Oh, the agony!

Agony aunt Mrs Hudson solves your dilemmas

Stay classy

QMight you settle an argument? I think headed writing paper still has a place in contemporary society, even when so few people write letters. I like the smartness that it gives to any correspondence and find it endearing. A friend says its use is pretentious and a way of perpetuating the class system. As I’m thinking of ordering some, I’d be interested to have your opinion.

J. M., Staffordshire

AI’m not sure I’ve ever opened a piece of correspondence and judged the writer for what they chose to send it on. Perhaps if it were a soiled piece of second-hand paper, but, even then, there would be a sustainability argument to be made. I find headed writing paper both smart and useful, as one is instantly able to locate the return address. You can find perfectly nice examples that aren’t prohibitively expensive and it should, therefore, be available to most, if not all—and possibly the aristocracy less than most, as heating bills on crumbling old piles were bad enough before the current fiasco kicked in.

Less a matter of class and more one of remaining classy, I would worry about my chosen paper being tacky rather than it coming across as superior. Stay away from fads such as rose-gold embossing and choose something that won’t go out of fashion—largely because it was never in. Also ensure you have no plans to move, as there is nothing remotely classy about headed writing paper that has had to be crossed out and scribbled over.

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