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What did you wear?

  • Thread starter Thread starter oldgoose
  • Start date Start date
Hi Jean i remember that shop in the market hall, they had lovely little dresses in there at a fraction of the price you would have paid in Lewis's or somewhere, i had one of those swimming costumes,ruffled sort of elastic in orange,
 
Here's me in me in my hotpants and big hat with my Mom and sister in Prestatyn c 1972 ohhhhhh such fashion!!
 
I remember the liberty bodices and my mam undoing cardigans and jumpers to reknit into a bigger one for me!!! The one in my avatar was red and yellow striped - HATED IT!!! - but had no choice but to wear it.
 
Those liberty bodices!!!!!!!!!!! Such small buttons through undersize button holes, what a design from hell!! What was the thinking behind them I wonder. I remember during the war repairing my own shoes that had worn through the sole with some lorry inner tube I must have come across on an old tip. Some in my class had socks made from discarded cardigans,their sleeves cut off and the ends of each one sewn up to make a foot. Because we were all the same nobody was picked on for shoddy attire. The only adverse comment may have been "you've got a tatter in your sock" , meaning the heel had worn through showing the bare skin in an oval form like a potato shape.
I too remember mother just re-knitting the sock heels on ciclar pins. She used much longer cicular pins to reknit her uderskirts. And what about cuttig bed sheets up the very frayed middle and then sewing the better off edges together.
 
One thing I recall from the early war years (WW2) were siren suits and Mickey Mouse gas masks. I was too old for that type of gas mask and never did need a siren suit as we lived outside the city. I guess some Members remember wearing or seeing them.
 
I remember the "Mickey Mouse" respirator, it's written on my birth cert that I'd been given one by the Birmingham ARP unit, ("One baby helmet issued"). My mother tells me that they hadn't got a chance in hell of getting me inside it - I screamed the place down. Fortunately I'd calmed down by the time I joined the army !
I have a dim memory of the Liberty Bodice with its rubber buttons. I remember my Aunt Beat saying "skin a rabbit " as she dragged the thing over my head.
 
I too remember the Mickey Mouse Gasmask - my baby brother {76 now] had to use one and my next brotyher to me [74] had a large black thing he had to be put inyp. Also remember the/a warden telling me to put an old sock on the nose piece of my otdinary gas mask. I still wonder if they were any use if we had had had a gas problem.
 
I wore a siren suit, I used come home from infants school have my evening meal quickly before the sirens sounded, put on loads of woolies because siren suits were not particularly warm, and then up the garden for a night in the shelter. In the morning walked down the garden path, had breakfast and then off to school, not forgetting to take my gas mask which I seem to remember carrying in a cardboard box. I had a black gas mask, my younger sister had a red mickey mouse type.
When we cleared out the house of my wife's mother, we found an infant full body gas mask in the loft.
 
img012.jpg This is a photograph taken in 1947 showing my friends and I at a birthday party in our best clothes. For many of us these were our school clothes and play clothes! What was particularly nice in these days of hardship none of us cared what each wore. So different from today's children under peer presure and advertising to have the "in gear". Looking back and comparing my childhood then to those of my grandchildren, I'm sure most of us had far happier times.
 
I am sure you are right Anvil man, we did have the best years. Lovely photo, but which child are you?
 
Here is my husband in his "Siren-suit" and borrowed tin hat!
image-4.jpg

(Around 1940)
rosie.
 
Does anyone remember the test we had to go through at school checking our gas masks...l remember we all had to put our masks on making sure it was tight around ones face then having to be able to pick up a piece of paper at the front part by inhaling real deep, if we were able to do that we had passed the test....l do remember the mickey mouse gas masks they were red in colour....between the gas masks and the anderson shelter l'm sure why l am so claustrophobic.....l can still smell that rubber smell of the mask and the musty smell of the shelter...ugh!...Brenda.... oh! and those liberty bodices were awful but l think all us gals whore them......Brenda
 
Hand me downs, Daily Mail Boots, knitted cossies. It seems to me that rather a lot of Forum members shared the same "dress sense" growing up. The main thing that comes through on the thread is the shared sense of love and loyalty we all felt for our parents, siblings and friends. I honestly could not imagine ANY of the children today wearing the clothes and footwear we were required to wear. On the Fashion note, once bought a pair of shoes from Barrett's (I think) that had fur on the top of the shoe instead of leather, very trendy. Oh, almost forgot, had a lovely pair of Grey short trousers with two wonderful patches in the rear. One patch was red, the other was blue. Luckily there was a character in one of the kids comics called "Jimmy and his Magic Patch" so that was me!!! Happy days.
jimbo
 
Talking of patches on clothes, does any one remember having that iron-on material to reinforce often the seat of trousers. the patch could readily be seen but we were told it was invisible ( The Emperor's clothes)
 
Hi Irene, the photo was taken outside his Godmother's house, 2, Osborne Terrace, Dudley Rd. (By Heath Street).
rosie.
 
Thank you for telling me anvil man. Rosie, thank you for the pic of your husband in the siren suit. I've never seen one, and wonder what the idea of wearing them was?
 
I'm glad you liked it maggs! He says it was supposed to be easy to put on when the sirens went!! Not very warm either. We sorted the photo out because the Grandchildren wanted "Onesies" for Christmas, and he said he wore one years ago and here's the proof!!
rosie.
 
I had most of my sister's hand me downs, but when we did have new clothes it was a real treat. I can remember we had new dresses once , they were exactly the same, and i can remember sun bonnets, which baby's and young children wore. My brothers wore short trousers until they went to senior school. they weren't really short though, they were down to their knees. They also wore balaclavas (knitted by mom). The worst was swimming costume which stretched to your knees as soon as they got wet.
 
Hi Viv: Found a photo of Sir Winston wearing a green velvet siren suit. You're right Viv. Mr.Churchill according to this questionnaire liked three different coloured siren suits.https://tisgroup.net/churchillTriviaAnswers.htm One of which was red. Through his life he wore so many types of clothes and in his latter years he liked the siren suit
or onsie. I imagine liked the comfort of wearing it and he didn't care who saw him in one. I don't know about a pink one though. My mother used to talk about siren suits
years ago but I can't remember her actually making one.
 
They looked pretty dreadful really didn't they? But in the name of comfort anything goes Jennyann! Viv.
 
I remember, during war years, wearing my cousines cast off short corduroy trousers, that were part of his boarding school uniform ,almost the entire time at junior school (as he did in his)

When I was 17yrs, at the local youth club, I met an earlier girl class friend, who without hesitation said "I remember you, you always wore corduroy trousers". How flatering!!
 
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