Dear Ladies, being elegant is all about your attitude, especially when you sit. How can you sit gracefully and what posture should you have depending on your outfit? How to sit with a long dress, with a knee-length skirt or with a short skirt?
How to sit gracefully?
How to sit elegantly is a body posture mater. In fact, you should pay attention to several points:
1. Keep your back straight, lengthening your spine. Your shoulders, chest and waist should be aligned on the same line. You can train yourself in front of a mirror. Sit down and stand up, one of your side facing the mirror so you check that you maintain this line.
2. Hold your head strong and elegantly. Look straightforward, your chin parallel to the floor. Try to sit as if you had a book on your head, making sure it does not fall. (You can also do this exercise at home to feel the right posture).
3. Stand as close as you can to the front of the chair. Your back leg need to touch the seat. Then slide one foot back gracefully and sit down on the seat. Your thighs should hold your weight, not your knees.
4. Sit up straight with your legs close together and your heels slightly ahead of the chair. You can sit with your legs in front of you: angle your knees either left on the left or the right side. Never sit with your legs apart: it is an ungraceful posture that you must not adopt.
5. What about your arms? Keep them joined in front of you when you seat and place them delicately on your lap once seated.
Crossing your legs: how to do it?
1. Long dress
DO: You can cross your legs on your knees. It will give you an elegant and lengthened shape: the dress will create the illusion of one long leg. To accentuate this silhouette, leave a small space between the heel of the leg you crossed and your other ankle.
DON’T: Do not let your upside foot floating in the air, it will break the shape of your legs and give unwanted volume to the bottom of your body.
2. Knee-length dress
DO: Cross your legs on your knees but beware, it can rise up your dress and show your thighs, which would be crude. You should turn your body either on the left or on the right, facing the person in front of you from 1/3. Depending on the side, place the leg from the back on the front leg as Kendall Jenner did on the photo below.
She is correctly sited but it is not elegant to cross legs with a skirt as short as this.
DON’T: Do not cross the leg facing the person you are seating in front of. If you cross the wrong leg, you will show way more upside, will give the impression that your thigh is larger. Do not lay your leg on the other, it will change the silhouette of your legs and make them flabbier.
Her legs are not properly crossed: she is sitting on her right, and crossing her left leg on.
Lady Obama should cross the other leg to attenuate the shape of her leg.
3. Short skirt
DO: The best way to avoid showing your skin is to cross your ankles instead of your legs, making sure you keep your legs close together. You can point your feet gracefully as it will lengthen your legs. Finally, your legs must make a 90° angle.
DON’T: Do not hold your knees apart: keep them close together. Do not put your feet under your seat, it will show how uncomfortable your are feeling.
If you’re attending a social event and doubting on how to sit, simply cross your ankle: you will never make any mistake with this pose if you remember to keep your legs together.
Ladies, you are now able to sit properly and to adapt your posture depending on your outfit. Seating properly is one of the main skills an elegant and refined lady must master. Therefore, you must practice. You are welcomed to book one of our deportment and/or table manners classes if you want to learn more.
Follow us for more etiquette articles and class information
