Keeping up appearances

Manners, etiquette and how to present yourself are still valuable assets, even in today’s electronic age says modern deportment guru, Belinda Alexander. Jonny Beardsall sits without fidgeting in one of her classes

Deportment teacher Belinda Alexander recalls swinging her own remarkable legs out of an open-topped car and on to the gravel of a school drive without a glimpse of her knickers. “The days of ‘come on girls, lift and swing… lift and swing’, are over. How to exit an Alfa Romeo without flashing your underwear is not something I concentrate on any more,” begins Alexander, taking great care not to sound at all like Rupert Everett’s
Miss Fritton in St Trinian’s.

“Many young people see old-style deportment as outmoded and rather a waste of time; they consider walking downstairs with a book on your head to be a bit silly. Having taught deportment for over a decade, my opinion is that they are half right, so I mix the best of the old with the new to make it daisy-fresh.”

Many schools ceased teaching deportment to girls in the 1970s when, finally, a place at university and a career was taking priority over making a decent match. Alexander, however, insists it still has a place, and that good manners and how you present yourself will never be out of fashion.

She stages fun-packed, one-day workshops up and down the country to a cross-section of girls and co-ed schools, both public and state. While good posture still matters – and watching her teach is hugely entertaining – she sharply focuses on how the world sees you, your selfconfidence and how to create a positive impression when you meet someone.
Girls and boys, she finds, are eager to work on their communication skills and do understand the importance of body language. They want to do well in an interview for a gap-year job, university or a career and would like to feel at ease in new environments and in different social situations.

Belinda Wilson, 26, now an advertising account manager at Vogue, concurs: “When I was at Queen Margaret’s, ITV made a documentary asking whether deportment was still relevant in the new century. The overwhelming feeling was that it was, and I really appreciate all I was taught.” Modern manners Mobile phone manners are also on the curriculum. “Most readily agree that phones should be off at meal times and that you shouldn’t incessantly blab away into them when, say, you’re on the train. But some young people need this underlining,” continues Alexander, who was a fashion model in the 1970s...