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Clothes & shoes of yesteryear

Richard Dye said:
I used to love the Army and Navy stores, there was one on Heathfield Rd going toward Soho Rd. I used to buy stuff I didn’t even need.
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Got my school rucksack together with my mates from Oswald Baileys in town by St Phillips Church. Also there was an Army and Navy stores in Hay Mills. They were okay but sometimes your books fell out but they were the in thing at the time and you just threw them down when you had finished.
 
There were a couple if Army and Navey surplus stores on Erdington High Street. I bought a Civil Defence great coat may years ago while going through my new age look. It was a lovely well made overcoat that I did enjoy wearing. Then one day, as a schoolboy smoker I accidently let the end of a lit tipped fag fall down the sleeve while walking home. I sort of wondered where the fag end went but was not too concerned so carried on.

At home I hung the coat on the back of the living room door while I ate lunch. I then noticed the layer of smoke in the living room to find my beloved great coat was well ablaze from the fag end.

I also wore a velvet jacket, Loons, shirts with ridiculously long pointed collars and platform shoes.

I did turn up home once with a pair of crushed strawberry velvet flairs, but that was a step too far for mom and dad.
 
For a short time I dabbled in a 1930s/40s look, probably because I loved watching B&W films of that period. I had a couple of home knitted short jumpers, pencil skirt, short silk blouse and brown gaberdene belted raincoat, slightly flared. I also had a 1930s leather handbag from my nan. And in summer it was cotton lawn dresses also slightly flared, with short knitted pontil cardigans (I bought two; one red, one brown) from Bus Stop on New Street. My interest probably only lasted about 18 months and then I moved on to the next fad. But that's how it was in the 1960s and 70s for me.
 
Morturn said:
There were a couple if Army and Navey surplus stores on Erdington High Street. I bought a Civil Defence great coat may years ago while going through my new age look. It was a lovely well made overcoat that I did enjoy wearing. Then one day, as a schoolboy smoker I accidently let the end of a lit tipped fag fall down the sleeve while walking home. I sort of wondered where the fag end went but was not too concerned so carried on.

At home I hung the coat on the back of the living room door while I ate lunch. I then noticed the layer of smoke in the living room to find my beloved great coat was well ablaze from the fag end.

I also wore a velvet jacket, Loons, shirts with ridiculously long pointed collars and platform shoes.

I did turn up home once with a pair of crushed strawberry velvet flairs, but that was a step too far for mom and dad.
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bet you looked a cool dude the hendrix look:grinning::grinning:
 

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Morturn said:
There were a couple if Army and Navey surplus stores on Erdington High Street. I bought a Civil Defence great coat may years ago while going through my new age look. It was a lovely well made overcoat that I did enjoy wearing. Then one day, as a schoolboy smoker I accidently let the end of a lit tipped fag fall down the sleeve while walking home. I sort of wondered where the fag end went but was not too concerned so carried on.

At home I hung the coat on the back of the living room door while I ate lunch. I then noticed the layer of smoke in the living room to find my beloved great coat was well ablaze from the fag end.

I also wore a velvet jacket, Loons, shirts with ridiculously long pointed collars and platform shoes.

I did turn up home once with a pair of crushed strawberry velvet flairs, but that was a step too far for mom and dad.
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Never wore the platform shoes but did wear the pointed collars & printed shirts!
 
Pinafores and aprons. At one time every woman wore one. Originally, they were created for children to wear over their garments to keep them clean. The word "Pinafore" comes from 'pinned' and 'afore', or in front, as they were pinned onto children as a protective layer and easily washed more frequently.

In Annie Murrays book "Meet me under the clock" she refers to them as "pinner". Not a word I've heard before. We always called them "pinnies"

And in the 1950s/60s those half aprons were popular. Mum usually wore one of those. They could be quite frilly and sometimes flared.
 

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Remember foam-backed coats ? I had a lime green, double-breasted foam-backed coat in the 1960s. It had a funnel collar and was very light in weight, made of some type of jersey fabric. Think it was washable, although mine was never washed.

Here's an incredibly sultry looking chap in a tweed, foam-backed Swallow coat. Sort of coat Michael Caine might have worn in the 60s. .

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Source: British Newspaper Archive
 
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Vivienne14 said:
Remember foam-backed coats ? I had a lime green, double-breasted foam-backed coat in the 1960s. It had a funnel collar and was very light in weight, made of some type of jersey fabric. Think it was washable, although mine was never washed.

Here's an incredibly sultry looking chap in a tweed, foam-backed Swallow coat. Sort of coat Michael Caine might have worn in the 60s. .

View attachment 198740
Source: British Newspaper Archive
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He should be happy they probably give it him for free.
 
Oisin said:
Ganzi? gansi? gansie? ganzie? gansy? ganzy... dunno what the spelling is, can anyone enlighten me?

It was a woollen knitted garment, I believe, distributed to the poor by a police charity in Digbeth. As a rule of thumb, I think if you qualified for the Mail Boots, you qualified for a gansie.

Amongst family members there is some dispute as to whether it was a sleeveless pullover (tank top), or sorta sleeveless cardigan (button up), long-sleeved sweater or could be any of the three.

EDIT (some time later):

Mr Google just found this for me:


Unfortunately, it says nothing about the Brummie connection. :(
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First time I heard this expression Gansey , it was said to me by a Liverpudlian . I believe it to be a Yorkshire word for a woolen jumper
 
lmr3103 said:
They look extremely well looked after. They bring to mind my Dad, who after doing his National Service loved cleaning his shoes. Later in years he cleaned our shoes every Sunday night. I don't think I've ever equalled the shine he got on them!
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same with my dad lynn...he also did national service and was always well turned out..im sure he even used to iron his work overalls :D

lyn
 
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