again.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26- Hello, I'm Rachel.- Perfect.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28- You mean I went on too long? - Yes, a little bit.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31- The Americans would go on for seven seconds.- Seven seconds?
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Yes, but we do, "Hello, how do you do? I'm Diana."
0:06:34 > 0:06:37You're right, I do carry on. I carry on shaking.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40And it can be very nice, but in the end, nobody knows when to stop.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44It's just, "How do you do?" really.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49'This isn't a great start. Even my handshake is unladylike.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53'Would I fare any better in the next task, Jeffrey Archer balancing?'
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Now, the old cliche of finishing schools
0:06:58 > 0:07:00is a book on the head.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03We have Jeffrey Archer here, he's quite small and compact and easy.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06Now, why a book on the head?
0:07:06 > 0:07:09Well, young ladies were taught to glide
0:07:09 > 0:07:13because they had their full, long dresses and you shouldn't even have thought they had feet.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15They would look as though they went on wheels.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19This is going to be hopeless. I think I've got a pointy head.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21- Seriously, some people have. - I do have an egg head.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25The Japanese cannot do this because they have such pointy heads.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28- That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.- Right.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Look straight ahead. Relax. Relax the arms.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Relax the arms. A little bit faster.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37- That's it. Slight... - THEY LAUGH
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Now, come on, girls, heads up.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42That's good. Now off you go.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45'Deportment, the art of walking gracefully,
0:07:45 > 0:07:47'with or without a book on your head,
0:07:47 > 0:07:50'was an essential part of a lady's training.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54'In the early '60s, women were even being taught
0:07:54 > 0:07:58- 'the right way to get out of a car...'- Come along, get out.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01'..with or without a car.'
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Ghastly, isn't it? Now, you must remember
0:08:04 > 0:08:07that the secret of getting in and out of a car seat
0:08:07 > 0:08:11is to get your seat well back into the car seat.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Now knees together, swing them both forward,
0:08:14 > 0:08:18both legs together. That's very much better.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21'We've always described these rules of ladylike behaviour
0:08:21 > 0:08:25'as etiquette, a French phrase meaning ticket of admission,
0:08:25 > 0:08:27'that dates back to the 17th century
0:08:27 > 0:08:30'and the strict code of aristocratic conduct
0:08:30 > 0:08:33'devised in the court of Louis XIV.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39'Nowadays it's recognised that etiquette is good business practice, too.'
0:08:40 > 0:08:44Etiquette is the code of rules by which a society lives.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47And that changes from time to time and country to country
0:08:47 > 0:08:49and society to society.
0:08:49 > 0:08:55So what we are really teaching is international business etiquette that will take you anywhere,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59and also formal parties and dining.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02So, the way you enter a room is really important,
0:09:02 > 0:09:06that you actually capture your audience immediately,
0:09:06 > 0:09:08as William is going to demonstrate.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Here's how to leave a room correctly.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13You say goodbye to everyone, we're not worrying about what you say,
0:09:13 > 0:09:17you say goodbye to everyone, you walk up to the door,
0:09:17 > 0:09:19open it, say, "Nice to see you all. Bye-bye."
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Ah! That was great!
0:09:21 > 0:09:24And then close the door. And when you're coming in...
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Close the door, door goes behind you,
0:09:30 > 0:09:33and they've seen your face and you go and shake their hand, like so.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37And you've got the eye contact and they've got your eye contact immediately.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40And for something like a job interview, this can be really important.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43Plus that fact, it's most elegant. And funnily enough,
0:09:43 > 0:09:49the two executive women we've had on the course said that was the most important thing they learned.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53- That's really good. - Which is extraordinary considering everything else we taught them.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56But she found that so useful. She works in a male environment
0:09:56 > 0:09:59and to come in, standing there, using her space,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02making her presence felt, that's what it's all about.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Bye, Rachel.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08THEY LAUGH
0:10:13 > 0:10:15It's supposed to have been fixed!
0:10:15 > 0:10:18THEY LAUGH
0:10:18 > 0:10:21'I can't even open a door without breaking it,
0:10:21 > 0:10:23'so I can see the point of her course.
0:10:23 > 0:10:28'But I'm keen to know what these young ladies expect to get out of it.'
0:10:28 > 0:10:32And Hattie, are you here because you want to be more ladylike?
0:10:32 > 0:10:37Erm, I'm not sure it's a question of wanting to be more ladylike,
0:10:37 > 0:10:42I think it's a question of acquiring some basic skills and manners.
0:10:42 > 0:10:47But I think it's about gaining some self-respect and self-confidence,
0:10:47 > 0:10:51which William and Diana were speaking about earlier, for example, opening a door,
0:10:51 > 0:10:56and kind of giving you some easy tips and tricks to make your life a bit easier
0:10:56 > 0:10:58and a bit more comfortable
0:10:58 > 0:11:00and being confident and gaining respect
0:11:00 > 0:11:05from your partner or your friends or in a business situation, really.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09And Pippa, what do you think you're going to get out of it?
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Erm, I like the door,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15not leaving your backside open to everybody.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17And the meal, how you...
0:11:17 > 0:11:21I always get confused with which is my glass and which is my plate.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24But William was saying earlier that it's BMW,
0:11:24 > 0:11:27so it's bread, main and wine.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31'The rules that the etiquette gurus teach today
0:11:31 > 0:11:36'might prepare a woman for a formal dinner or a Japanese business meeting,
0:11:36 > 0:11:40'but Diana suggested such efforts reflected a more profound return
0:11:40 > 0:11:43'to all things ladylike.'
0:11:43 > 0:11:46So you think that this move towards young women
0:11:46 > 0:11:48wanting to act and be treated like ladies
0:11:48 > 0:11:50is to do with a sense of security,
0:11:50 > 0:11:54that we've got so far that we can now, in a sense, go back.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Because I think we are secure enough,
0:11:56 > 0:12:00we've got to high enough positions, we've been working as equals for long enough.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04Men and women are different, thank God. Vive la difference.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08And so we now should be secure in our own genders
0:12:08 > 0:12:11not to have to behave like men to be taken seriously,
0:12:11 > 0:12:13cos we know we can do the job just as well,
0:12:13 > 0:12:15to keep our femininity, and I think that's quite important.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22No woman can be really esteemed accomplished
0:12:22 > 0:12:25who does not also possess a certain something in her air,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28in the manner of walking, in the tone of her voice,
0:12:28 > 0:12:30her address and expressions.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40'So many of our notions about what it means to be a lady
0:12:40 > 0:12:44'seem to be drawn from period dramas and 19th-century novels,
0:12:44 > 0:12:48'with their haughty aristocrats and long-suffering heroines.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52'But as historian Emma Clery explained,
0:12:52 > 0:12:56'it's in the work of Jane Austen that the very idea of the lady
0:12:56 > 0:13:00'begins to be questioned and redefined.'
0:13:00 > 0:13:03It's very experimental in the way that it takes up
0:13:03 > 0:13:06the notion of the lady, and I think does challenge
0:13:06 > 0:13:11various, sort of, conventions of fashionable ladyhood.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18Pride And Prejudice, in the scene where Elizabeth arrives at Netherfield
0:13:18 > 0:13:23to visit her sister who's fallen ill at Mr Bingley's residence.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28And, of course, she rejects the idea of going in a carriage,
0:13:28 > 0:13:32she walks across country, she arrives with a muddy hem,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35the soiled slippers,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38and is sneered at for that by Bingley's sister.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41I could hardly keep my countenance.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45What did she mean by scampering about the country because her sister has a cold?
0:13:45 > 0:13:48- Her hair, Louisa!- Her petticoat!
0:13:48 > 0:13:52'And yet she's held up as a kind of counter-example
0:13:52 > 0:13:56'of naturalness and real feeling, proper sensibility,
0:13:56 > 0:14:01'by contrast to these artificial women in the great house.'
0:14:01 > 0:14:05Is Jane Austen playing with the notion that you could be a lady
0:14:05 > 0:14:09both by birth and breeding and also by behaviour?
0:14:09 > 0:14:12I think there's a strong egalitarian impulse in Austen
0:14:12 > 0:14:15and perhaps you see that very clearly
0:14:15 > 0:14:18in the famous scene towards the end of Pride And Prejudice
0:14:18 > 0:14:26where Elizabeth is discussing Mr Darcy with Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29So here you have a lady by birth
0:14:29 > 0:14:31staking a claim to Darcy
0:14:31 > 0:14:35on behalf of her daughter, another lady by birth,
0:14:35 > 0:14:39and on the other hand, Elizabeth saying that
0:14:39 > 0:14:42simply by virtue of being a gentleman's daughter,
0:14:42 > 0:14:46she has as good a right to the kind of glorious future
0:14:46 > 0:14:48which marriage to Mr Darcy might offer.
0:14:48 > 0:14:54So she's very much challenging the status quo in that way.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58It was the favourite wish of his mother as well as hers.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02While she was in her cradle, we planned the union.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06And now to be prevented by the upstart pretensions
0:15:06 > 0:15:11of a young woman without family, connections or fortune?
0:15:11 > 0:15:14Is this to be endured? It shall not be!
0:15:14 > 0:15:18Your alliance would be a disgrace!
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Your name would never even be mentioned by any of us.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24These would be heavy misfortunes indeed.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28Obstinate, headstrong girl! I'm ashamed of you!
0:15:28 > 0:15:31'In Austen's world, a title alone was not enough.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34'As manners maketh man, it took something deeper,
0:15:34 > 0:15:37'something spiritual, even, to make a lady.'
0:15:37 > 0:15:42It's all about developing this core strength, you could say,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46this inner strength which will carry you through all the privations
0:15:46 > 0:15:51and frustrations and annoyances which are women's lot in life.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54You make being a lady sound like an endless pilates lessons
0:15:54 > 0:15:58where a woman has to endlessly strengthen her moral backbone
0:15:58 > 0:16:02- in order to survive life.- I think that probably is how they saw it.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05I think there was an acknowledgement that it was pretty tough being a lady.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09'At a time when a dirty petticoat was scandalous
0:16:09 > 0:16:11'and bonnets alone were a full-time job,
0:16:11 > 0:16:14'one of the toughest challenges facing a lady
0:16:14 > 0:16:16'was the way she dressed.'
0:16:26 > 0:16:30"A true lady is always well because suitably dressed.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33"She sacrifices extremes of fashion to comfort,
0:16:33 > 0:16:35"puts her clothes on carefully and properly,
0:16:35 > 0:16:38"is scrupulously particular of her shoes..."
0:16:38 > 0:16:44'Today, the fashion press will preach that this season's look is ladylike.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46'But at the end of the 19th century,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49'ladylike was an obligation rather than a trend.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53'I wanted to know more about the strict uniform of the lady
0:16:53 > 0:16:57'in an age when there were gloves and hats for every occasion.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01'So I delved into the back issues of The Lady magazine
0:17:01 > 0:17:05'with the help of our resident archivist, Wendy Wilson.'
0:17:05 > 0:17:08This would've been the first reference to
0:17:08 > 0:17:13trend or fashion or what the aristocracy were wearing.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19So what does it tell us about what a lady was supposed to be like
0:17:19 > 0:17:22in the 19th century?
0:17:22 > 0:17:24I think it shows us, in these ads here,
0:17:24 > 0:17:29well-presented, somewhat over-the-top hats,
0:17:29 > 0:17:33- millinery was clearly very important. - Big.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35As was corsetry and...
0:17:35 > 0:17:38So those are the original Spanx, really. Do you see?
0:17:38 > 0:17:40- The speciality corset.- Absolutely.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Gloves, hosiery, corsets, hats.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47- And hair. - Hair pieces and hair tongs?- Yes.
0:17:47 > 0:17:52- To curl.- The maintenance that goes into hair is genuinely overwhelming.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55Was then. Still is.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59- High-class mourning! - THEY LAUGH
0:17:59 > 0:18:02I think there were huge constraints
0:18:02 > 0:18:06of the way a woman had to present herself
0:18:06 > 0:18:08to the public, to society.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12Women's appearance was very restricted.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15- Literally restricted by these whalebone corsets.- Yes.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Look at this.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21'As these endless ads for stays and corsets reveal,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24'being a lady meant sacrificing your freedom of movement
0:18:24 > 0:18:28'on the uncomfortable altar of sartorial correctitude.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34'Even women riders were hobbled by the most rigid dress codes
0:18:34 > 0:18:39'and there was only one way for a true lady to ride - side-saddle.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47'I assumed that the Queen was one of the last practitioners
0:18:47 > 0:18:52'of this most ladylike skill, till I heard about the Flying Foxes,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55'a group of women who are seeking to revive the technique,
0:18:55 > 0:18:57'even dressing in period costume.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02'Rider Sian Lowes showed me her moves while Becca Holland told me more.'
0:19:02 > 0:19:05She's actually riding my horse, Henry, this afternoon.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09He's 14 years old now, a very good side-saddle horse,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11very experienced.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13He's very comfortable, which is important for a horse,
0:19:13 > 0:19:16and he's got a very good temperament, as well,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19he puts up with us and all our skirts and hats and things.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22- And does she hunt side-saddle, Sian? - Yeah, absolutely.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25We all can be seen out on the hunting field.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29Always side-saddle. I always now hunt side-saddle.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32- Couldn't dream of doing it another way?- No, absolutely.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35To be honest, everyone always says to me, "Gosh, you're terribly brave
0:19:35 > 0:19:39"going out hunting side-saddle." But I think it's the other way around.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42- I'd much rather be side-saddle. - Is it safer?- Much.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Why it is safer? Cos you fall off one end?
0:19:45 > 0:19:49You're far less likely to fall off side-saddle than you are astride.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53There's very little chance of coming off a side-saddle on a good horse.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57- Whereas astride, there are lots of emergency exits. - I was always coming off.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00Whereas on one of these, you're actually really quite gripped on.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07'The very first side-saddle was designed for Princess Anne of Bohemia in 1382
0:20:07 > 0:20:11'and was partly intended to safeguard the royal virginity.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16'Riding side-saddle soon became associated with proper aristocratic behaviour.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20'And women who continued to ride astride a horse
0:20:20 > 0:20:23'were the subject of bawdy comment.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28"Pray, sir, is this to way to Stretchet?" one cartoon asked.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31"Shiver my topsails, my lass, if I know a better way."
0:20:35 > 0:20:40There was no question of a lady riding with a leg on each side,
0:20:40 > 0:20:42certainly in the Victorian period.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44For a start, it was about comfort.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Women didn't wear any undergarments at all.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52- Certainly in Ancient Rome and Greece, women didn't wear knickers. - Went commando.
0:20:52 > 0:20:57And if you're sitting on a horse astride with bare legs,
0:20:57 > 0:20:59it would actually be really uncomfortable.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02When we ride today, we wear long leather boots
0:21:02 > 0:21:06- and specially-padded trousers. - This is a total eye-opener!
0:21:06 > 0:21:09But if you're riding a horse with no knickers on,
0:21:09 > 0:21:14- basically, sitting with a leg on each side would be quite uncomfortable.- Chaffing.- Yeah.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16And also, it's a modesty thing.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20If you can imagine trying to get on a horse with a big, long skirt and no knickers,
0:21:20 > 0:21:22- and trying to get your leg over. - Or a short skirt and no knickers.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Well, if that's what you like doing, absolutely.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28- Let's say a toga.- Yeah, completely.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32There's a very good chance of you exposing yourself to all and sundry.
0:21:32 > 0:21:37So I've explained a little bit about the history, Rachel,
0:21:37 > 0:21:42but what I would really like to know from you is, how do you fancy having a go?
0:21:42 > 0:21:44- Yeah, I'm up for it. - Are you wearing knickers?
0:21:44 > 0:21:47- THEY LAUGH - Let's go.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50'Of course, a true lady wouldn't ever be asked that question.
0:21:50 > 0:21:56'But never mind. Time to go the whole side-saddle hog and get into costume.'
0:21:56 > 0:21:59Riding wear, certainly for a side-saddle lady,
0:21:59 > 0:22:05is actually very reminiscent of what men wore in the 18th century.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07And that's actually quite a theme.
0:22:07 > 0:22:12A lot of historical riding clothing comes from male fashion.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15And it's really interesting.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20Certainly when women were quite often wearing very soft, feminine clothes,
0:22:20 > 0:22:25- when they rode...- Domestically. - ..they weren't soft or feminine at all in any way.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29And they actually adopted very masculine styles.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33So, now we're going to get your jacket on.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38- And we shall do you up. - It's quite hot, isn't it?
0:22:38 > 0:22:42Yes. You will glow a little wearing this, I'm afraid.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45- A lady only gently glows. - Yes, absolutely.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49And then, last but not least, we've got your top hat.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53And, of course, you've got your veil, as well.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57These originally started off being worn for very practical reasons.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00When ladies were riding along the road, they would wear a veil
0:23:00 > 0:23:02to protect their skin from the sun
0:23:02 > 0:23:05and stop the dirt getting on their faces, as well.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08But nowadays, the veil has changed slightly
0:23:08 > 0:23:12and it's just become a very traditional, formal thing for a woman to wear.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16- Do you wear this?- Yeah, absolutely. If I was hunting for a day, I'd wear a veil all day.- Why?
0:23:16 > 0:23:19Just because you're not correctly dressed without one.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22It's just so weird. I feel like something out of Spider-Man.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25- SHE LAUGHS - Well, you look incredibly elegant.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29But you are definitely missing just one more thing at the moment.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33- A horse.- Yeah, absolutely. We need to go and get you on a horse.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36One, two, three, up.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39Up. Up you go. Push, push.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41That's it. Sit on the saddle with your legs over. That's it.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45- Perfect.- Seamless. - Then...- Where does that go?
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Put that leg over the top, like that, bring that leg into there.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53- And that is it.- That's it! - And then arrange your skirts.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56Bob's your uncle!
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Well, on the left-hand side of the saddle,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03there are two pommels, like so,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06and your right leg crooks over the top one
0:24:06 > 0:24:10and the left one tucks in underneath this one,
0:24:10 > 0:24:16which is the leaping head, and that's what holds you in your saddle when you're jumping.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19- So how does it feel, Rachel? - Very comfortable.
0:24:19 > 0:24:24Surprisingly comfortable. And do you grip the pommel between your knees?
0:24:24 > 0:24:27Basically, squeeze your legs together
0:24:27 > 0:24:31- and you'll be very, very nicely gripped on.- Come on.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35This is very Downton. It's very Lady Mary, this.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37Isn't it?
0:24:38 > 0:24:40'I couldn't help feeling rather queenly
0:24:40 > 0:24:43'while perching on top of Henry.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45'I could see why Becca and Sian were fascinated by the dress
0:24:45 > 0:24:48'and customs of a golden age of riding.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51'But I didn't quite believe you could divorce it
0:24:51 > 0:24:55'from all its connotations of female subjugation.'
0:24:57 > 0:25:01- I'm sure the weather will hold and you'll be able to return without delay.- Goodbye.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05- Bye-bye, Jane!- Goodbye, Jane!
0:25:05 > 0:25:08'So much of what it meant to be a lady
0:25:08 > 0:25:11'seemed to be wrapped up in notions of control and restraint,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14'with a dollop of sexual prudery.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18'If a woman straddling a horse was regarded as obscene,
0:25:18 > 0:25:22'imagine the utter horror a device like this caused.'
0:25:24 > 0:25:26At a time when women were discouraged
0:25:26 > 0:25:30even from sitting on see-saws, a contraption like this
0:25:30 > 0:25:32would've been regarded by right-minded folk with horror.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36The combination of saddle and friction
0:25:36 > 0:25:39was fraught with depraved possibility.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42Indeed, one French expert went so far to claim
0:25:42 > 0:25:44that women shouldn't bicycle at all
0:25:44 > 0:25:49because doing so would ruin their feminine organs...
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Oh! ..of matrimonial necessity.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56SHE LAUGHS AND RINGS BELL
0:25:57 > 0:26:02# Up to my house I'll show you what I mean
0:26:03 > 0:26:07# Well, I just got wise and built me a loving machine... #
0:26:09 > 0:26:12To conceal the fact that women were riding astride,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15they came up with something called a cherry screen.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19And even saddles were perforated to relieve so-called harmful pressure
0:26:19 > 0:26:21on female undercarriage.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25# Well, I headed to the tip and built me a loving machine... #
0:26:25 > 0:26:30'A society that considered the bike a threat to a lady's modesty
0:26:30 > 0:26:34'was not one that encouraged physical activity among women.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40'But in the unlikely setting of Dartford in Kent,
0:26:40 > 0:26:42'one lady set out to challenge this.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47'Her name was Madame Martina Osterberg
0:26:47 > 0:26:50'and she was a Swedish gym instructor with radical ideas
0:26:50 > 0:26:53'about liberating ladies from a strict dress code.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55'We're talking gym slips,
0:26:55 > 0:26:59'as historian Jackie Farr revealed.'
0:26:59 > 0:27:03She had grown up in quite a liberal era in Sweden
0:27:03 > 0:27:06and had travelled extensively in Europe
0:27:06 > 0:27:08and then trained in Swedish gymnastics
0:27:08 > 0:27:10before taking an appointment with the London School Board.
0:27:10 > 0:27:15The London School Board were trying to introduce Swedish gymnastics to schools
0:27:15 > 0:27:19because they were concerned about the health and physicality of children in schools.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21So before we had Madame Osterberg,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25what was the tradition of girls taking physical exercise,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28when they were deemed to swoon if they even picked up a saucer?
0:27:28 > 0:27:32There were no requirements for girls to take part in PE in schools at all till 1873.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36So these were very radical, unconventional images.
0:27:36 > 0:27:41- Yes. So this is at a time when women wouldn't be showing an ankle.- Mm.
0:27:41 > 0:27:47She and others found this attire quite restricting
0:27:47 > 0:27:50in terms of playing games and taking part in gymnastics.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54And it was a student, Mary Tate, who designed what we know as the gym slip,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57- which is in all these photos here. - What, a student here in the college
0:27:57 > 0:28:00- designed the gym slip?- Yeah.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Which is adopted for schools all over the world.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07- It's the emblem of St Trinian's. - Yeah. It's everything.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11But in its day, it must have been dramatically radical.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13- Yeah, radical and almost shocking. - Yeah.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16And, I mean, there's another fantastic example,
0:28:16 > 0:28:20although it was after her death, she died in 1915,
0:28:20 > 0:28:24in 1918, George V visited here for a demonstration event with Mary
0:28:24 > 0:28:30- and he was delighted to watch the girls do this.- Probably never seen anything so racy.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33Yes. However, she was fairly shocked
0:28:33 > 0:28:35to watch handstands in the gym slips.
0:28:35 > 0:28:40So this is a moment when we saw female sartorial convention
0:28:40 > 0:28:42just breaking apart.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Because you have the Queen in her long habit
0:28:45 > 0:28:49and these other women, who are in the uniform
0:28:49 > 0:28:52of what's become the uniform of school girls all over the world.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56And a significant profession. Yes, it's quite a pivotal moment
0:28:56 > 0:28:58this photograph represents, I should think.
0:29:01 > 0:29:03So what do we now owe to Madame Osterberg?
0:29:03 > 0:29:05OK, well, her legacy, really,
0:29:05 > 0:29:10the one that you'd recognise, is netball.
0:29:10 > 0:29:15This is a very early image of a game of netball.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18A Dr Toll came across from the States
0:29:18 > 0:29:21to introduce basketball to the students,
0:29:21 > 0:29:24and when he left, he didn't leave any written rules.
0:29:24 > 0:29:26And so over a period of time,
0:29:26 > 0:29:31the girls had to recreate and amend and adapt their rules as the college grew.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34So we know that this is an image of very early netball.
0:29:40 > 0:29:44'Innovations like netball and the gym slip
0:29:44 > 0:29:47'helped free women's bodies from the restrictive uniform
0:29:47 > 0:29:49'that had been the lady's lot.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52'But liberating their minds from stifling convention
0:29:52 > 0:29:55'and intellectual prejudice was another matter.'
0:29:56 > 0:29:59"Generally speaking, it is injudicious for ladies
0:29:59 > 0:30:01"to attempt arguing with gentlemen
0:30:01 > 0:30:04"on political or financial topics.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08"All the information that a woman can possibly acquire
0:30:08 > 0:30:10"or remember on these subjects
0:30:10 > 0:30:13"is so small in comparison with the knowledge of men
0:30:13 > 0:30:16"that the discussion will not elevate them
0:30:16 > 0:30:18"in the opinion of masculine minds."
0:30:22 > 0:30:25'The etiquette guides of the 19th century
0:30:25 > 0:30:28'would lead you to believe that a lady was someone
0:30:28 > 0:30:31'whose intellectual horizons stretched no further
0:30:31 > 0:30:35'than needlework and the occasional piano forte recital.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40'But all that would change as education for ladies began to improve
0:30:40 > 0:30:44'in the second half of the 19th century.'
0:30:45 > 0:30:49So I'm now driving to Cheltenham in Gloucestershire
0:30:49 > 0:30:53because this is the home of Cheltenham Ladies' College,
0:30:53 > 0:30:57which is the alma mater of my own grandmother.
0:30:57 > 0:31:02My father would've liked me to have gone to Cheltenham Ladies' College
0:31:02 > 0:31:05just as he would've liked me to have become a lady.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08But unfortunately, I had other plans
0:31:08 > 0:31:11and refused even to look round this school,
0:31:11 > 0:31:14so this is the first time I'm ever going to see the place
0:31:14 > 0:31:17which educated my own grandmother.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20She went on to Oxford, so it clearly did its job very well.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33# I went to school in Cheltenham
0:31:33 > 0:31:38# At a fashionable ladies' college
0:31:38 > 0:31:42# Where I learnt what's what and acquired a lot
0:31:42 > 0:31:47# Of exceedingly practical knowledge
0:31:51 > 0:31:55# I loved my school in Cheltenham
0:31:55 > 0:32:00# With a chestnut tree so shady
0:32:00 > 0:32:05# And I now embrace all the charm and grace
0:32:05 > 0:32:08# Of a typical English lady... #
0:32:08 > 0:32:12We have a desk here that would've been used in the 1920s.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14- Should I...- Yes, do sit.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18'My grandmother was a Cheltenham lady in the 1920s
0:32:18 > 0:32:21'and archivist Rachel Roberts helped me search for her
0:32:21 > 0:32:23'in the school records.'
0:32:23 > 0:32:26So she's a Williams,
0:32:26 > 0:32:30Yvonne Eileen Irene,
0:32:30 > 0:32:33- and there's her sister, Denise Madeline.- Yes.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35- One, two, what does that mean? - That means they're siblings.
0:32:35 > 0:32:40- So she was known as Williams One and she was known as Williams Two?- Yes.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44So my granny was 13 years 4 months
0:32:44 > 0:32:48- and she was in class 21B.- Yes.
0:32:48 > 0:32:52'Female members of my own family reaped the benefits of the mission
0:32:52 > 0:32:54'to improve the education of young ladies
0:32:54 > 0:32:57'that began here in 1853.'
0:32:57 > 0:32:59In the 1850s,
0:32:59 > 0:33:03generally it was a very limited education for girls
0:33:03 > 0:33:05and tended to focus on accomplishments
0:33:05 > 0:33:08such as music, dancing and the arts.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10And then why did that change
0:33:10 > 0:33:14and why was Cheltenham founded?
0:33:14 > 0:33:17Cheltenham Ladies' College was founded
0:33:17 > 0:33:21so that the girls could have exactly the same education as boys,
0:33:21 > 0:33:24and largely through the efforts of Dorothea Beale,
0:33:24 > 0:33:27the second principal at the college,
0:33:27 > 0:33:34she developed other lessons and introduced maths and science into the curriculum.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37'Beale's presence and her aims are still alive today in the college,
0:33:37 > 0:33:41'with her belongings kept as relics in the school museum.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44'Although she had little formal education herself,
0:33:44 > 0:33:49'she was determined that her ladies would learn more than a few nebulous accomplishments.
0:33:49 > 0:33:53'Beale was passionate about unfeminine subjects like maths,
0:33:53 > 0:33:56'even if they had to be taught by stealth.'
0:33:56 > 0:34:00Initially, there was a fair amount of opposition to the introduction
0:34:00 > 0:34:02of maths and science into the curriculum.
0:34:02 > 0:34:08Dorothea Beale got round this by calling science teaching Physical Geography
0:34:08 > 0:34:12because, she said, not many boys' schools taught geography at that date,
0:34:12 > 0:34:15and so few parents could object.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18There was also a good deal of biology teaching
0:34:18 > 0:34:21- which took place under the guise of botany, as well.- Oh, really?
0:34:21 > 0:34:25Did fathers, I assume, or was it also mothers,
0:34:25 > 0:34:29think that ladies should be protected from knowing too much?
0:34:29 > 0:34:33Yes. And also, it was felt that the rigours of an academic education
0:34:33 > 0:34:36would prove too much for the girl's physique
0:34:36 > 0:34:38and she was too delicate to cope with it.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41And how far did she want to challenge the orthodoxy
0:34:41 > 0:34:46that girls should just sit around until marriage sewing samplers?
0:34:46 > 0:34:50She wanted them to be able, eventually, to earn their own living
0:34:50 > 0:34:52with dignity, as she saw it.
0:34:52 > 0:34:57She went on to found St Hilda's College in Oxford
0:34:57 > 0:35:02so that her girls could automatically go and take degree courses.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05'A glance at the crowded honours board
0:35:05 > 0:35:09'reveals the revolution Dorothea Beale and her successors set in motion,
0:35:09 > 0:35:13'helping to establish the graduates of Cheltenham, at least,
0:35:13 > 0:35:16'as ladies of scholarship.'
0:35:16 > 0:35:20And do you call girls who've been here "old girls" or "old ladies"?
0:35:20 > 0:35:23We call them guild members.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25- You get round it!- Yes!
0:35:25 > 0:35:29# Give three cheers for Cheltenham
0:35:29 > 0:35:34# Where the chestnut trees are shady
0:35:34 > 0:35:39# When I learnt of vice and all things nice
0:35:39 > 0:35:45# Like a typical English lady... #
0:35:56 > 0:35:59'After learning more about Dorothea Beale,
0:35:59 > 0:36:03'I felt I'd done a disservice to the guild members of Cheltenham.'
0:36:03 > 0:36:07I simply couldn't imagine myself in an institution
0:36:07 > 0:36:11that called itself Cheltenham Ladies' College,
0:36:11 > 0:36:15so I was clearly prejudiced against it simply because of its name,
0:36:15 > 0:36:21much as people are prejudiced against The Lady magazine because it's called The Lady.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24So, you know, this is a double-edged sword here.
0:36:24 > 0:36:29The Lady will attract and repel people in equal measure.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32The word in itself will, anyway.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36'There was one ladylike tradition in particular
0:36:36 > 0:36:39'that had begun to seem hideously out of sync with the times
0:36:39 > 0:36:41'by the late 1950s.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45'The presentation of a debutante before the Queen.'
0:36:53 > 0:36:57"In fashionable society, a girl has no recognised position
0:36:57 > 0:37:00"until she has been presented at court,
0:37:00 > 0:37:03"which is equivalent to saying that so soon as she has arrived at an age
0:37:03 > 0:37:06"when the schoolroom may be quitted
0:37:06 > 0:37:08"and a more responsible position assumed in life,
0:37:08 > 0:37:14"a girl's first duty is to pay her respects to her queen."
0:37:14 > 0:37:17'For 200 years, the daughters of the upper class
0:37:17 > 0:37:20'were presented before the Queen in a ceremony that marked
0:37:20 > 0:37:24'their coming of age and the beginning of the social season.'
0:37:24 > 0:37:26The debutante was a girl
0:37:26 > 0:37:30who was generally a member of a fairly distinguished family
0:37:30 > 0:37:32who was presented at court.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34It was a mark of perfection.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38She had the mark that she was the girl
0:37:38 > 0:37:43worthy of being produced in the presence of the Queen.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53'I wanted to know more about this courtly ritual of ladyhood
0:37:53 > 0:37:57'so I travelled to Yorkshire to meet writer Fiona MacCarthy,
0:37:57 > 0:38:00'one of the last debutantes to be presented before the Queen
0:38:00 > 0:38:03'in 1958.'
0:38:04 > 0:38:08This is presentation week of '58?
0:38:08 > 0:38:10It was presentation week,
0:38:10 > 0:38:14cos there were a record number of applicants to be presented,
0:38:14 > 0:38:19because everyone knew that it was the last presentation.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23So really, below-age girls were being presented just to get them in
0:38:23 > 0:38:25before the presentations finished.
0:38:25 > 0:38:30So we were in these incredibly flimsy wild silk dresses
0:38:30 > 0:38:34and little hats and long white gloves,
0:38:34 > 0:38:39and it was a bit of an ordeal, of course, but everyone was keyed up with excitement about it.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41- Except you.- Except for me.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44I was a little cynical already.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48'As a girl from an aristocratic family,
0:38:48 > 0:38:51'Fiona MacCarthy had grown up with the knowledge
0:38:51 > 0:38:55'that her childhood would climax in a curtsey to the Queen
0:38:55 > 0:38:58'and a heady social world of balls known as the season.'
0:38:58 > 0:39:02I think in those days, in the late 1950s,
0:39:02 > 0:39:06girls of 17 or 18 weren't really expected to have opinions.
0:39:06 > 0:39:10There was never any question that I wasn't going to do the season.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13It was somehow built into my upbringing.
0:39:13 > 0:39:19I had shown signs of rebellion in that I'd actually got myself a place at Oxford,
0:39:19 > 0:39:23and this was not an advantage when I was doing the season,
0:39:23 > 0:39:28because I was thought of as rather a little bit peculiar, frightfully brainy,
0:39:28 > 0:39:33and frightfully brainy was actually a pretty rude term in those circles.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39Looking back on it, it was a very interesting period to be growing up in
0:39:39 > 0:39:43because these restrictions and these formalities
0:39:43 > 0:39:47were going to go, they were just on the edge.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51'What had begun as a ceremony designed to reinforce the bond
0:39:51 > 0:39:53'between the monarchy and the aristocratic elite
0:39:53 > 0:39:57'came to seem anachronistic in an less deferential era.
0:39:57 > 0:40:02'Even within the palace and even before the '60s started swinging in earnest,
0:40:02 > 0:40:06'there was a feeling that the debs had run their course.'
0:40:06 > 0:40:09The Duke of Edinburgh, who was an impatient young man in those days,
0:40:09 > 0:40:14said, "I really can't face another 400 debs curtseying to me,"
0:40:14 > 0:40:18so I think he was an influence in the thing going.
0:40:18 > 0:40:23And there was also feeling that maybe a few people
0:40:23 > 0:40:27were just being filtered in that shouldn't have been there.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29Princess Margaret, "Every tart in London."
0:40:29 > 0:40:33Yes, Princess Margaret was complaining every tart in London was getting in.
0:40:33 > 0:40:39So there were lots of feelings coming together
0:40:39 > 0:40:43to bring about the end of this peculiar ritual
0:40:43 > 0:40:45which had gone on for 200 years.
0:40:48 > 0:40:52Ladies were becoming a little bit ridiculous by that time.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56There'd been this rather satiric play,
0:40:56 > 0:41:00The Reluctant Debutante, William Douglas-Home.
0:41:00 > 0:41:05It had made people laugh at the whole debutante scene.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08Satire was beginning to come in.
0:41:08 > 0:41:13Ladies were beginning to seem, you know, just verging on the ridiculous.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16And then as the years went by,
0:41:16 > 0:41:19by the early '60s, they were totally beyond the pale.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21Nobody wanted to be a lady
0:41:21 > 0:41:24because they just seemed so silly.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29'There was no place for white gloves and tiaras
0:41:29 > 0:41:32'in a world that was in the active throws
0:41:32 > 0:41:35'of social change and sexual revolution.'
0:41:36 > 0:41:40It all changed rather overnight.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45It changed, I suppose, around 1960, 1961,
0:41:45 > 0:41:49and you didn't want to be seen dead looking like your mother any more
0:41:49 > 0:41:51and you didn't want to be ladylike.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54People's clothes had changed.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58And the sort of social differences weren't so obvious any more.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03'In an era when hemlines were rising
0:42:03 > 0:42:07'and women were challenging stereotypes and demanding equality,
0:42:07 > 0:42:13'the traditional lady suddenly felt like an unfashionable and unwanted throwback.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17'But still, she never vanished completely.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21'Subsequent efforts to update the lady met with mixed results.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25'In the '80s, wannabe debutantes were presented
0:42:25 > 0:42:28'not in Buckingham Palace but in a trendy London nightclub.'
0:42:28 > 0:42:34The beautiful people, the rich, the famous and the influential, arrive at Wedgies.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37I think what I might do at this stage, if it is possible,
0:42:37 > 0:42:41is to get each of the debs, if they would,
0:42:41 > 0:42:44to hold their plate up when I call out their name
0:42:44 > 0:42:46and eat a mouthful of their delicious caviar.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48Right? Would you mind that?
0:42:48 > 0:42:52CHEERING Right. What a lovely eater.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56'And now, after the vulgar excesses of the greed-is-good '80s,
0:42:56 > 0:43:00'the debutante is making a proper comeback.'
0:43:00 > 0:43:02# Lady
0:43:03 > 0:43:08# For so many years I thought I'd never find you
0:43:10 > 0:43:12# You have come into my life
0:43:12 > 0:43:15# And
0:43:15 > 0:43:18# Made me whole... #
0:43:20 > 0:43:23'In recent years, the debs ball has been resurrected
0:43:23 > 0:43:27'along the old traditional lines for a global market,
0:43:27 > 0:43:32'with showpiece events in London, Paris, Shanghai and Dubai.'
0:43:32 > 0:43:35# Let me hear you whisper softly
0:43:37 > 0:43:39# In my ear... #
0:43:39 > 0:43:42'Young ladies are once again being decked out in ball gowns
0:43:42 > 0:43:46'and briefed in the rules of royal etiquette.'
0:43:46 > 0:43:51You will obviously curtsey to anyone who is a prince or princess.
0:43:51 > 0:43:56Princess Susan al Said of Oman has also been invited.
0:43:56 > 0:44:00She is the wife of the brother of the Sultan of Oman.
0:44:00 > 0:44:04She is a princess. You will curtsey in the way that you have curtseyed
0:44:04 > 0:44:07to Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia
0:44:07 > 0:44:11and the other royals you have met during your year.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13So it's very, very important...
0:44:13 > 0:44:16'I was intrigued to know what this old-fashioned and ornate ritual
0:44:16 > 0:44:20'had to offer young women in the dark economic times of today.
0:44:20 > 0:44:26'So I went to meet the organiser of the self-styled London Season, Jennie Hallam-Peel.'
0:44:26 > 0:44:28Why would a girl who'd been through the London Season
0:44:28 > 0:44:32be any more ladylike than one who hasn't?
0:44:32 > 0:44:34Because I think it's a grooming process.
0:44:34 > 0:44:37I know I found that when I was a deb.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40Because the average 17-year-old
0:44:40 > 0:44:42is really quite scruffy
0:44:42 > 0:44:48and is really very much involved in herself.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52She hasn't been trained to look outside herself,
0:44:52 > 0:44:56to be aware of other people in a social situation.
0:44:56 > 0:45:00It's totally different with their friends. They can be exactly what they want to be,
0:45:00 > 0:45:03totally non-communicative with parents, parents' friends,
0:45:03 > 0:45:08but after a year of being a deb, you know how to...
0:45:08 > 0:45:11you know how to interact with people of all age groups
0:45:11 > 0:45:14because you're forced into those kinds of situations
0:45:14 > 0:45:16and you suddenly look outside yourself
0:45:16 > 0:45:20and realise that you need to make other people feel comfortable,
0:45:20 > 0:45:23not be wrapped up in your own little world.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26So, in a way, it's a growing up process.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28'That so-called grooming process
0:45:28 > 0:45:31'involves a year of etiquette classes,
0:45:31 > 0:45:33'social events and charity fundraising
0:45:33 > 0:45:36'for the 40 girls selected. By the end of it all,
0:45:36 > 0:45:41'they become ambassadors of a unique brand, the English lady.'
0:45:41 > 0:45:43I think I would consider us all as ladies.
0:45:43 > 0:45:48We all hold ourselves in the correct manner, we act correctly.
0:45:48 > 0:45:53There's nothing to suggest that we're not. THEY LAUGH
0:45:53 > 0:45:56- We try to.- Yes, we try.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58I think it's kind of a work in progress
0:45:58 > 0:46:01and hopefully doing the season and doing the etiquette lessons
0:46:01 > 0:46:03for when you're abroad and everything,
0:46:03 > 0:46:07they help you kind of reach that goal in the end.
0:46:07 > 0:46:13So do you find there's growing appetite internationally for the English lady product?
0:46:13 > 0:46:18I think whenever we go abroad, everyone wants to see total Englishness.
0:46:18 > 0:46:24So that's exactly what we give them, because by the end of the year, that's exactly what they are.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26Why do you think that makes them particularly English,
0:46:26 > 0:46:30- the fact that they have manners? - I think we have a code of behaviour
0:46:30 > 0:46:35which everyone abroad considers to be the height of good manners.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39And lots of other countries don't have that.
0:46:39 > 0:46:41But I think it might be courteous
0:46:41 > 0:46:48if you are being specifically introduced to a sheik from one of the Emirates or his wife
0:46:48 > 0:46:50that you do actually cover your shoulders.
0:46:51 > 0:46:55These emerging wealthy economies
0:46:55 > 0:46:57and the emergence of the super-rich class,
0:46:57 > 0:47:00what they want above all for their own daughters
0:47:00 > 0:47:02is for them to be young English ladies.
0:47:02 > 0:47:08Of course. So they are giving something,
0:47:08 > 0:47:11both sides are giving something. It's really interesting.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15What do you think they are giving? What do you think we're giving them?
0:47:15 > 0:47:17I think we're giving...
0:47:17 > 0:47:20They have everything financially
0:47:20 > 0:47:24but they don't have that indefinable quality
0:47:24 > 0:47:29which they term, not my term, they term as class.
0:47:29 > 0:47:31And we have it in spades
0:47:31 > 0:47:34and that is what is attractive to them.
0:47:34 > 0:47:38- And we can export it now, via our... - We can export it. - ..young English ladies.
0:47:38 > 0:47:43And at the same time, we can raise millions for Children In Need.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46- What can possibly be wrong with that?- It's win-win.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49THEY LAUGH
0:47:50 > 0:47:52'There was something a bit disconcerting about this idea of
0:47:52 > 0:47:56'a glorified trade fair of perfect English ladies.
0:47:57 > 0:47:59'So I was almost relieved to discover
0:47:59 > 0:48:03'there had been the occasional lapse in etiquette.'
0:48:04 > 0:48:07Have you had any huge bloopers with any of the girls?
0:48:07 > 0:48:10- Yes. Yes. - SHE LAUGHS
0:48:10 > 0:48:14We had a total nightmare in Macedonia.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18We went to... We were accompanied by Princess Katarina
0:48:18 > 0:48:25and we went to her former shooting lodge, which is now a winery.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28And we were given the most magnificent lunch there
0:48:28 > 0:48:30but, of course, because it's a winery,
0:48:30 > 0:48:34they also wanted everyone to taste all their glorious wines.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38And so each girl was presented with,
0:48:38 > 0:48:41well, first of all, there was going to be a seven-course lunch,
0:48:41 > 0:48:44and there were nine glasses in front of them.
0:48:44 > 0:48:49The one thing we'd forgotten to say to them is,
0:48:49 > 0:48:55"You do not drink the whole glass when there are nine glasses you're going to taste."
0:48:55 > 0:48:59Of course, they were just knocking it back. I was glaring at them
0:48:59 > 0:49:02and, of course, they were just completely...
0:49:02 > 0:49:04knocking back every single glass.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07So at the end of the lunch,
0:49:07 > 0:49:10- they were slumped over their plates. - SHE LAUGHS
0:49:10 > 0:49:13We had to drag them into the coach,
0:49:13 > 0:49:16- praying their parents wouldn't see it. - SHE LAUGHS
0:49:16 > 0:49:19So, yes, there are some things we forget about.
0:49:25 > 0:49:29'It's a funny old world where young ladies are groomed
0:49:29 > 0:49:32'for a nostalgic recreation of the debutante's ball
0:49:32 > 0:49:37'but still get totally lashed on a coach trip to Macedonia.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40'So it's not surprising that a book's been published
0:49:40 > 0:49:43'to help the modern lady tiptoe her way through it.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46'This important tome comes, of course,
0:49:46 > 0:49:51'from that blue-blooded authority on establishment protocol, Debrett's.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02'Given my own husband's comment that I'm not a lady,
0:50:02 > 0:50:05'I was keen to find out more about etiquette for girls,
0:50:05 > 0:50:08'so I met up with editor Jo Bryant.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11'The old guides offered advice on letter-writing and where to sit in church.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14'The new one was far more contemporary.'
0:50:14 > 0:50:18"The one-night stand, ONS, is a bit like fast food.
0:50:18 > 0:50:20"Tempting but with nauseating afterthoughts."
0:50:20 > 0:50:24"The sendoff is an ideal opportunity to steal a first kiss.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27"Set this up with a silent, smiling..."
0:50:27 > 0:50:31"If you're at his, the ONS is not over until the walk of shame,
0:50:31 > 0:50:34"going home in last night's dishevelled clothes."
0:50:34 > 0:50:37"Steel yourself for the aftermath."
0:50:37 > 0:50:42'Walks of shame? One-night stands? In Debrett's?'
0:50:42 > 0:50:44I think there was an element of surprise that we'd suddenly
0:50:44 > 0:50:48jumped into the 20th century, and I think Debrett's has been known
0:50:48 > 0:50:50for peerage and baronetage and titled people
0:50:50 > 0:50:53and all of a sudden there was this book about how young women live.
0:50:53 > 0:50:57We're not telling people to go out and have one-night stands.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00It was more trying to create a guide that was actually realistic
0:51:00 > 0:51:02on how some women do choose to live.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05And if we hadn't included some of the more risque subject matters,
0:51:05 > 0:51:09it wouldn't have been moving on at the pace that we really need to.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12And was this guide inspired in any way
0:51:12 > 0:51:14by the rise of the ladette
0:51:14 > 0:51:19and girls being potty-mouthed tramps who drank too much?
0:51:19 > 0:51:22We've been asked that a lot. It wasn't really a reaction against anything,
0:51:22 > 0:51:25it was more an idea that we looked at what we felt there was a need for
0:51:25 > 0:51:29and we felt that the role of young women now was actually quite a difficult one.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32We've got old-fashioned rules and codes of conduct
0:51:32 > 0:51:35and also this huge idea of a relaxed society,
0:51:35 > 0:51:39that we can go out and drink, we can have boys as friends,
0:51:39 > 0:51:42we can live in a much more relaxed way, even in a way that our mothers couldn't.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46And society and manners and etiquette was changing so quickly,
0:51:46 > 0:51:48we thought that we should take a snapshot
0:51:48 > 0:51:51and try and replicate a young woman's life,
0:51:51 > 0:51:53absorbing all different elements on how she can live.
0:51:53 > 0:51:57Did you have any particular ladylike role models in mind?
0:51:57 > 0:52:00Or did you find that difficult in today's market?
0:52:00 > 0:52:04It was very difficult. We spent a long time deciding whether we'd have a foreword to the book,
0:52:04 > 0:52:08and we actually couldn't come up with a single person we felt encapsulated
0:52:08 > 0:52:12all the different roles and situations that we talked about inside the book.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14We also felt it would stamp it with too much of a character,
0:52:14 > 0:52:18that when people were reading it, they might think of a certain individual.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21Being a lady is a sort of faceless ideal, in that case, isn't it?
0:52:21 > 0:52:26To a degree. It's more the idea that it's equipping of self-confidence.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28It is this idea that you can go out...
0:52:28 > 0:52:30As a young woman, we have so many different roles.
0:52:30 > 0:52:35We've got careers, some girlfriends, you might be a wife, you might have children.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38And all of a sudden, we have all these different hats to wear
0:52:38 > 0:52:40and all these different scenarios and we all do so much more,
0:52:40 > 0:52:43we socialise differently, we get asked to do different things
0:52:43 > 0:52:45through work or through our social lives,
0:52:45 > 0:52:49and all of us have all these situations where we think, "What do I wear? How do I behave?
0:52:49 > 0:52:52"Is it rude to do this? Is it right to do that?"
0:52:52 > 0:52:56So the idea was just to kind of present it as an accessible way
0:52:56 > 0:52:59of decoding all these different elements of our lives.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01'The old etiquette books
0:53:01 > 0:53:05'once laid out the boundaries a lady had to respect.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07'This guide seemed to offer women
0:53:07 > 0:53:09'a way of exerting some control
0:53:09 > 0:53:12'in a world of unlimited freedom.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14'So did the idea of the lady,
0:53:14 > 0:53:18'with its connotations of decorum and restraint,
0:53:18 > 0:53:22'offer modern women an alternative code of behaviour?
0:53:22 > 0:53:25'It was an idea I put to feminist writer Bidisha.'
0:53:26 > 0:53:30So why do you think there's interest in the concept of the lady now?
0:53:30 > 0:53:32I think a lot of things have come together
0:53:32 > 0:53:37to make women ask themselves what the future of womankind
0:53:37 > 0:53:41and the future of ladyhood actually is.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43On the one hand, at the most shallow level,
0:53:43 > 0:53:45you could say, OK, it's to do with fashion,
0:53:45 > 0:53:49that we don't like the kinds of representations of us that are out there in the media,
0:53:49 > 0:53:51they seem very cheapening, very objectifying,
0:53:51 > 0:53:54there's often more flesh than cloth.
0:53:54 > 0:53:58So you turn on music videos, you look in a tits paper,
0:53:58 > 0:54:01like The Sun or The Star, and you think,
0:54:01 > 0:54:04"That's not the model of womanhood that I respond to.
0:54:04 > 0:54:10"And I'm sure lots of women and lots and lots of intelligent men who appreciate women don't, either.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14"So what's another way?" And a reaction to that is to cover up
0:54:14 > 0:54:17and then you have this movement towards looking at those...
0:54:17 > 0:54:20You know those reissued books which are like rules of style?
0:54:20 > 0:54:22- Yes.- Etiquettes of style? - Absolutely, we've looked at them.
0:54:22 > 0:54:27They are brilliant because it's not about being this fake lady-type lady.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30I think it's about bringing a kind of formality and elegance
0:54:30 > 0:54:33back into a culture which is really quite vulgar.
0:54:33 > 0:54:37'Bidisha wasn't just advocating ladylike fashion,
0:54:37 > 0:54:42'she was proposing a wholesale reinvention of the lady.'
0:54:43 > 0:54:48I think that it's now divorced from notions of class and background,
0:54:48 > 0:54:51which is what it was weighed down with before,
0:54:51 > 0:54:53and we can do with it what we want.
0:54:53 > 0:54:57We're at a perfect time to subvert the idea of the lady.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00I think it has been very problematic in the past,
0:55:00 > 0:55:04but that if you look at things like fashion
0:55:04 > 0:55:08and new trends just in lifestyle, and also you look at culture,
0:55:08 > 0:55:13there's a great space, I think, to take back the notion of the lady
0:55:13 > 0:55:16as someone who is empowered and strong.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19So you're saying not only let's keep the word lady and the term lady,
0:55:19 > 0:55:23but let's multiply it by many millions, the number of ladies out there.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26We'd completely transform the word
0:55:26 > 0:55:28and we'd transform the definition.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31We turn it into something which is associated with
0:55:31 > 0:55:35just being a brilliant, strong, sisterly woman.
0:55:36 > 0:55:39'With now even an ardent feminist like Bidisha
0:55:39 > 0:55:42'seeking to reclaim the lady for a new age,
0:55:42 > 0:55:46'just how far had we come from that high Victorian ideal
0:55:46 > 0:55:49'with its taint of privilege and inequality?'
0:55:51 > 0:55:55A young woman without family, connections or fortune?
0:55:55 > 0:55:58Is this to be endured? It shall not be!
0:55:59 > 0:56:03'Women are no longer bound by strict codes of etiquette and behaviour.
0:56:07 > 0:56:13'We're no longer forced to conform to elaborate rules of dress and deportment.'
0:56:13 > 0:56:15A little slicker please, dear.
0:56:15 > 0:56:19'We can straddle horses and bikes with impunity.
0:56:19 > 0:56:23'So why might women still aspire to be ladies?'
0:56:26 > 0:56:29I think it was Simone de Beauvoir who said that
0:56:29 > 0:56:32you are not born a woman, you become one.
0:56:32 > 0:56:37So the idea that you have to become a lady on top of a woman
0:56:37 > 0:56:40is a whole added area of complexity and endeavour.
0:56:40 > 0:56:45'The fact that women are still prepared to take on that extra challenge
0:56:45 > 0:56:48'suggests Diana Mather might be right.'
0:56:48 > 0:56:50We now should be secure in our own genders
0:56:50 > 0:56:53not to have to behave like men to be taken seriously,
0:56:53 > 0:56:55cos we know we can do the job just as well,
0:56:55 > 0:56:58but to keep our femininity, and I think that's quite important.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01'Thanks to decades of advancement,
0:57:01 > 0:57:04'are women really so secure they can afford to revisit
0:57:04 > 0:57:07'the customs and practices of a bygone age
0:57:07 > 0:57:11'where girls curtsied to a cake and never raised their voices?
0:57:13 > 0:57:17'I think the real reason for the resurgence of the lady
0:57:17 > 0:57:21'is more likely to be that in times of economic insecurity,
0:57:21 > 0:57:24'society becomes more conservative.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26'And in a competitive job market,
0:57:26 > 0:57:30'the gloss the training lends a lady in waiting is an asset.
0:57:30 > 0:57:34'A little elegance and formality goes a long way.'
0:57:34 > 0:57:37If you're walking into a job interview,
0:57:37 > 0:57:40or even meeting the boyfriend's parents,
0:57:40 > 0:57:43or that kind of thing, it's just nice to know
0:57:43 > 0:57:46what the protocol is and what's acceptable and what isn't.
0:57:48 > 0:57:53'But in the end, I'm not sure I approve.
0:57:53 > 0:57:58'It seems strange to go backwards to white gloves and tiaras in order to go forwards.
0:57:58 > 0:58:02'But still, if a middle-class girl from Berkshire
0:58:02 > 0:58:04'can become a princess,
0:58:04 > 0:58:09'anyone with the right training can also become a lady.'
0:58:09 > 0:58:12- THEY LAUGH - Bye!- Bye!- Excellent.
0:58:12 > 0:58:14'Maybe even me.'
0:58:14 > 0:58:17# You're once
0:58:17 > 0:58:19# Twice
0:58:21 > 0:58:25# Three times a lady
0:58:26 > 0:58:31# And I love you
0:58:33 > 0:58:36# Yes, you're once
0:58:36 > 0:58:38# Twice
0:58:40 > 0:58:43# Three times a lady... #
0:58:43 > 0:58:46Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd