TikToker Sofia Li On What It Really Means To Be Elegant

Publish date: 2024-06-14

Sofia Li has spent much of her life learning (and teaching!) about etiquette and protocol, so it's comprehensible that all over the years, she's heard on the subject of each and every objection to the subject in the e book.

However, she's of the mind that lots of those objections stem from a total false impression.

In an exclusive interview with TheThings, the TikToker gave her take on where such a lot of have long past so wrong of their belief of etiquette, and mused on what elegance really means in a modern world.

Way Way Back(Ground)

Sofia is the first to recognize that many of the etiquette tips she shares stem from a bygone generation.

As such, she acknowledges that some of the direct translations to the sector we are living in nowadays can be a little tricky.

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"Etiquette is very complicated because some of the things we do today cannot compare with the realities of the Victorian era - or even 50 years ago!" she laughs.

"However," she is going on, "that doesn't mean we need to erase the protocols entirely. We just need to adapt."

We've Got New Rules

Sofia continues to say that, simply as some protocols have existed for hundreds of years, others need to be established today, based on new trends.

"Once upon a time, it was physically impossible to take a telephone to a social engagement," she explains. "Now, our phones go everywhere with us."

Because of that, she concludes, "we just need to find the boundaries and limits to when we should use them," - and primarily based on many of Sofia's TikToks and Reels, it's protected to say that the table isn't included in that record!

Sofia Responds To The Backlash She's Received

Sofia boasts over 2 million followers on TikTok and 600k on Instagram, so it's honest to say she has an enormous fanbase!

However, now not even Sofia is immune to the haters, and lots of a detractor can be found in the comments sections of her posts.

Interestingly sufficient, despite the fact that, the model does not take the criticism personally. Rather, she believes that much of the backlash her movies obtain come from a place of confusion.

Sofia Schools Social Media On What Etiquette Really Is

Sofia breaks her definition of etiquette down into two portions.

First, she explains, many of her critics have negated to see that etiquette is integrally linked to manners. "Etiquette is how you behave in a certain situation and manners is the behavior you exhibit towards others," she says, noting, "at the end of the day, one depends on the other."

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To illustrate the second a part of her description, Sofia draws on her enjoy as an actress, pointing out that the way in which the word 'etiquette' is typically mentioned has influenced what number of people perceive it.

"Etiquette is not valued as a word, and that is why people do not value it in practice."

So, Just How Is The Word Being Used?

"So often, people link etiquette and elegance with rich or snobbish people who believe they are somehow above everyone else," she says.

Common consensus or not, that belief could not be farther from the reality - and Sofia is decided to lend a hand people notice that.

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"Etiquette and elegance are something you can teach. It's not necessary to be born rich or have the best clothes - everyone can act elegantly, no matter what background they have."

Sofia drives home her level by sharing her favourite quote, via model designer Elie Saab: "elegance is a statement and an attitude."

A Mission And A Vision For A More Elegant Future

Regardless of her disparagers, Sofia is on a mission to make the arena a extra elegant position.

"It's a pity that young generations don't learn etiquette at home or in social environments," she muses, including that she wishes more people had been taught the basics from a tender age.

However, using her new platform to do it, Sofia's purpose is to inspire young other people to to find the worth in etiquette.

"I'm going to fight to keep as motivate as many human beings as possible to follow good manners," she asserts.

After all, she concludes, "at the end of the day, etiquette is all about how you respect yourself and the person in front of you."

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