In Russia, there were times when both the Russian word and the Russian face, according to the classic, were not easy to meet, of course, in the world of light and demi-light. Then our language was replenished with many French borrowings. In the twentieth century, they were mostly abandoned, they can still be found in the works of Chekhov, Staritsky, Bunin and other classics of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but they are used rather with an ironic tinge. Today, foreign words are again in vogue, in particular those used by our ancestors before the revolution. Making a remark about the inappropriateness of some object in a given setting, designers use the expression "not comme il faut." What does this phrase actually mean?
Not right
French expression comme il faut is translated as "the right way." In combination with the negative Russian “not”, it acquires the opposite meaning (not comme il faut). Of course, this is not about grammatical errors or traffic violations, but about etiquette. Unfortunately, we often have problems with this - the lack of a system for instilling aestheticconcepts observed for many decades. To be honest, in emphasizing the technical side of education, our universities completely ignored such an important part of education as the ability to behave, speak correctly, eat, dress, and other moments that were quite natural in the old days. No one is surprised by a man with an engineering degree (sometimes more than one), munching at the table, wearing a tie that does not match his shirt and suit, not knowing how to invite a lady to a dance. It is especially depressing if the officers are not trained in the norms of behavior, however, other specialists are also not always encouraging. They are not to blame, just no one explained to them what comme il faut is.
Soviet etiquette
People of the older generation know, and young people know from films, that until the end of the seventies in the Soviet Union they were not allowed to go to a restaurant without a tie. In the theaters, the atmosphere was a little freer, but, going to the performance, each spectator thought about how to dress decently. The men took out their suits of jackets from the closet, the women their most beautiful dresses. If there were decorations, then they put them on, and those who did not have them were treated with elegant jewelry. The tricky old-fashioned concept was not used, but our fellow citizens understood even without it that work overalls or old trousers with a sweater that were inappropriate in the center of culture were “not comme il faut”. By the way, both workers, and peasants, and intellectuals, and students considered it necessary to have at least one elegant suit in their wardrobe, and preferably two, light (gray or beige) and dark (blue or black).
About what you need to eat, holding a fork in your left hand, and a knife in your right hand, most people knew from the stories of experts in etiquette, but this was basically the end of information about good manners. There were translated books (usually by Polish or Czech authors) that described in detail what to wear and how to behave in order to pass for a well-mannered person. The circulation of these publications sold out instantly. Professionally taught the etiquette of future diplomats.
New Russian aesthetics and overcoming it
During the period of accumulation of initial capital, which fell on the nineties, a new social class of quickly rich entrepreneurs arose for our country, for whom the money earned or “made” by them became a measure of the universal equivalent. The corresponding and very specific tastes of the "masters of life" significantly influenced the public consciousness. The population, who perceived the new Russian aesthetics as "not comme il faut", was forced to put up with the ideas imposed on them about the appropriateness of one or another manner of behaving or dressing. Diamond earrings paired with a bikini swimsuit or trendy distressed jeans have become the norm. Some of these mannerisms have survived to this day, but the surviving representatives of the business world must be given their due, they quickly overcame this childhood disease of “rightness”. Apparently, there were teachers who explained to most of the new millionaires what “not comme il faut” means. Or maybe they spied on foreign trips…
