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Clothes & shoes of yesteryear

James_the_3rd said:
Nylon shirts ...Did anyone have one of those fur like jumpers made of nylon.
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Did you mean those so-called "non iron" shirts ? What a rip off !
Yes, I had one of those hairy jumpers, (I'd forgotten about that !).
Somebody mentioned "winklepickers", I thought they were daft but then, along came "The Chisels". Now THEY were cool, I wore mine 'till they dropped off my feet.
 
Does anyone remember when you just had to have a 'college scarf'?
 
For those of you that were there during the 50's, I'm so envious. As I said, I grew up during the Skinhead era but lets face it, there was nothing sexy about skinhead girls. (Sorry Girls) but the women in the 50's were incredibly sexy in my opinion.
My first love musicaly is Rock'N'Roll music and I often wish I'd been born earlier but alas no. Sadly I missed out on the mini skirt in the 60's. but without trying to be too sexist, the Teds were extremely smart and so were the Mods.
My utmost respect to all of you.
More Photos please.
 
This week I thought I would bring my old age image a little bit more up to date, so decided to buy a pair of new trousers, that would be more in keeping with the 'modern man'.

This got me remembering the old 22" bottoms of post war baggy trousers, and during the early fifties, being a young man, I decided to go for 18" bottoms, remember those? My father was alarmed. "Where is modern youth going?" he asked.

However, during my life time, we have gone through 'drain pipe' trousers, tight trousers with huge flares, and now the modern trend is to wear 'slims'. These are trousers that fit the contour of the leg. Surprisingly, they are very comfortable.

My new trousers are not quite 'slims', but being tall, everyone says I look great, so now an old man is happy with his new 'image'. It helps me to keep young.

Eddie.
 
Eddie,

I'm glad you are happy with your purchase, but I hate these tapered things (jeans or trousers), though rarely wear trousers since I have lived in Crete. People even wear jeans to weddings and funerals. Can't remember the last time I wore a tie that wasn't at a UK funeral!

Maurice
 
I'v always felt that I was keeping up with trends but I think I've reached 'that' time when I don't get it, if you know what I mean. We recently went to a wedding and all the men's suits (which looked very expensive) seemed too small to me. A little bit Norman-Wisdomish.
 
I have one very old suit to my name. I could possibly get the jacket on, but 38" waist trousers might be a bit on the tight side now. If I really had to go to a formal function, I have my M & S blazer (about 15 years old now but rarely worn) and I have about five pairs of grey trousers that were given to me by a Brit friend here as he found he could no longer get into them. I went to a Brit funeral like that with a black tie and certainly didn't feel out of place. Formality certainly seems to be disappearing lately.

Maurice
 
When I was 21 Maurice, my parents bought me my first real dress suit. Worn many, many times when playing in various bands, or combo groups. I have managed to get through many pairs of dress trousers, but I still have the jacket, and wore it a couple of years ago, for a private band function.

Having worn suits & ties for the majority of my working life, I have a couple of nice suits, but have only worn a suit twice in the past ten years. Each of those was for a formal occasion.

I have to admit that I quite like the more informal modern dress code, and the many various styles, for both men and women, most of which not only appear to be acceptable, but can look both smart and comfortable.

Eddie
 
Lady Penelope said:
I'v always felt that I was keeping up with trends but I think I've reached 'that' time when I don't get it, if you know what I mean. We recently went to a wedding and all the men's suits (which looked very expensive) seemed too small to me. A little bit Norman-Wisdomish.
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ha ha pen that made me laugh..not to detract too much but lately i have been watching all of normans films...classics...:)

lyn
 
Eddie,

Over the last 20 years of my working life, if ever I was giving presentations to public library higher-ups, I was required to wear a suit because, like you, I was in "selling mode". If visiting library HQ I was in "technical mode" so it was left up to me, but I very soon learned to dress "smart casual" because even quite senior library staff dressed fairly scruffily. Most of my later musical life was jazz work - wear what you like - or involved my own trio, who had their own smart jackets or matching shirts maybe with ties. Although I had evening dress I loathed the penguin look and took a lot of persuading to accept casual gigs where the bandleader failed to provide band jackets and therefore evening dress was the only option.

Crete is the height of informality and even the Mayor of our provincial capital rarely wears a tie because it is just too hot and uncomfortable to do so. Even our Greek MPs rarely wear ties, a fact remarked upon on news broadcasts when they met members of the EU. It's much the same in Italy. How did the Brits cope in those warm climates? Pith helmets and white safari suits, even a hundred or more years ago and I have pictures to prove it. As I've got older, this informality appeals to me! :)

Maurice
 
norfolk brummie said:
When I was 21 Maurice, my parents bought me my first real dress suit. Worn many, many times when playing in various bands, or combo groups. I have managed to get through many pairs of dress trousers, but I still have the jacket, and wore it a couple of years ago, for a private band function.

Having worn suits & ties for the majority of my working life, I have a couple of nice suits, but have only worn a suit twice in the past ten years. Each of those was for a formal occasion.

I have to admit that I quite like the more informal modern dress code, and the many various styles, for both men and women, most of which not only appear to be acceptable, but can look both smart and comfortable.

Eddie
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Hi Eddie

This is very off topic but I cannot find a way of messaging you privately (I'm new to the forum). I did a Google search for my father and an older thread surfaced about how you were friends with him whilst working at the Pavillion in Bournemouth. My father was Don Neilson (Ronald "Ronnie" Neilon) . I say was as sadly he passed away back in 1972 aged just 42 and I was 10. The wonders of the Internet mean I have been able to find out more about his earlier life, and I am particularly interested in the time when he was a musician living in Bournemouth with my mother Shirley. Coincidentally I had lunch today with his brother Colin Neilon who comes back to Bournemouth for the summer, with his wife Jill, as they are now living in Cyprus. I would always welcome anything you tell me about dad.

Best regards

Marc Neilon
 
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Marc777 said:
Hi Eddie

. I would always welcome anything you tell me about dad.

Best regards

Marc Neilon
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Hi Marc,

I have received your message, and will be in touch. I have also noted yur email address. Perhaps it would be prudent to now remove your email address from your message
 
Eddie, When I first saw a man (from behind) wearing those skin hugging trousers I thought it was a woman!! did not realise it was a new fashion fad. Thanks for letting me know. I feel most comfortable in my Harris tweed jacket (bought in Fort William 20 years ago) and a pair of Worsted's. Eric
 
When i was due to start work, back in 1966, my mum went with me to Brooks Bros in Small Heath.

We knew the manager there and hopefully would get a nice suit at a nice price.

Anyway i chose an italian style design, all the rage then, and asked if the trousers could be made 'tighter'.

Well how tight was tighter, they were about 18" bottoms but i wanted them tapered and they eventually

ended up at 14". The suit cut was absolutely ruined by doing this but of course i had to wear it for my new job.

To be fair the manager was appalled and rightly so. But, you live and learn....
 
[I feel most comfortable in my Harris tweed jacket (bought in Fort William 20 years ago) and a pair of Worsted's. Eric QUOTE]
Absolutely nothing wrong with Harris tweed, Eric. Pure quality, and it never goes out of fashion, which is more than can be said for some modern fashions.
I also love Worstead. Named after Worstead, a local village here in Norfolk, where the material was made, and still is, originally by the Dutch settlers.
As Michael Caine may have said "Not many people know that!"
Eddie.
 
Belt or braces (suspenders in the USA) to hold up your trousers? I always associate Larry King, who used to have a late night chat-show in America, or stockbrokers, to be wearing braces. Noticed that Paul McCartney often wears braces. I used to wear braces in my early days at school but since then I have always worn a belt. I wonder if they will become a fashion-item in the future? Maybe the new skin-tight trousers don't need either belt or braces. Dave.
 
Braces are very fashionable Dave. My son in law, a bit of a trendy man, wears them all the time during his working week, with suit. These days fashionable braces are usually brightly coloured.

Years ago, if a man wore both a belt and braces, we would say that he was a man that did not have a great deal of confidence in himself!

Eddie
 
my son bought himself some very expensive bikers wear the other month...jacket...trousers..helmet.. boots etc....i cant help but smile at the trousers because they came with braces and he uses them..reminds me of my dear dad:)
 
My first job back in `57 was a wages clerk. My first day i turned up in a sky blue suit with drainpipe trousers. I got sent home to change into something more suitable. I knew right then i was going to hate that job. These days I see a lot of teens wearing drop crutch trousers with their underpants showing. Always make me smile.
 
My son wears black jeans, the sort that look a bit like footless tights. Being tall, like Eddie, he can carry them off!

Recently I've seen a couple of programmes from the 1970s, where the men are wearing flared trousers and platform-soled shoes, a look which I'd forgotten. Did anyone wear loons in the 70s?
 
I wore flared trousers in the 70's (and hot pants, knee high boots and a black hot-pants cat suit, usually with a black maxi-coat - Ah! those were the days, before everything moved south). Anyway, back to the topic. Unless you are a fairly slim gentleman, belts always seem to slip down slightly accentuating any problem areas. Braces seem to keep the trousers at waist height (or even higher in some cases....) giving a smoother outline.
 
Maria Magenta said:
My son wears black jeans, the sort that look a bit like footless tights. Being tall, like Eddie, he can carry them off!

Recently I've seen a couple of programmes from the 1970s, where the men are wearing flared trousers and platform-soled shoes, a look which I'd forgotten. Did anyone wear loons in the 70s?
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Maria, I'm 62 years of age and by now having lost all traces of respectability (one reason why I've missed out on BHF meet-ups over the years) I can admit to having been very fashion conscious in those early 1970s years.

The trousers we used to wear belonged to the design label of Karmann Ghia (after the German sports car) with very flowing lines-no front pockets and material down to the floor with a bell-bottom cut. The shoes were of the make of Solatio pictured here

https://www.solatio.co.uk/solatio-102-crossovers/

which we called 'sollys' as an abbreviation. Later on came the fashion of the Bay City Rollers and yes, I became a fashion victim of the style too. Leather bomber jacket added to the look.

I mention much of above due to the very recent death of the funk and soul lyricist Rod Temperton (RIP) who composed for the cream of black artistes in the seventies. Many on here will remember his association with Heatwave and 'Boogie Nights' fame. I still have my copies of Blues and Soul magazine from those early 70s years since I became an addict of the Northern Soul scene. Many of those editions have fashion photos, some with adverts from specialist tailors with measurement ads.
 
I have not wore braces since coming out of the RAF in 1956, can't stand them, much prefer an adjustable belt, fortunately I am slim and can get away with it. Eric
 
I agree Eric, though unfortunately I am NOT slim and don't get away with it very well
 
cookie273uk said:
I have not wore braces since coming out of the RAF in 1956, can't stand them, much prefer an adjustable belt, fortunately I am slim and can get away with it. Eric
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Braces don't seem popular theses days. Perhaps there's an association with red braces as worn by Yuppies in the 1980s?
 
Maria Magenta said:
Richie, I think I can remember shoes like that. I had to look up the trousers becasue I hadn't heard of the label, and found this:

https://www.soul-source.co.uk/soulforum/topic/44014-fashion-victims/?page=2

Does that sound right? I've seen programmes about Northern Soul, and was very impressed by the athletic dancing.

Maria
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You're getting there Maria, except time at the moment prevents me from scouring the internet from getting a picture of the Karmann Ghias. I thought Google had everything!
The other trousers we lads wore were called "Skinners" white or blue denim. Over the weekend I'll look through some music mags of those years and see if anything comes up with what I mean.
ps. I entered into dancing competions in northern soul which morphed into jazz/soul dancing as the seventies wore on. Appeared in a contest with the then great Grant Santino but he won everytime-the BBC made sure the champion always won lolol.

The top record for many years at Wigan was the theme from the TV puppet show JOE 90 composed by Barry Gray. Edwin Starr was a huge favourite in later years.
 
My friend and I in the 1960s wearing our ski pants (the stretchy ones with hoops under the foot). I had royal blue ski pants. Think you could only get blue or black ones. Me on the left, friend on the right in our front garden, Atlantic Road. We definitely thought we were fashion icons aged 12/13. Viv.

87136419-2A0A-4A38-B8CF-51E925BAADBA.jpeg
 
i have dug my old vintage wool duffle coat out now its cold .they are no good when it rains.its like having the sheep on your back
they are heavy. when wet.
 

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