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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: brigidmac on Thursday 04 October 18 06:31 BST (UK)
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Hello
I'm reenacting aspects of my great grandmothers life but nobody knew her and we don't have photos
She was a drapers assistant in her 20.s a milliner in her 40's and a housekeeper aged 50
She may have had links to theatre
What would she have worn in 1940's and 50.s
Does anyone have photos of their elder relatives in this era ?
Fashion books only show how the young dressed
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are you saying she was 50 in the 50s?
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3rd photo down here on the right of the picture https://glamourdaze.com/history-of-womens-fashion/1940-to-1949 is an older lady at Paddington Station.
I would say they wore the same as the younger ones in most cases. 40s and 50s fashions were fairly conservative so there would be no reason for an older person to tone the clothing down.
Depending on how interested you are, I would suggest digging out a few old 40s and 50s films where, apart from the glamourous stars, you might be lucky enough to spot some older women. There are probably tons of them on youtube.
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Clothes rationing was introduced in 1941 and lasted till around 1950, so people were ingenious in their use of clothing. Home dressmaking was popular and some women used furnishing fabrics, as these weren't rationed at first. Blackout material was popular (my mother once made me a skirt out of it in the 1950s, trimmed with ric rac braid) and parachute silk was much desired for underwear! Make do and mend was a popular motto and some women were very clever at recycling material. Styles were mainly figure-hugging, as this saved material. Watching old films is a good idea for tips. Women (and men) nearly always wore hats, too.
In 1947 Christian Dior launched his New Look, creating outfits which hugged the waist but had very full skirts. This celebrated not only the availability of fabrics, but also the return of feminity, after a period when women had taken on men's work, wearing sturdy work clothes, and had been restricted by rationing. It took a little while to take on in Britain, particularly as rationing limited the amount of material available.
My grandmother was also a milliner and was a skilled needlewoman (sadly I didn't inherit this skill from her). She made clothes for herself and her daughter, even in adulthood. Most women in their 50s in the 1950s were fairly sober in their clothing, as they viewed themselves as approaching old age. How times have changed!
Maybe you have some old wedding photos from this period showing family groups. This would show you how older relatives dressed in their finest. I remember my grandmother had a fur cape for best. I think it was fox, and the whole body was used, so you could see its face! Ugh!
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Wartime fashions were well documented - fabric was limited, skirts were short, many women are shown wearing skirt-suits with slightly mannish ( military influence?) jackets, and heavy stockings - "nylons" came, largely, with the Americans! Hats were not rationed, so could be quite fanciful.
After the war, my mother was in her 30s, The "New Look" wasn't as widespread as all that. She continued to wear the same sort of suits, although skirts became longer. A tailored cotton blose - never called a "shirt" was often worn beneath it, or a finely knitted or crochet jumper. Cotton dresses for summer, quite nicely cut - a name like "Tootall, although that's not it, and Horrocks for the cotton spring to mind. Skirts on the dresses were often cut " on the cross", giving a wider hemline. Cotton blouses and wide skirts were often worn at home in warmer weather. Cardigans were often home-knitted, and shoes were more sturdy still, with cuban or french or cone heels, than came later in the 1960s, with their stiletto heels. A camel coat was a staple, my mother did not like furs, although my grandmother had one of those fox doo-dahs, with a pathetic head hanging down on each side. An astrahkan ( no idea how it is spelled, but a very tightly curled fleece) trimmed jacket and a "poodle" short coat spring to mind. Skirts were often tweed or tartan, a little slimmer than "A" line, but not quite pencil cut.
Handbags usually had a frame, and one or two handles. Shoulder bags were rarer than they had been. Gloves were worn, usually matching the shoes. A necklace, graduated pearls, or other beads, was a usual item of jewellery.
If working in a house, women often wore a wrap-over floral overall, often bound with a coloured tape over the edges, to protect other clothes.
Underwear was usually stout cotton bras, sturdy knickers, and a suspender belt (or corset for those of more generous dimensions) to hook the stockings to. An underslip was usually full-length, rather than a waist slip.
There are many books on mid-century fashion, but remember: most women were not "fashion models" and wore a more toned-down version.
Any help?
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TY's comments regarding stockings reminded me that before nylons were readily available, women wore lisle stockings, which were made from cotton. Although they were not as see-through as the nylon stockings, they did have a sheen about them, and would probably have been quite popular in the 1960s had they been made in bright colours! I remember these stockings because at the tender age of 15 I was a Saturday girl at our local Woolworths store, where I worked on the stocking and sock (and for some unaccountable reason, oilcloth) counter. Lots of older ladies would come in to buy their lisle stockings there, grateful that they were still obtainable.
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I remember my Grandma wearing floral, button through dresses with a belt along with a hand knitted cardigan in the 50s. She also wore twinsets quite often and graduated crystal beads with matching earrings which I think were clip ons. She used to wear a fur coat in winter and never went out without wearing a hat and gloves. She would wear a pinny indoors but would always take it off when she had visitors. I also remember her wearing tartan slippers with a Pom Pom on them. She always wore a full length underslip too. She wore a few different brooches to compliment what she was wearing and a cocktail watch.
Carol
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She always wore a full length underslip too.
Carol
I still do! :o
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She always wore a full length underslip too.
Carol
I still do! :o
Ditto.
I also remember my mother and grandmother wearing bloomers, aka passion killers or havest knickers (all is safely gathered in) ;) ;D ;D
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She always wore a full length underslip too.
Carol
I still do! :o
Ditto.
I also remember my mother and grandmother wearing bloomers, aka passion killers or havest knickers (all is safely gathered in) ;) ;D ;D
Harvest Drawers is what my Grandma called then Too ;D ;D ;D
I didn't think they still made those full length underslips!!
Carol
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Threlfall Yorky's and Treetotal's descriptions chime with what my mother, aunts and grandmother wore in 1950s. They were born 1890s - 1930s. Photos of Whit Walks of the time show women of all ages wearing their best summer outfits, summer dresses, with or without cardigans, or two-piece suits, providing it was a dry day. Hats & gloves were essential.
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple novels were set 1940s-1950s. Characters are from a spectrum of society. There are 2 tv series, BBC and ITV and numerous films. Check ITV2, ITV3 and Drama channel for repeats. "Grantchester" tv series, currently repeated on ITV3 is also set in 1950s. Repeats of "Home Fires" precede "Grantchester" on Friday evenings. "Home Fires" is a drama series about members of Women's Institute and is set in a village in Cheshire early in WW2. Some women might still be wearing the same outfits after the war.
Talking Pictures TV Freeview channel 81 shows old films.
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She always wore a full length underslip too.
Carol
I still do! :o
Ditto.
I also remember my mother and grandmother wearing bloomers, aka passion killers or havest knickers (all is safely gathered in) ;) ;D ;D
Harvest Drawers is what my Grandma called then Too ;D ;D ;D
I didn't think they still made those full length underslips!!
Carol
Look in M & S ;) ;)
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I don't think they are for me....I didn't get along with the short underskirts in the late 60s...too much static ;D ;D ;D
Carol