Remember when we used to get dressed up to go out in the ’50s and ’60s

I have fond memories of the way we used to dress up in the 1950s and ’60s. It was a much more formal time before dress became so very ‘casualised’ (if there is not such a word, I have just invented it) and almost anything became ‘acceptable’, or not so ‘acceptable’ as the case may be.

I remember so vividly attending Sunday school, all decked out in our very best, with my two sisters, Sue and Jenny. We have one very classic black and white photograph, taken of us at the front of our house, all wearing dresses made of the same material. It was like a white, sheer, voile overlay (voile comes to mind, although I have a very limited knowledge of fabric) sweetly embossed with red spots and would have been expertly lined by our extremely, talented mum, a self-taught and fantastic dressmaker.

Our styles were each unique, to be age-appropriate, as were the individual styles of our hats. Sue, aged 12, wore a white ‘skullcap’ (which Google calls a ‘whimsie’) with net over the front; I was six and wore the white sailor’s hat, decorated with flowers and a pale blue velvet ribbon hanging down the back; Jenny, three, wore a sweet white bonnet, adorned with lace frills and tied with ribbon under the chin. We all wore white bobby socks, our best shoes and white lace gloves carrying small white handbags, for our hankies and collection plate coins, of course! This must have been 1960 according to our ages written on the back of the photo.

Even after that time, as formalities relaxed a bit and gloves and hats faded out, Jenny and I continued on at Sunday school and always wore dresses, pinafores or skirts and woollen jumpers throughout winter, often with blouses that had Peter Pan collars poking out at the top, over the jumpers. Most of our best jumpers were also hand-knitted. We didn’t have much money at all, in a family of five children but just lucky enough to have a mother who could sew so beautifully and knit as well. I was 16 years old, in my first job, before I owned anything shop bought.

Our Sunday school anniversary was held annually in October, when awards were given out to children for best attendance and recital of bible verses. The children were seated in the real church, rather than the church hall, in front of the congregation, so we were on display. Every year my mum would diligently make Jenny and I a new dress especially for this occasion. They were always elaborate, pretty, full-skirted in our younger years, including lace pockets, frills or a rosette delicately placed somewhere, and one favourite pink dress had a lace bolero to wear over the dress.

I remember when the long socks came in and I used to wear them with a woollen grey skirt, edged with blue patterned braid, or a corduroy pinafore, right up to the age of 12 (1966). Children dressed like children in those days. Then the momentous occasion arose when, finally, I was allowed to graduate to real stockings worn with a suspender belt. How important I felt, especially when my little sister wasn’t old enough to wear them too. It was almost a ‘rite of passage’ then and made me feel like a young woman almost.

We had great fun trying on all mum’s gloves and hats, as she stopped wearing them. She even had a glove drawer in her dressing table. The ‘moo moo’, shift, mini skirt and gradually the hippie era all replaced or relaxed the standards as smart casual has become generally acceptable, in most situations. Formal occasions no longer require gloves and hats unless you move in elite circles although elegant clothing is certainly available for weddings and balls, or other glitzy events, like Melbourne Cup affairs.

The greatest difference for me personally has been the transition of women to pants of every conceivable style and length for almost every occasion. I still will wear a dress to a wedding, or other glamorous event, or on a hot summer’s night but, most often, wear pants of every length, for every season and especially for work, casual and relaxed activities. My old-fashioned dad, who has been gone now for over 20 years, would not really approve, as he always used to say a woman always looked better in a dress.

Maybe I’m a bit old-fashioned too though as despite the pretty, cute baby clothes that now fill our shops, I do miss the very beautiful layettes and bootees that babies used to wear. My 28-year-old twins wore gorgeous white dresses, made by their nana, hand-embroidered with matching petticoats underneath, hand-knitted layettes, also from nana, plus lots of bootees from their other nan, on special occasions. These have been lovingly treasured and preserved in pale blue tissue in a coloured cardboard box. I doubt they will ever see the light of day, for any grandchildren who are to come.

Times are different now and it is nice to be relaxed about what we choose to wear and how much we want to dress up based on our taste and what best suits our body. It is interesting though to note how recent fashion does mimic some styles of the past. It is nice to maintain a standard of one’s own. Perhaps those early dress up years have contributed to my standard of dress for today when I always endeavour to look my best.

Do you remember getting dressed up to go out in the ’50s and ’60s? What do you think of the fashion today?

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