Patricia Bredin, which came seventh out of the ten countries that entered. The UK didn’t enter the 1958 contest, and to date it is the only year we have not taken part. In 1959, the competition was held in Cannes, and the United Kingdom came second with Sing Little Birdie , which was sung by husband and wife duo, Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson. The song reached number twelve in the UK charts.
As in every decade, novelty records were popular in the 1950s, and you will remember that many were regularly played on Uncle Mac’s Children’s Favourites show every Saturday morning on BBC radio. You will undoubtedly recall two in particular, I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat by Mel Blanc, which was number one in the sheet music charts for three weeks in January 1951 (this was before record charts started to be published), and How Much is that Doggie in the Window by Lita Roza, which reached number one in the UK hit record charts in April 1953, but for one week only.
Fashion
As in every generation, affluent parents bought their children expensive designer clothes and dressed them in their own fashionable image. Women’s magazines were full of fashion ideas for the whole family. There were pictures of young boys dressed in two-piece made-to-measure suits that made them look like a miniature version of their dad; the only difference was that the child’s suit hadshort trousers with turn-ups. Many magazines catered for the proud mums who loved to dress up their little girls in pretty fashionable clothes. The pages were often filled with pictures of young girls dressed in smart, brightly coloured pinafore dresses, pleated skirts, and well-tailored jackets with matching beret-style caps. Lots of puff-sleeve blouses, with plenty of ribbons and bows, and brightly coloured shoes. To the average family, this was all Hollywood stuff and well beyond their means; so, out would come the sewing machine, and your mum would try her hand at making something resembling the real thing. Dressmaking was something that all mums seemed to be able to do, a skill that was taught and handed down through generations. Young girls’ dresses in the ’50s were usually loose fitting, cut just above the knee, and gathered at the waist with a belt or a ribbon. Mums were also quite adept when it came to copying fashionable hairstyles. It took time, but it cost nothing to send their child out with well-groomed hair. Girls from ordinary working-class families would frequently have their hair smartly styled in ringlets, bunches, plaits or in a ponytail – sometimes with a fringe, and usually held in place with an Alice band or ribbons. And then there were the hair grips that they were forever taking out, pinching apart with their teeth and pushing back in place. Short hair, parted on the left side, was also quite fashionable for young girls. However you were dressed, and for whatever occasion, young girls always wore navy blue knickers, and boys always wore white y-fronts. One item of clothing that was common to both boys and girls was the vest – you always had to wear a white sleeveless vest under your shirt or blouse.
Many 1950s designer fashions for men wouldn’t look out of place today: stylish polo shirts (then called a tennis shirt) with brightly coloured horizontal stripes, short-sleeved check-patterned shirts, sports jackets with patch pockets, and well-tailored single or double-breasted suits. On the other hand, the trilby hats and decorative top-pocket hankies thankfully fell by the wayside long ago! Although women’s fashions always seem to return if you wait long enough, there has never been a resurgence in the popularity of such ’50s things as women’s hats, or brightly coloured figure-hugging flared dresses, tied into tiny corseted waists with belts of ribbon and bows.
Although it was only the wealthy that could afford to buy designer clothes and be truly fashionable, many less well-off women tried to be as up to date as possible with clothing trends,
As in every decade, novelty records were popular in the 1950s, and you will remember that many were regularly played on Uncle Mac’s Children’s Favourites show every Saturday morning on BBC radio. You will undoubtedly recall two in particular, I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat by Mel Blanc, which was number one in the sheet music charts for three weeks in January 1951 (this was before record charts started to be published), and How Much is that Doggie in the Window by Lita Roza, which reached number one in the UK hit record charts in April 1953, but for one week only.
Fashion
As in every generation, affluent parents bought their children expensive designer clothes and dressed them in their own fashionable image. Women’s magazines were full of fashion ideas for the whole family. There were pictures of young boys dressed in two-piece made-to-measure suits that made them look like a miniature version of their dad; the only difference was that the child’s suit hadshort trousers with turn-ups. Many magazines catered for the proud mums who loved to dress up their little girls in pretty fashionable clothes. The pages were often filled with pictures of young girls dressed in smart, brightly coloured pinafore dresses, pleated skirts, and well-tailored jackets with matching beret-style caps. Lots of puff-sleeve blouses, with plenty of ribbons and bows, and brightly coloured shoes. To the average family, this was all Hollywood stuff and well beyond their means; so, out would come the sewing machine, and your mum would try her hand at making something resembling the real thing. Dressmaking was something that all mums seemed to be able to do, a skill that was taught and handed down through generations. Young girls’ dresses in the ’50s were usually loose fitting, cut just above the knee, and gathered at the waist with a belt or a ribbon. Mums were also quite adept when it came to copying fashionable hairstyles. It took time, but it cost nothing to send their child out with well-groomed hair. Girls from ordinary working-class families would frequently have their hair smartly styled in ringlets, bunches, plaits or in a ponytail – sometimes with a fringe, and usually held in place with an Alice band or ribbons. And then there were the hair grips that they were forever taking out, pinching apart with their teeth and pushing back in place. Short hair, parted on the left side, was also quite fashionable for young girls. However you were dressed, and for whatever occasion, young girls always wore navy blue knickers, and boys always wore white y-fronts. One item of clothing that was common to both boys and girls was the vest – you always had to wear a white sleeveless vest under your shirt or blouse.
Many 1950s designer fashions for men wouldn’t look out of place today: stylish polo shirts (then called a tennis shirt) with brightly coloured horizontal stripes, short-sleeved check-patterned shirts, sports jackets with patch pockets, and well-tailored single or double-breasted suits. On the other hand, the trilby hats and decorative top-pocket hankies thankfully fell by the wayside long ago! Although women’s fashions always seem to return if you wait long enough, there has never been a resurgence in the popularity of such ’50s things as women’s hats, or brightly coloured figure-hugging flared dresses, tied into tiny corseted waists with belts of ribbon and bows.
Although it was only the wealthy that could afford to buy designer clothes and be truly fashionable, many less well-off women tried to be as up to date as possible with clothing trends,
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