Style: June 02, 2017

STYLE | etiquette 85
THE ETIQUETTE OF
DINNER PARTY
SEATING
Victoria Tait gives advice on the traditional
vs modern dinner party seating plans.
THE PROPER RULES
If there are no place cards, the hostess tells the diners
which seat to take or requests they determine their own
places.
• The place of honour at the table is to the right side of the
host because most people are right-handed.
• Unless protocol is being observed, other guests should not
be seated according to their importance.
Beyond these few guidelines, guests should be arranged
in the way the host feels will be most congenial for
conversation. The most common are male/female and not
seating partners next to each other.
Once the meal has concluded, women and men
separate with women congregating in the drawing room
and the men left to play cards, drink and speak about the
ways of the world…
THE STYLE RULES
In the modern age, we figure a more relaxed approach is
appropriate, so we’ve come up with a few strategies to
keep dinner party conversations flowing and add a little
humour to the night.
Musical chairs: after your guests have finished a course,
each man must move two seats to the right. This can
spice up the night with a few risks involved; one a guest
might end up sitting next to their husband at some point,
which would be rather boring, or worse, their ex, which
would have a slightly different outcome.
When a person excuses themselves from the table
to smoke or go to the bathroom, you – as the host or
hostess – take their place. When they return, they must
take yours. This continues throughout the evening and
creates a fluid interchange.
Pull names out of a hat – it’s a fair, no-nonsense
way to make sure everyone has a seat and no one can
complain. However, we would only suggest this method
for small dinner parties, otherwise you’ll be standing with
a hat in your hand while the main course slowly turns to
blackened charcoal in the kitchen.
At the end of the meal, we suggest turning tradition
on its head by sending the men to the drawing room and
leave the women sitting round the table to smoke, drink
and talk about shagging.