Forget Online Dating - Let's Talk Bowing and Breeches

Just before Christmas I posted a blog (although I’ve switched everything over to blogspot so the dates will look all wrong) about the trials of being single at that time of year. One of the pluses, I mused at the end, was drinking wine and watching chick flicks to my heart’s content. Well, never let it be said that I’m not a woman of my word.

I watched costume drama after costume drama - Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Emma. I positively gorged on it. Before long all real men, who committed no other crime than to simply walk past me on the street, took on a strange, ‘not from this world’ type feel and you don’t need to tell me that that’s not a positive thing. I had willingly altered my own perspective and ruled out all men of under 300 years old. Kind of weird when you think about it (please don‘t).

So, what is it about women and costume dramas? Why is it we go so doolally about men in breeches?? I know that this is hardly an original concept but it’s no less true for it. And there seems to be a resurgence in interest at the moment. Just before Christmas, I had a conversation with a very good friend of mine about Rupert Penry-Jones in Persuasion. Nothing odd there, you might say, he looks great. But this particular friend of mine is just about the most modern woman I know. She gets away with the most cutting edge fashion, always knows the latest celebrity gossip and the music she listens too always seems to me to be beamed straight in from iTunes. Ok, I might not be painting the most appealing picture of her (for the record, she’s absolutely lovely) but you surely get the picture. She oozes modernity. Everything about her is effortlessly ’of the minute’.

So why was she sighing and wistfully talking about swanning around in an empire line dress!? Let’s have a guess:

Justification number 1. These classic stories always tell the tale of young men desperately in love. This leads us to believe that ALL young men of days of old were desperately in love, and that had you been there, you’d have been tripping over them every time you left the house. Dosed up on Austen as I am, even I’m not daft enough to believe that.

Justification number 2. It all comes down to manners. If only men realised the irresistible charm of a man with manners. Bowing and breeches do go particularly well together, but all the same, a millennium man could learn a thing or 2 from these guys. Even Mr Darcy, who was considered to be a bit of a pompous arse had a shed load of manners!

Justification (lame though it is) number 3. We love the dresses. Maybe if we’re all (I’m) completely honest it’s probably a bit narcissistic really. Frankly, looking that lovely and floaty all the time must be a dream. How could you be anything BUT a man magnet?! I can’t imagine why we ever changed.

In case you hadn’t guessed I’ve done bugger all in the way of online dating this week and, in fact this year so far. What’s my excuse? Is it my pride?? Prejudice??? Nope, just too damn lazy.
Final verdict for this week - must try harder.