Mrs. Hancock's Blog

We believe everyone needs and can use our training. Interestingly enough, we do have as many young men and boys in our classes as we do girls, which makes us very happy, of course. But what about Adult Men?

Don't be shy, guys! This is the place to ask all those questions you've been saving up for years and years. Choose a male teacher or a female; we have both. Get in the mix and get your level of polish to a high shine. We're happy to work with you one on one or in a group setting. One class or several.

We have Gentlemen call from time to time asking questions and looking for assistance in many areas; from business etiquette to dating etiquette, from choosing wardrobe to that first dinner with the Parents-In-Law-to-be. We'll help with your confidence and self-esteem level, too and this bodes well with women, trust us. (My Husband was the first and only man I dated who knew the proper way to eat soup. Needless to say: I married him).

We look forward to hearing from you! Call the office, anytime.

As we age, we tend to wear our favorite things versus wearing things that are most flattering for our body shapes and our age. One of the biggest mistakes women of age make is wearing things that are too short, too tight and too skimpy. Let's leave those clothes for the 20-35 crowd, shall we?

If your arms are showing those dreadful signs of age, cover them. If your legs look a lot different (and not in a good way) than they did when you were 35, cover them a bit more. You get the picture; doing this will actually make you look younger!

My measurement for a decision is this: "Should I wear this....?" If I have to ask the question (in whatever regard), the answer is no. Am I 100% on the money? No, I too, make mistakes from time to time; the gremlin steps in and in the end I end up unhappy about my choice, either as I'm walking out the door or once I arrive.

A great place for assistance is InStyle Magazine. They have a fabulous section in each issue where they take an outfit and style it for a 20 year old, a 30 year old and a 40 year old. This really helps! I tear them out and keep them, not only for the ideas of how to put together an outfit, but also to remind myself 'what not to wear'.

Getting older is something we deal with (if we're fortunate). Take the next step in your wardrobe life and decide that the missteps you've taken in the past with your clothing choices are now indeed behind you!

So we suppose you're thinking: Why is there a "Cleaning" button on this website? What does that have to do with Etiquette and Wedding Planning. Good question. Here's your answer. Cleanliness is something we believe in wholeheartedly at Mrs. Hancock's and as we are the 'real deal' in every regard; it makes a lot of sense. We do teach Home Economics, after all!

So, if you're going to trust your Children with us, why wouldn't you put your Home in our hands? We think it a perfect fit for our business.

However, our newest Division is going to have to wait a bit. It's the economy...and as we believe most people these days are not only going without, they're completely cutting back and we think that's a good thing. So one day, when you're feeling better and you believe it's time to become a consumer of non-essential services again, we'll still be here.

Please keep us in mind won't you? We assure you our Staff will treat you with 'kid gloves' when the time is right!

Smile.

“Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.” -- Janet Lane

It never ceases to amaze me how the simple things that contribute to winning a title in a pageant competition seem to fall by the wayside when the critical judging time begins. It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned veteran of the pageant world or a newcomer.

When you’re a contestant, your choreographers and directors keep telling you to smile. Smile! It is such a simple thing to do and yet so powerful. The last thing a judge wants to do is look at a girl who is not smiling or God forbid, frowning. It happens. Depending on the pageant, most judges are smiling AT YOU. Smile back. It goes a long way.

Okay – so now that you know to smile, let’s practice smiling. It sounds a little silly, but lets take a look at that smile in the mirror. As a judge, we’re looking for your ‘natural’ smile. Is your smile connected to your eyes? By that, I mean is there a twinkle in your eye or are your lips frozen in place in a mock smile? Fake smiles or those that just are plastered on your face without any thought or heart behind them can just as easily hurt your score as if you did not smile at all. This takes some practice – but not much. The thing to remember is to relax and have fun.

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We work with a lot of kids, tweens and teens. The biggest 'problem' with see in some of them is that they can either be pretty spoiled or simply uncommunicative overall. Many lack respect for siblings and adults and haven't been taught how to navigate the waters at home or in public towards better behavior. Manners education helps; so does character education. Interestingly enough most kids DO know right from wrong. Ask any question related to the subject of "what's the right thing to do in this situation?" and they'll answer correctly 9 times out of 10". It's an odd phenonmenon; they understand but they don't or can't put it into action. The true sign of a child (at any age!). We find what most children truly don't understand is that their behavior, positive or negative, affects everyone around them. What they also don't seem or want to understand is that daily life is not 'all about them'. We know sometimes Parents tend to be push-overs and instead of insisting upon respect and obedience, you might roll over because you're too tired to fight the fight. Many young parents lack parenting skills and many are working through guilt with their Children for any number of reasons.

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