A WARM summer is coming to a close and one in which acres of bare flesh have been exposed countrywide. Women of all ages showed their midriffs, and miniscule tops with micro skirts seemed to be all the fashion in supermarket aisles.
Flesh was only exposed on the beaches when I was growing up, and having always been interested in fashion it set me thinking how much it has changed since I grew up in Lincolnshire.
As a baby in 1940 I was swaddled tightly during my first year of life in long white flannelette gowns. Within a couple of weeks of birth babies are now likely to be kitted out in denim overalls with a matching cap, and as soon as their little feet allow, a pair of smart designer trainers.
At the age of six I was photographed in a smocked dress with neat little Peter-Pan collar and frilly sleeves. Liberty bodices, knitted Fair Isle cardigans, and Clark's sandals were the order of the day for little girls then, not tee-shirts with logos and tight cut-off trousers. No studs adorned my ears and cosmetic products were strictly forbidden until well into the teens.
No-one could possibly have "sexed up" my Sleaford High School uniform of dark green gymslip and square necked Viyella long-sleeved blouse. Schoolgirls of today make the most of their shorter-than-short skirts, stylish shirts and heeled shoes.
When I reached my late teens summer dresses were of the wide-skirted variety worn with high-heeled shoes and seamed nylon stockings. Short sparkling white cotton gloves were de rigueur for special occasions, and jewellery consisted mainly of strings of coloured poppets with matching clip-on earrings, all the rage in the late fifties. We were Doris Day lookalikes, scrubbed and healthy with just a touch of pale lipstick and a hint of daring blue eyeshadow.
When we did let our hair down at the Saturday hop however, (the Co-op Ballroom in Lincoln from example), we wore hooped gauze underskirts beneath our circular felt skirts. Our waists were nipped in with `waspies': wide, black belts with silver buckles, and we wore additional black 'flatties' shoes.
As Cranwell College was on our doorstep, many girls had cadets as boyfriends and it was quite a coup to be invited to the summer Graduation Ball. For this splendid occasion I wore a boned, strapless, green satin full-skirted dress with satin shoes dyed to match, and long white gloves to the elbow. I can still recall the excitement that evening engendered. Bikinis had begun to appear on the beaches at that time, but most girls wore the traditional one piece Jantzen swimsuits (a la Esther Williams, whose films I watched at Sleaford Picture-dome). Our legs were covered with American tan cream which streaked when it came into contact with water, and the results were not attractive! Working girls were very formal in those days (no trousers at work was the rule), and I remember my tweed suit with its Chanel jacket and just-below-the-knee skirt. The "in" perfume was "Coty L'Aimant". Small, square handbags carried neatly over the arm usually matched well-polished shoes. Head-scarves were popular, but only if they were of the silk variety with a Jacqmar label.
Most brides in the sixties wore big white dresses with elaborate head-dresses and carried enormous bouquets. Bridesmaids were numerous in colourful, patterned dresses and sported elbow gloves or even little muffs to match their dresses. Brides of today wear simple figure-hugging dresses often carrying just one or two stems, and no bridesmaid in attendance.
Every pregnant woman of that era did her best to cover her bump with tent-like maternity dresses specially bought for the nine months. A needlecord pinafore dress was a particular favourite of mine. You are now likely to see a pregnant woman in a tight tee-shirt with an exposed bump beneath.
I enjoyed feeling very feminine in the wide skirted dresses and high heels of my time (which seem to be coming back again), but it is great to have the freedom of today's laid-back fashion when 'anything goes' — anyway I think it is a bit too late for showing my midriff!