PILLOW TALK Tips from Doris Day
I love wacky marketing tactics, and this ploy from Universal (with Doris Day’s name attached) is certainly one of them.
Billed as ‘Getting Through to Him’, in the January 1960 issue
of Photoplay, Doris shares some tips for getting the most out of
your party line.
In the article, she shares what you should do when a man calls
you up and asks: “Would you like to go out for dinner?” and “How about
meeting some of my friends?” and “Would you like to come and meet my
parents?” and “What are you doing Christmas Day?” and “Can you go
to the Christmas formal?”
According to Doris, “Boys want their girls to be natural.
Do you remember what Rock Hudson said to me in Pillow Talk? ‘You give me
a real warm feeling, like a potbellied stove on a frosty morning.’ That’s what
a fellow likes—warmth.”
If your gentleman caller—who may or may not be pretending to
be a rich, shy Texan—asks you to meet his friends, Doris advises that you
shouldn’t be jealous of them or show off. Don’t be too possessive or too affectionate,
but (for some reason) be able to name six popular records or the top books that
men are interested in reading.
If you’re asked to meet your date’s parents, you should act “interested
when mother shows her prized antique chair” and be respectful. Definitely
don’t talk too much, be too opinionated if your opinions differ from theirs, giggle,
or dress ‘too fancy.’
Tis the season and all, so if your gentleman asks what you’re
doing on Christmas Day, invite him over to your house and make sure you have an
inexpensive gift ready for him. Something like a subscription to “sports and
news magazines,” or “bulky Shetland mufflers [Ed note: I had
to look up what this was. Spoiler: it’s a scarf made of Shetland wool.]; records;
bright-colored socks that you’ve knitted yourself; something for his car [Ed
note: not a Shetland muffler, which I assumed were auto-related…]; cufflinks,”
or “anything he’s ever mentioned to you.”
If you’re in high school and he asks you to the Christmas
formal—or you’re an adult and he asks you to his work party—Doris says that you
should sound “friendly on the phone and make him feel glad he called.” You
should absolutely tell him what colour your dress is, but make sure it’s not
one of those “fussy frills and bows” dresses will all the bells and whistles.
Wear nice perfume but don’t “reek”. And don’t fast dance with him if he doesn’t
know the steps. You should sit out a fast dance gladly and don’t tell your girlfriends
later that he can’t do it.
And most importantly, if you’re asked out to dinner, Doris has
a host of tips. I’ll let her take this one: “Boys like a girl who wears a
small hat or veil and gloves; lets them open doors; waits for the headwaiter to
show her to a table, then follows ahead of her date (but lets her date lead if
there’s no waiter); knows the waiter will hold her chair and help with her coat
(and knows only men check their coats); keeps her gloves and handbag on her lap
or an empty chair; knows the difference between ‘dinner’ (fixed price for all
courses) and ‘a la carte’ (each course is separate, so it costs more); doesn’t
order the most expensive dish but takes her price cue from their suggestions;
tells her date her order so he can tell the waiter; is adventurous enough to
try foreign foods; never fixes her hair or makeup at the table.”
Got all that?
__
screenshot by me from January 1960 Photoplay
Comments
Post a Comment