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I cannot believe I used to…………

(219 Posts)
Sago Thu 01-Jul-21 10:35:28

Wear blue eyeshadow and eat margarine.

grannybuy Sun 04-Jul-21 08:41:48

We had no honeymoon, just straight home to our rented flat after the wedding. I had shopped beforehand, and our first meals were Vesta ones, and tinned steak and kidney pie. No thoughts about healthy eating then.

grannybuy Sun 04-Jul-21 08:31:17

Drove from NE Scotland to, and all over, Europe with three children, and no seat belts.
Didn’t worry such a lot!

Katyj Sun 04-Jul-21 08:13:51

Buy American tan tights, if one leg had a ladder in it I’d cut the leg off and match to another one legged pair ?

hollysteers Sat 03-Jul-21 19:46:48

Spit into my mascara block. It came with a little brush. It served very well.
Mum’s Evening in Paris scent in a little blue bottle, also Californian Poppy. Tabu dusting powder in its fancy box.
I still use some of the things everyone seems to have abandoned, eye liner, occasional false eyelashes, a hairpiece for an evening out and patterned tights.

Callistemon Sat 03-Jul-21 19:25:38

lemongrove

I definitely can’t believe that I was a married woman before I heard anyone say the F word.Thinking about it, the only swear words I heard ( now and then, overheard ) was ‘bloody’.
I grew up on a council estate where there were many rough characters and problem families, so it’s not as if I had a silver spoon upbringing.Men were considerate of using ‘bad language’ around women and girls in the street, or on the bus etc back then though.A different world all round now.

I didn't hear anything worse than damn and blast when I was growing up but had learnt the word bluddy from a 7 year old friend (a boy).

Missedout Sat 03-Jul-21 18:15:33

....work at Batchelors Foods in Ashford in Kent where they made Vesta meals!
I used to wear hairpieces (attached to hair band - not a bad match for my own colour) and wigs (no need to match my hair) in those days.

Also wore false eyelashes, eyeliner and lots of eye shadow.

Oh - stockings and suspender belts - my thighs used to bulge over the tops of the stockings and rub together!

White chisel toe sling-back shoes - my mother was so cross when I bought a pair, she said I would ruin my feet.

I also treated myself to some cream leather platform knee-length boots, I kept them for many years.

I never smoked and refused any drugs but also drank and drove - no safety belts in cars then. I had a lot of fun, took risks but never got into any real trouble.

A real trip down memory lane - thank you OP!

lemongrove Sat 03-Jul-21 18:10:27

I definitely can’t believe that I was a married woman before I heard anyone say the F word.Thinking about it, the only swear words I heard ( now and then, overheard ) was ‘bloody’.
I grew up on a council estate where there were many rough characters and problem families, so it’s not as if I had a silver spoon upbringing.Men were considerate of using ‘bad language’ around women and girls in the street, or on the bus etc back then though.A different world all round now.

lemongrove Sat 03-Jul-21 18:04:41

I hitchhiked too, but only with another teenager ( even so!)?
However, it has to be remembered that most people were kind and gave lifts to strangers, especially in the countryside.

I cannot believe that I thought I wasn’t slim enough ( at around 8 stone and a size 10 ) I blame Twiggy!
Also that I thought I wasn’t good looking enough ( I was) but 16/17 girls probably all think the same.

lemongrove Sat 03-Jul-21 17:59:14

Grandmajean where I lived at the time was only a mile away though.

lemongrove Sat 03-Jul-21 17:58:12

Grandmajean

I cannot believe I accepted a lift home ( about 25 miles ) from a boy I danced with at a student union dance ! It never crossed my mind that he could have been an axe murderer !

Ditto here.... but after exams we got married ( so that worked out ok)?

GrammarGrandma Sat 03-Jul-21 17:31:28

...weight eight and a half stone.

Skydancer Sat 03-Jul-21 16:21:45

I normally go on about the good old days. But reading some of this makes me realise how so much of it was not so good especially the clothes. Today's clothes are far more sensible and there isn't the ridiculous fashion that there was in the 60s such as the false eyelashes, platform shoes etc. But at the time it was good not to be sensible. I'm glad I had all that fun - wearing all that daft stuff, smoking, drinking, lying to my parents, hitchhiking, sleeping on the beach... now I'm a pillar of society!

chloe1984 Sat 03-Jul-21 16:15:53

Max factor pan stick, white eyeshadow,and ‘just you’ Miners lipstick which was a fetching shade of brown. Dolly rocker dresses , and a perfume by Revlon that I just cannot remember. Also had an ‘up do ’ at the hairdressers every Saturday and used to wrap my whole hair do in toilet paper to preserve the curls before going to bed. And was so totally in love with a boy with an auburn long curly hairstyle and ‘John Lennon’ glasses. My parents wouldn’t let him come anywhere near the house as they were frightened the neighbours might think he was a hippie! And no reader I didn’t marry him.

Dryginger Sat 03-Jul-21 15:57:11

Went to Greenham Common american airbase for discos on a friday night.
Before the demonstrations though. Changed our money on the door for dollers.

Anrol Sat 03-Jul-21 14:49:30

Ashamed to say, drinking and driving. I thought nothing of a couple of drinks and driving home afterwards. Thankfully I did not like alcohol too much, so 2 Bacardi and cokes were my limit. I wouldn’t get behind the wheel now after even one sip of alcohol.

Hiraeth Sat 03-Jul-21 14:23:04

Going down the park on a Saturday morning with friends and stuffing my bra with newspaper cause I wanted bigger boobs. I was only 14 .

Hiraeth Sat 03-Jul-21 14:17:17

Brilliant thread.
Born 1954 . I used to use sellotape to stick my corkscrews down before going dancing . Used black shoe polish as mascara . No wonder I haven’t got any eyelashes .

Nannee49 Sat 03-Jul-21 13:15:30

Fab thread...here's mine
Wearing miners foundation as lipstick
Wearing Leichner theatrical make up as actual foundation - why on 14 yr old skin
Wearing horrible thick lisle stockings with hush puppies with the very important detail of red laces
Putting a sixpence as emergency suspender rubber to hold up said lisle stockings
Dancing the Cavern stomp
Using my Twisted Wheel membership card as a train pass when I'd left the pass at home

Billybob4491 Sat 03-Jul-21 13:01:54

After eating winkles I would fish out the black round bit, save it, and then before I went dancing I would attach it to my face and instantly I had a beauty spot! and amazingly it stayed on all night. Another vote Vesta meals.

jaybee66 Sat 03-Jul-21 12:48:33

Most of the things mentioned already. Those were the days when we were all just ourselves!!

GillT57 Sat 03-Jul-21 12:46:55

Gingham perfume! Crikey I remember that. Doused myself in it, the reek in clubs discos as we all danced and sweated in our polyester, bathed in cheap perfume and after shave! And smoked on the dancefloor; it's a wonder we didn't all combust in a cloud of cheap perfume and clothes

GrandmaCornwall Sat 03-Jul-21 12:20:44

Perfumes bring back many memories, Gingham was a favourite of mine, Brut for my DH, dancing at discos which we would drive miles to get to.
Helena Rubinstein’s Apple blossom can conjure up memories of my mum.
I remember buying my granny some perfume (with a connection to violets ) in a very tiny bottle. This was always for sale in seaside shops in those days.

Going back to the Vesta meals beef risotto with a touch of marmite added was my favourite, followed by artic roll and my drink of choice was a Cherry B, now I can’t bare anything cherry flavoured and only eat food made from scratch.

Dryginger Sat 03-Jul-21 11:48:13

Fish and chip shops in summer only using new potatoes. These days its fashonable to eat food thats in season as if thats some thing new those days we had no choice.

Chestnut Sat 03-Jul-21 11:27:55

Less rubbish because we drank from taps and nothing was pre-packed. You bought your meat, cheese, everything fresh and wrapped in paper. And we simply didn't have the huge amount of 'things' that are available to buy today. Fewer things were manufactured, there were fewer shops, and there was not the choice we have now.

Dryginger Sat 03-Jul-21 11:21:29

Sorry I meant Chestnut.!