Who Is Etiquetteer?
Found sporting a bow tie and rapier somewhere at the intersection of Etiquette, History, and Humor*, since 2001 Etiquetteer has advocated for what used to make daily life beautiful, or at least bearable, and advised readers on how to manage 21st-century situations with older-fashioned aplomb. From ferreting out historical precedents -- from the history of "No Gifts Please" and Straw Hat Day to how early seersucker might be worn -- to the emotional minefields of weddings and family holidays, Etiquetteer wants to get to the bottom of things with some Perfect Propriety . . . and the odd bit of table silver. Offers of a Colony Special martini after five o'clock are seldom declined. If you want to know more about Etiquetteer, see his responses to the Proust Questionnaire and the Dinner Diaries Survey.
Since 2010 Etiquetteer has been associated with the Gibson House Museum, where he has presented programs on Victorian domestic life, mourning customs, and holiday traditions, as well as Failures in Brahmin Entertaining, Etiquette of the Brahmin Summer, and, with curator Meghan Gelardi Holmes and Carlos Lu, Elements of the Victorian Dinner Table. Etiquetteer's Repeal Day Celebration, an annual party to celebrate the end of Prohibition, is now in its tenth year at the Gibson House, and proudly sponsored by Ryan and Wood Distilleries. Etiquetteer has also presented on the history of Leap Day for the History Project, and Evolution of the Dinner Party 1837-1901 for WGBH.
Etiquetteer is always pleased to receive your questions about Perfect Propriety, which you may send here.
and WHO IS THAT MR. DIMMICK WHO THINKS HE KNOWS SO MUCH?
Oh dear. If your childhood safe space was your mother's copy of Emily Post's Etiquette, you might be Robert B. Dimmick. Southern by birth and Yankee by choice, Robert was influenced in early life by exciting examples of large hospitality, well-dressed ladies and gentlemen at church, and The Eight O'Clock Movie. The result: a 30-year career oriented toward special events, mostly in alumni relations, including serving on the boards of directors of the Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation, New England Philharmonic, and Back Bay Chorale. A proud graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, Robert received its Bravo award for volunteer service in 2013. Offers of a manhattan after five o'clock are seldom declined.
A frequent victim of his own double entendre, Robert is used to getting jabbed with Etiquetteer's rapier fairly often. He tries to keep that So-and-So quiet with chocolate.
*That Mr. Dimmick will occasionally steer Etiquetteer into the cul de sac of Golden Age Hollywood.