Did you work in a uniform?

That sounds lovely grannysue ( was it BA?)
I shall read the posts with interest, but have never had to work in a uniform so can’t add to it.

It was British European Airways in the days when we did Europe and the Middle East.
BOAC (as it was then) did long haul to USA etc.

I wore a bank uniform. When Access (now MasterCard) first came out, the women had to wear a sash across their chests which said ‘Access your flexible friend’. The male customers were very inventive with their comments!

The male staff did not have to wear them.

Oh Liz I remember those sashes.
Obviously the "higher ups" never gave a thought to double meanings!
Hope you invented some suitable retorts.

Fabulous air stewardesses were so glamorous and well groomed. It must have been a very exciting life if quite hard work I imagine.
I was a nurse -not at the time of starched aprons but the blue check, red belt and hat with thick blue stripe once I qualified. Navy dress once I became a District Nurse (small navy pill box hat and navy coat) and then a Ward Sister (frilly white cap). As an Infection Control Nurse it was a white coat for clinical work and a business suit for office work.Later on as a Consultant Nurse I had a navy dress with small white dots on it. After that business suits until I retired which was a kind of uniform. Once I retired I found choosing clothes difficult - its was so easy to put on the 'uniform' whatever it was at the time.
Thank you for thinking of this thread.

I don’t know if it counts as a uniform but I was a hospital technician and always wore a white coat.

We each had our own coats with our names in and they were washed by the hospital laundry on a weekly basis. They had detachable buttons which we removed before sending them down the laundry. They came back starched to within an inch of their lives, you could scarcely bend you arms at first!

Sorry, pressed Send too soon!

I also did aseptic work, for which I had to get gowned up with gloves, hair covering and a mask. In that respect, CV is like o,d times for me.

I too worked in a bank. They brought out ‘uniforms’ in the late 90’s I think it was, but was called ‘corporate wear’, not sure why.

No matter, we all spoke about our ‘uniforms’. I think we got new ones about every two to three years, but the time between allocations seemed to str.....etch out as time went by.

I've often had to wear a uniform ~ in the trillions of jobs I had during teens and student years. None were remotely stylish but it helped the customers work out who were staff I guess.
And when I worked on the conveyor belts in the factory, it identified those who were students. The staff in the factory wore different colour/style of overalls so we knew their rolls and seniority. I found it quite helpful really. Also I'm glad I didn't have to wear my own clothes. These were hard to come by (as in short of cash) and often made by me ~ so I didn't want to be getting random sundry gunk /dirt on them.

I wore uniform as an ambulance driver, as we were called 30+ yrs ago. Those days it was RAF serge trousers and jacket, pale blue shirt with tie and hat with badge. A heavy navy wool coat and steel recap boots. Then we changed to navy with white shirt and sweater, no hat and then of course the now familiar green cargo trousers T-shirt, fleece and waterproof coat and DMs much more practical and comfortable. I loved wearing my uniform we got tax relief on cleaning it too.

Way back in1963 I did a few months as a Lift Attendant in a department store in Kensington High Street.

We wore dresses designed by Norman Hartnell. They were mid blue with some sort of black print in small shapes all over.

The main thing I remember about them is that they were hideous. Not at all the sort of that a 19 year old would choose to wear in the Swinging Sixties.

Nurses uniform in the days of starched aprons, summer and winter cuffs, fabric cap which had to be folded to exact specifications. When I became a Staff Nurse I had a pale blue dress of which I was very proud. I was also pregnant and the belt of my uniform was getting higher when Matron passed me in the corridor and said "It's time you started wearing a white coat Nurse " the disappointment! !

Lots of different Nurse uniforms.

I was an Army Nursing Officer for many years,it was my most favourite uniform ever,fabulous big white starched hats,red cape and grey dress with long sleeves.In the Summer we had to wait for daily orders to say we could go without our capes and roll our sleeves up.

So proud to have had my Army years,no other uniform came close.At the end of my Nursing I was wearing a white top and navy trousers

I still have my original belt from my Student days,goes about three quarters way round my waist now! I am slim as well!

The full nurse's uniform--late 50's/60's and 70's.

Latterly, a suit for clerical work in the NHS until I retired so it was a treat to wear normal clothes.

" Butterfly " hats while training in the 50's that had to be perfect for matron's inspection. We also had to show our fingernails and no ladders in our black stockings.

I started my working life in the Army, and wore the lovat green uniform with a white shirt, a dark green tie and a dark green beret. Number one dress was dark green with a dark green peaked cap. The tie was later replaced with a sort of under the collar dickie bow thing. They were anything but a perfect fit. When I was posted to London (where I worked in civvies mostly) it was common practice to take one’s uniforms to a tailor in Camden Town who would alter them to fit properly! It was reasonable and worth the money! You felt so much better in them. Most of the rest of my working life I wore office clothes and later a suit, but nothing approaching a uniform again.

Oh those lovely nurses uniforms that you all had.
They always looked smart and clinical and gave a good impression to nervous patients.
I know what you mean about Matron's inspections! We had pre flight inspections from the chief stewardess and she always checked that we were wearing our Playtex girdles. It was strictly forbidden to go "girdleless".
Also stockings....always had to have legs covered. On flights to hot destinations that was a constant irritation. Many girls used leg tan but the Chief Stewardess always saw through that ruse.

I do loathed my unflattering school uniform that I vowed never to take a job which required one.

GrannySomerset I hear you.
My school uniform was dire. Navy full gymslip, white blouse, tie and thick black stockings.
We had an annual ceremony to reward very tidy girls with a bright red girdle. Very sought after.
Needless to say, I never received one.

Nurse here - very strict uniform including white dress, cap folded and tucked in a specific way and even shoes were uniform issue. We went to the hospital sewing room on our first day at nursing school and our uniforms were altered to fit. We had eight dresses each and five caps which were sent to the hospital laundry to be washed and starched. As a staff nurse and sister we had blue dresses, white cuffs, aprons and starched caps, and a petersham belt with the coveted silver buckle, all complemented by numerous badges from hospitals we trained at and further training completed. Rather glamorous but militaristic and most impractical for the job we were doing in terms of health and safety of patient and nurse. Male nurses had much more practical tunic and trousers.
These days there are no hospital laundries and uniforms are laundered at home. Until I retired I wore tunic and trousers, scrubs or civvies as a consultant nurse. Not as glam or heirarchical but much more comfortable and practical.

All your nursing uniforms were very alluring. All that starch!
Remember the old war movies where the male heroes were nursed back to health by the pretty nurses and then they promptly got married.
Did any of you meet your future partner whilst "on the job" ?

My first uniform was a simple cotton starched dress in a Lavender colour, and no cap. I was 17 years old, and working at our local hospital as a cadet Nurse, but spent my first year cleaning down whatever the clinic sister asked me to, I hated that first year and could not wait until I entered Nursing school, and got my Green pin striped uniform and my first paper cap. On qualifying, the pin stripes changed to a solid bottle green colour, but by then I had met and married my first husband, and left the hospital life to work in occupational health for Sainsburys, where I stayed until my daughter was born a couple of years later. My uniform there was more casual, a Navy blue and white Pin striped dress made out of easy care Polyester, which had a habit of giving off static electricity shocks, and I hated it!
Four years later, and after my children were born, I returned to the NHS to train in Mental health, and loved it. By this time it was a combination of the national Blue check nurse's dress, and our own clothes which we had to wear on the rehabilitation wards, for which we were paid a small clothing allowance against wear and tear. This became the trend upon qualifying, and I continued to work on the rehabilitation wards and houses.
When I retired, I missed my job, and returned to doing the odd shift on a large national nursing agency, and met some lovely Clients. Navy blue uniform again, but no aprons other than the disposable plastic ones, and no hat. How strange it felt to sometimes turn up at a clients home to do a full shift, to find that they were one of the senior hospital team who we feared so.much as Cadet nurses all those years ago. We often had a laugh with them about it, and I got to enjoy working in some lovely houses, and also met and nursed some very famous people too, sadly quite a few were in their last few weeks of life, and I felt honored o be with them at the very end.

Wow so many nurses on here! No uniform for me, I worked as a private secretary (later renamed PA) to business men and academics. Just smart suits, white shirt and heels of course!

Yes, for a couple of years - tartan cabin crew uniform of the late lamented British Caledonian.
Our kilts had the classic pin, so there was often some would-be comic male passenger who’d say, ‘If I undo that pin, will your skirt fall off?’