The Elegance Edit: Issue 21

Olga’s Note
Dear Ladies,

Welcome to Issue 21 of The Elegance Edit – your weekly guide to body language, elegance, and timeless style. Each edition offers thoughtful insights to help you feel more poised, confident, and graceful in every part of your life.

This week we’re going back to the basics of all of our lives – digital etiquette. We live our lives consumed by technology and social media, and while it’s unlikely that this will change, we’re delving into how we can bring our elegance into our daily digital lives.

Upcoming Events

ELEGANCE REFINEMENT MENTORSHIP

A Transformational Coaching Experience in Grace, Confidence & Modern Feminine Presence — live with Olga Kuznetcova.
✨ New Classes Added: Table Etiquette & Extended Practice Sessions!

Enrollment for Cohort #3 is now open.
Schedule a call with our Educational Advisor to learn more and secure your spot with an exclusive early-enrollment discount.

📍 Live on Zoom | 🗓 JANUARY, 2026| ⏰ Tuesdays & Thursdays

Digital Elegance
Grace in a digital age

Digital elegance. Yes, it is a real thing. Imagine you receive a text from a successful executive. It arrives at 11:47 PM and simply reads: "Can you call me?" No context, no urgency indicator and no consideration for the hour. This is almost like knocking on someone's door unannounced at midnight.

Digital elegance isn't about following arbitrary rules. It's about extending the same thoughtfulness and consideration into our virtual interactions that we would naturally offer in person.

The Art of Intentional Communication

Text messages function as the digital equivalent of a gentle tap on the shoulder. They should be brief, specific, and mindful of timing. A text at 6am about weekend plans feels jarring. The same message at 10am feels considerate. In last week's Elegance Game, we asked When you receive an urgent call during an in-person conversation, what demonstrates the most elegant approach to handling the interruption? The answer is (B): Glance at the caller, apologize sincerely by saying "I'm so sorry, I need to take this, it will just be two minutes," then step away to a private area to handle the call.

When you need to discuss something complex, when emotions are involved, when tone could be misinterpreted through text, the elegant choice is often the direct one. A five-minute phone conversation can accomplish what might take twenty text exchanges to resolve, and with far less potential for misunderstanding.

The key lies in recognition that not every conversation belongs on every platform. Quick logistics? Text. Complex planning? Email. Sensitive topics or anything requiring real dialogue? Pick up the phone.

Response Time as Courtesy

The anxiety around response times reveals something deeper about our relationship with technology. We've somehow convinced ourselves that immediate availability equals good manners, when often the opposite is true.

Thoughtful people respond appropriately, not immediately. A carefully considered email reply sent within 24 hours shows more respect than a hasty response fired off in two minutes. A text message can usually wait an hour or two without creating genuine urgency.

The exception, of course, involves actual time-sensitive matters. But most of our daily communication falls into the category of important but not urgent. Learning to distinguish between these categories and responding accordingly demonstrates sophisticated judgment.

Boundaries as Kindness

Perhaps the most elegant digital skill involves knowing when not to respond at all. Not every social media post requires your commentary. Not every group text needs your input. Not every email chain demands your participation.

Strategic silence often communicates more wisdom than constant engagement. It shows you understand the difference between being available and being omnipresent, between being helpful and being overwhelming.

Similarly, protecting your own boundaries teaches others how to communicate with you respectfully. Responding to work emails at midnight trains people to expect midnight responses. Answering personal calls during focused work time suggests your availability is unlimited.

The most sophisticated digital communicators think beyond the immediate exchange. They consider how their communication patterns affect relationships over time. They ask themselves: Does this message add value or create obligation? Does my response timing suggest respect or create pressure?

They understand that digital elegance isn't about perfecting individual messages, but about creating sustainable patterns of communication that strengthen rather than strain their relationships.

Upcoming Events
NYC IN-PERSON HEELS TRAINING

SATURDAY, DECEMBER, 13
12:00 - 2:00PM: Heels 1.0: Foundational
2:30 - 4:30PM: Heels 3.0 Runway Ready

Upcoming Events
San Francisco Glow Up

A 3-day immersive journey into confidence, femininity and presence.
Friday, Dec, 19 — The Elegance of a First Lady
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

A full-day immersion in social etiquette, elegant body language and romantic body language.
You’ll learn to move, speak, and carry yourself with confidence, warmth and grace: blending timeless etiquette with modern poise.

🎁 As a special bonus, you’ll also receive complimentary access to our Dress Codes for Formal Events Zoom class after the weekend.

👠 Saturday, Dec, 20 — Heels 1.0 & Heels 2.0
12:30 PM – 2:30 PM: Heels 1.0 — The Confident Business Walk
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Heels 2.0 — Posing for Formal Events

A day dedicated to posture alignment, walking technique and elegant posing.
You’ll master the Confident Business Walk and Elegant Posing — learning how to move with intention, stability, and femininity in any setting.

🌹 Sunday, Dec 21 — Heels 3.0: The Feminine Walk
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

A gentle and powerful celebration of feminine movement. This final session focuses on softness, fluidity, and expression — helping you embody elegance and confidence in every step you take.

Olga’s Tips
Elegance Tip of the week

Olga’s Recommendations
The Professional Email

Those who aren’t used to sending professional emails, or wish to polish their email skills, keep reading. There are a number of reasons why we might not be proficient in writing emails, either from lack of experience, or practice. This video tutorial from Harvard Business Review will transform how you write emails in the workplace.

Etiquette Tips

Humanoid Summit
Presence Over Pixels

The Humanoids Summit gathers the world's leading minds in robotics and artificial intelligence, creating an environment where breakthrough innovations meet cross-disciplinary collaboration. Yet in a space dedicated to advancing human-machine interaction, the most sophisticated attendees understand a fundamental irony: true professional credibility comes from knowing when to disconnect from your devices entirely. 

Watch how seasoned researchers and engineers navigate this prestigious event. When urgent messages from their labs demand response, they excuse themselves to designated quiet areas rather than compromising the collective learning experience. The summit reveals what elegant professionals across all industries already know: in an age of constant connectivity, the ability to be fully present has become the rarest and most valuable form of professional courtesy.

11 – 12 December 2025 

Game
The Elegance Game

In the following week, we will share the answer to this question. Click the answer that you think is right.