Did your mother make you wear a Liberty bodice?

PamelaJ1

Callistemon
Those books lied ?

So DH tells me!

Callistemon

Lucca

PamelaJ1

Lucca I was in the northwest, near Lancaster.
Boarding school- great training for the Marines!

Ah. North Wales for me!

Some of my friends went off to Lowther College, I can remember how envious I was and longed to go.
That was probably because of all the books I read about boarding school and what "jolly japes" they all had!

My school,was in Denbigh

My Grandmother sent me a parcel early 60s.Inside was a garment that I had no idea what it was, do remember it had suspenders and made of soft flannel/wool material How disapointed was I!!!Luckily my Mum never made me wear it. No idea what happenend to it as never seen again but it was a liberty bodice.

What a lovely nostalgic thread. Yes I wore liberty bodices too, and was an avid reader of Enid Blyton boarding school books.
One thing to add - "Siren" suits were probably so-called because we had to go outside to the shelters during the bombing raids. When the siren blared out. Still gives me the shivers if I hear it.

I wore one and was born in 1956. We had to wear navy blue gym knickers too. Boys were in short trousers all year round. School toilets were outside and not heated. I also remember in high school 1968 being taught how to hand wash a vest in domestic science (as it was called). I remember this skill even now and have had to teach my DDs and DS how to hand wash clothes if necessary because they were never taught it.

Definitely rubber buttons. My mother warmed every item of clothing in the morning and buttons used to burn sometimes.

I called my vest my semmit. Liberty bodice went on over the semmit, then a jersey . Jerseys began to be called jumpers quite recently I think. When I was young I looked okay with upper body garments all tucked in at the waist.

Pixie hoods are easy to make. You simply sew a seam up part of a broad scarf, and then tie the loose ends under the chin. I suppose the side that borders the face could have faux fur sewn on.

Alexa, my father also called his vest a semmit, pronounced simmit.

My old uncle called his underwear his simmit and drawers.

I remember Scott's emulsion with revulsion, thick white stuff with cod liver oil. Also Parish's food, contained iron.

Yes I had to wear a liberty bodice, I always had a winter cough Somy Mum used to pin a camphor block to my liberty bodice.
Oh the smell of it wasn’t nice at all

Urrrrh, Scott's Emulsion....you're years too late, lemsip. If you had come up with that wonderful line to advertise the vile stuff, loads of us wouldn't have had to suffer.

"pin a camphor block to my liberty bodice" - don't know why that's tickled me so much - but it has!

Someone mentioned knitted woolen gloves being attached to each by elastic or something which went up one arm, across your shoulder and down the other arm...brilliant idea, actually! Should have thought of that when ds was little

Where were you all when I had to suffer changing for the swimming lessons, I thought I was the only girl forced to wear the liberty bodice over my vest, all I really wanted a ladybird vest.
Alishka
Children are not allowed to have their gloves attached to each other on an elastic through the back of their coats as it’s a health hazard now.

I wore one warmed over the fire guard. Also in the coldest winter remember my fathers heavy RAF coat on the bed for warmth. No central heating and ice on all windows upstairs. I also remember with little money coming in, a clean house with good food and lovely parents.

I never heard of one person being strangled by elastic threaded through coat sleeves on gloves .

Oldbat1

Yes think most girls in the 50s 60s had Liberty bodices definitely remember the rubber buttons. Did boys have equivalent?

I remember wearing a liberty bodice to keep warm in winter, but it seems that it was originally an alternative to the restrictive corsets worn by women. So, freedom and not generally worn by boys. I, too, remember ice on the inside of windows!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_bodice


A en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_bodice

Ignore the second link ?

I didn't dawdle getting dressed on winter mornings with ice on the inside of my bedroom window. I had more layers on me than an onion but it was a great way of trapping in heat. Anyone remember knitted bathers???

I have just remembered that my mum used to have the oven on in the mornings and our underclothes would be draped over the open door to warm. Oh bless her, she was such a lovely mum.........

Marydoll, I think semmit or simmit is a Glasgow dialect word. My mother possibly mispronounced it slightly as she came from Belfast. My Glaswegian father pronounced it simmit.

Alishka At one time, we all had our gloves attached through our coats.
Sparkling Can't ever remember that either.
I must admit that I used to do that with my own gloves when skiing (I was inclined to lose them half way up a slope when I fell and slid down)

Alishka At one time, we all had our gloves attached through our coats.

Mine were too and and I can still remember the feel of it! And sometimes if you yanked too hard on one glove or mitten the other one would disappear up the coat sleeve.

Think mine were just on short elastic sewn to the cuff of my raincoat.

It’s actually possible to buy custom made clips now for gloves. Some of them go up one sleeve and down the other, old school style. Others are designed to clip onto the cuff of the coat.