What makes a modern gentleman? Holding doors open? Giving up your seat on the Tube in the middle of rush hour? Looking halfway decent in black tie? According to Country Life magazine, it’s slightly harder work than that. The publication, beloved by the upper classes, has released its latest list of the qualities, traits and behaviours that prove someone is a true gent, edited by the etiquette expert William Hanson.
Take a glance at the magazine’s 39 suggestions and some make perfect sense. Punctuality, being happy to carry a woman’s handbag without having some sort of crisis of masculinity, and not including their dog’s name when they sign Christmas cards – these are all traits to be applauded (and rarer than you might think, too). And frankly, as snobbish as it may sound, I have to agree with Hanson’s declaration that a gentleman “doesn’t wear tank tops to the gym” (I would have also added that they wouldn’t make off-putting noises while bench pressing, either).
