More Monogramming

Last Friday I wrote about monogramming and showed some fun examples of traditional and more contemporary monograms.  Monogrammed linens, barware, jewelry, even leather goods make great gifts (for someone else...or for yourself)!  But, before you put a monogram on something it's important to think about the style of that monogram and who it represents.

There are varying schools of thought about how and what to monogram and like most rules of etiquette, the rules of monogramming have been updated over the years. The style of your monogram should reflect you and there is technically no right or wrong.  

Traditional monogramming standards are rooted in a bride bringing a dowry to a marriage—items included in her dowry would be marked with her unmarried monogram. Things like linens and china would be considered to be property of the woman. The man's monogram would be used on barware, glasses, and silver.

Also, traditionally a woman would not be given a middle name with the assumption that her maiden name would then become her middle name. With this in mind, a woman's monogram most traditionally consists of her first, maiden, and married names. Many women choose to keep their middle name now, so in this case a woman can choose to use her middle name or her maiden name in her monogram.

There is definitely some grey area and the rules are open to a bit of interpretation and a preference for traditional or modern monogramming standards. With that said, it's always good to be aware of current etiquette about how and what you monogram.

So, who better to school us on the current monogramming etiquette than Emily Post's Etiquette, 17^th Edition? Here is my summary of the most commonly used monograms (using the initials of a couple named Jane Anne Bowen (married name Jane Anne Noel) and Thomas Ryan Noel)... 

For more information about more complicated monograms, such as hyphenated last names, women who keep their maiden names after marriage, and last names with capitalized articles send me a note or reference Emily Post's Ettiquette.

Sorry for the wordy post...hope you learned something new!  Happy Friday!