Romance isn’t dead. Perhaps it’s just lost its way. Good thing, then, that The Hendrick’s Refined Courtship Clinic is to show Melburnians the way it used to be – back when relationships were developed with a very particular decorum.

Think of it as public drop-in surgery, where Dr Humphrey SixWivs and Mrs Isabella Forlornicate offer etiquette tips to couples, the single (and the single-minded). It’s all about pitching woo to potential suitors in the politely old-fashioned way, based on Victorian-era principles.

Don’t expect to pay a cent – simply soak up the 1-on-1 advice from Hendrick’s very specialised clinicians. Polite body language? Dress standards for the ladies? Acceptable topics of courtship-worthy conversation? Interpreting those coquettish flutters from a potential sweetheart’s fan? The answers abound with practical eccentricity fitting of a bygone era. But maybe everything old really is new again.

And if romance can be revived, who says chivalry is down for the count? Forget crude wolf-whistles and the vulgarity of cheap pick-up lines. The route to real romantic success with is paved with good manners and cordial courtesy.

Hendricks’ Refined Courtship Clinic
202 Commercial Road, Prahran 3180
Friday, 1 July (2pm–8pm); Saturday, 2 July (12pm – 7pm); Sunday, 3 July (12pm -7pm)
Free