mostly by dressmaking and knitting the clothes themselves. Conversely, the ordinary man in the street usually wore sensible and boring clothes. Many frequently dressed in their World War Two demob suit for everyday purposes well into the 1950s. There were lots of hand-knitted woollen cardigans, sleeveless jumpers and socks. Hand-knitted socks! They were so uncomfortable to wear, especially after they had been darned. Men regularly wore a shirt and tie, complete with tie-pin and cufflinks, and their jacket pocket would often be bulging from the tobacco tin that was always close at hand, ready to roll a fresh cigarette or to fill a pipe. Although men’s socks were ribbed at the top, they lacked grip and would continually slide down. Some men wore sock suspenders to keep them up.
In wintertime, because the majority of people walked or used the buses, everyone wore calf-length topcoats toprotect them from the weather, and many also wore gloves. Women, as always, were very attached to their handbags, and strapless hand-held bags were popular, but they had to be big enough to hold the essential lipstick and powder compact, and, as many women smoked, there had to be room to accommodate their cigarettes and lighter. Lots of women, and men for that matter, transferred their cigarettes into slim cigarette cases, which took up less space and were very fashionable at the time; they also made popular Christmas presents. Cigarette cases were usually made from silver, leather, chrome or Bakelite, and they were often personalised with the owner’s initials engraved on a plate at the front. Other women’s fashions included ski pants, pencil skirts, mittens, long gloves, headscarves, tiered skirts, balloon or puffed-sleeved blouses, Duffle coats, short fitted jackets, tight-fitting jumpers, upturned collars, stiletto heels (casual shoes were reserved for the garden or beach), slingback shoes and sandals, and winklepicker shoes. The dresses and blouses always had lots of buttons and pleats sewn into them. Short wavy hair, parted on the left and flicked up at the ends, was very fashionable for women, and so hairnet and curlers were often worn in bed at night. Many women had their hair ‘set’ at the hairdressers as often as they could afford it, and permed (permanent wave) every few months to make the newly grown hair wavy.
Women generally took great pride in their appearance, and although times were hard, they would always dress presentably and ready to go out if they unexpectedly needed to. Lightweight housecoats or full-length aprons were commonly worn to protect good clothes from getting dirty from housework. However, contrary to the imageprojected in films, men never wore quilted dressing gowns to protect their clothes around the house – maybe they did in Hollywood!
Teddy Boys and Edwardians
Teddy boys, or ‘Teds’ as they were often called, got their name from the Edwardian-inspired style of clothes they wore. London teenagers started the fashion in the early 1950s, and they quickly linked themselves to the newly arrived American rock and roll music. The Teddy boy culture soon spread across the country, with some forming gangs. They hung around in cafes and on street corners, sometimes causing trouble and involving themselves in violent confrontations with rival gangs. These punch-ups often involved the use of weapons, such as flick-knives, knuckledusters and bottles. They wore long drape jackets with velvet trim collars and large flapped pockets, white shirts with bootlace ‘slim-jim’ ties, high-waisted drainpipe trousers, brightly coloured socks and chunky suede shoes, preferably large crepe-soled shoes (known as brothel creepers), which best suited their bouncy movements when jiving to rock and roll music. Their hair was long and was greased up with Vaseline or Brylcreem. They styled it using their treasured and ever-present comb, carefully sculpturing the hair into a huge quiff, and sweeping the sides around to the back
In wintertime, because the majority of people walked or used the buses, everyone wore calf-length topcoats toprotect them from the weather, and many also wore gloves. Women, as always, were very attached to their handbags, and strapless hand-held bags were popular, but they had to be big enough to hold the essential lipstick and powder compact, and, as many women smoked, there had to be room to accommodate their cigarettes and lighter. Lots of women, and men for that matter, transferred their cigarettes into slim cigarette cases, which took up less space and were very fashionable at the time; they also made popular Christmas presents. Cigarette cases were usually made from silver, leather, chrome or Bakelite, and they were often personalised with the owner’s initials engraved on a plate at the front. Other women’s fashions included ski pants, pencil skirts, mittens, long gloves, headscarves, tiered skirts, balloon or puffed-sleeved blouses, Duffle coats, short fitted jackets, tight-fitting jumpers, upturned collars, stiletto heels (casual shoes were reserved for the garden or beach), slingback shoes and sandals, and winklepicker shoes. The dresses and blouses always had lots of buttons and pleats sewn into them. Short wavy hair, parted on the left and flicked up at the ends, was very fashionable for women, and so hairnet and curlers were often worn in bed at night. Many women had their hair ‘set’ at the hairdressers as often as they could afford it, and permed (permanent wave) every few months to make the newly grown hair wavy.
Women generally took great pride in their appearance, and although times were hard, they would always dress presentably and ready to go out if they unexpectedly needed to. Lightweight housecoats or full-length aprons were commonly worn to protect good clothes from getting dirty from housework. However, contrary to the imageprojected in films, men never wore quilted dressing gowns to protect their clothes around the house – maybe they did in Hollywood!
Teddy Boys and Edwardians
Teddy boys, or ‘Teds’ as they were often called, got their name from the Edwardian-inspired style of clothes they wore. London teenagers started the fashion in the early 1950s, and they quickly linked themselves to the newly arrived American rock and roll music. The Teddy boy culture soon spread across the country, with some forming gangs. They hung around in cafes and on street corners, sometimes causing trouble and involving themselves in violent confrontations with rival gangs. These punch-ups often involved the use of weapons, such as flick-knives, knuckledusters and bottles. They wore long drape jackets with velvet trim collars and large flapped pockets, white shirts with bootlace ‘slim-jim’ ties, high-waisted drainpipe trousers, brightly coloured socks and chunky suede shoes, preferably large crepe-soled shoes (known as brothel creepers), which best suited their bouncy movements when jiving to rock and roll music. Their hair was long and was greased up with Vaseline or Brylcreem. They styled it using their treasured and ever-present comb, carefully sculpturing the hair into a huge quiff, and sweeping the sides around to the back
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