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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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