Tags

No tags :(

Share it

Maybe you’ve noticed that this is not just a fashion blog. DHDVintage readers are thoughtful people who consider all sorts of social questions. That’s why it pleases me to introduce you to Coco McCann, our new advice and opinion columnist who’ll be featured here regularly. Her column, Coco’s Corner: advice and opinions for a civilized modern life will cover everything from etiquette in the digital age to office politics. We’re inviting all readers and friends to pummel Coco with life’s thorny questions to be answered in her weekly column. But first I thought you might like to get better acquainted with Coco.

Coco’s Rap Sheet

Name: Coco McCann

Born: Mt. Vernon Illinois, 1980

Home town: Lexington, KY

Education: B.S International Studies/Art History, Bryn Mawr, 2004.  J.D., Northwestern University, 2008

Marital Status: Engaged to Ryan Barnfield, a Chicagoland pediatrician

Occupation: Copyright attorney, columnist, and author of the best-selling book, Tacky: How Poor Taste, Bad Manners, and Brittany Spears are Spoiling America and What You Can Do About It

Why did you agree to write this column?

Agree to it? I lunged at it like a Tory Burch handbag at a rummage sale. Have you ever witnessed a woman walking out of the powder room with the hem of her skirt tucked inside her waistband? It’s embarrassing, isn’t it? Embarrassing because she is totally exposed to the world without even knowing it.

Frankly, I think that’s an accurate parallel to many modern behaviors. I’m not waging war on our free, open society. But it’s high time that we look at some of our cultural shortcomings and make improvements. People may feel very liberated with fewer boundaries and rules for behavior and manners, but that freedom sometimes compromises our humanity and our social skills. The rampant misuse of technology isn’t helping matters. People are simply becoming blind to how their actions affect others. There’s an old saying that good manners sometimes mean tolerating other people’s bad manners. I feel called to a more radical response to bad manners. I see it as a personal development/Keep America Beautiful opportunity.

What sensibilities will you bring to this column?

I was raised in a southern state where there was great emphasis on consideration for others. In my great-grandmother’s day, even the most common people had decent manners. Etiquette didn’t belong to the elite. People had common sense. Today good manners have become as quaint and rare as vintage clothes. I’ll be an advocate for restoring those values to modern life. We all make mistakes from time to time. I’m not going to skewer anyone for their lack of couth or consciousness, but I’m not letting people off the hook either. I may occasionally offend or embarrass people when they see themselves in the advice or opinions I give. But I’d rather that they get lost in thought–especially if it’s unfamiliar territory.

How did you get the name Coco?

I’m actually named after two of my mother’s favorite celebrities. My given name is Audrey after Audrey Hepburn. But Mom was also a rabid Chanel fanatic, so she nicknamed me Coco after the famous designer. I was just a baby, but it sort of stuck.

Favorite author: C.S. Lewis

Favorite actress: Audrey Hepburn. I love a dreamer like Holly Golightly.

Modern heroine: Madeline Albright. She proves that a fine mind and a properly arched eyebrow will take a woman very far in life.

Favorite meal: Shrimp salad on a bed of green lettuce

Fashion pet peeve: There is never a time that a woman can be fashionable in clogs. Comfortable, yes. But never fashionable.

Please e-mail your questions for Coco’s Corner to coco@dressedherdaysvintage.com  And watch for her answers in a future column. Her first feature, Anatomy of an RSVP will be published here within the next week.

Life is short. Wear the good stuff.