No Nice Girl Swears : Notes on High Society, Social Graces, and Keeping Your Wits from a Jazz-Age Debutante

No Nice Girl Swears is the original, trailblazing guide to the “new etiquette,” brimming with timeless advice on style, romance, and grace, and finally back in print 90 years after its original release. Forewords by today’s editor in chief of Town & Country and the editor in chief of Vogue from 1914–1952.

Heralded as the go-to guide for soon-to-be debutantes and ladies who’d recently made their debut, No Nice Girl Swears ushered in a “new etiquette” on its release in 1933, much to the shock—and delight—of the high-society crowd of jazz-age America. Today it is equal parts time capsule (how to dress for dinner on your transatlantic voyage) and timeless missive (how to ditch a date who’s had a few too many).

Worldly-wise socialite Alice-Leone Moats advises on everything from style and dating to travel and party throwing, and weeds through the dos and don’ts of weddings, weekend trips, and the workplace. Her wisdom, though steeped in the charm of her time, endures: treat others—and yourself—with respect, always put your best foot forward, and don’t throw a party without champagne. It’s just good manners.

This keepsake volume includes a new foreword from Stellene Volandes, the editor in chief of Town & Country, the original foreword from Edna Woolman Chase, Vogue’s editor in chief from 1914–1952, and a contextualizing preface. It encourages consideration of what etiquette rules we’d like instilled today, and shows how Moats helped usher in a world where women could speak—and act—freely.