What in your view is common ?

I was not allowed to eat in the street as my ma thought it was common.

I can remember my mum saying "stop scrunching your toes up! Walk over there - properly!"
While I modeled some hideous shoes.

White stiletto shoes were beyond the pale when I was a gal!

As were (deep breath) Clark's shoes. Only Start-Rite would do!

Incidentally, I always loved patent shoes so what was I exposing...?

Doodledog
Haha, you’re right, they weren’t were they.

Yes! The daisy ones. They were barely sandals at all, really.

Always Clarke sandals with the Daisy type of cutout.
I remember at about twelve begging for something different and eventually getting some, only to be warned that I had better look after them
The next day my auntie sent me to the chip shop for some fish and chips, and fat dripped out all over them.
So I suppose then I really looked common.

Sandals for summer, obviously .

The difference between the Clarks shoes that I wore as a child and the ones I could get for my children was enormous.

Mine were lace up black or brown flats for winter and crepe soled Mary Jane closed toe 'sandals' for winter, sometimes with a bit of colour, I think (?). I seem to remember an Oxblood coloured pair, but I may be mistaken. I hated them.

My son's had animal paws on the soles so he could make impressive footprints, and my daughter's had appliqué flowers. Both had trainers with flashing lights on the sides, and all were in measured sizes and in supportive styles that were functional as well as fashionable.

We always had Clark’s, paid for by one grannie, the other bought winter coats or whitsunday dresses.
I’ve just bought bought shoes for grandchildren.

Miss A I wept at the tin soldier and ballerina. What a love we had of stories that touched emitions

paddyann I don’t consider gallus as being the equivalent of common though someone described as gallus can often be common as well. To me it denotes someone who is bold and doesn’t give a damn about what others may think about them. I have even used it as a compliment.
My parents expected me to be like Sandy in Grease whereas I had a lingering admiration for Rizzo. She and the Pink Ladies were pure gallus.

I hated the process of buying school shoes. The uniform was brown sandals for summer and indoors, brown lace ups for winter. I remember crying in the shop because the shoes - Clark’s I’m sure - were so horrid (but expensive for Mum I expect).

Miss Adventure winter shoes for me had to be lace ups? Clarkes said it was because of my narrow feet. Always, the ones I wanted weren’t in my size. Sulk.

I only seem to remember getting a choice of black or brown lace-ups.

Shoe shopping was always awful.

Oh yes Callistemon and the red polish with a sponge top applicator for scuffs, it used to get on my white sox.
Maybe that was common too though ?

?

I used to like my red Clark's sandals best of all.
Some years I got blue ones which were nice but the brown ones were really boring.

Talking of shoes, an Irish friend who went to a convent school was told by the nuns never to wear patent shoes because boys would see your knickers reflected in them. ?

I used to love those stories as a child.
Talk about firing up the imagination!

I always cried about the tin soldier and the ballerina from the jewellery box (?)

MissA - yep, that’s why I wept aged 4, 5 and 6. I suspect mum refused totally to indulge me

Yes, they were .....

I did keep the red shoes for years.
However, they were patent leather and that is really common. ?

The red shoes are the ones that wouldn't stop dancing.
They carried the girl off, dancing all the way...

Someone upthread mentioned red shoes

Red shoes are fine - just not with fluorescent socks ???
There was a girl at my grammar school who was very nice but very proper. Her sister went to the Secondary Modern and wore high heeled red shoes with fluorescent socks, she was a constant source of embarrassment to her sister.

I had some lovely red shoes, a matching handbag and a red hat which I wore to a wedding with a navy and white dress (think 1960s). Someone said 'Red hat, no drawers' and I never wore the hat again.
DD claimed the handbag as retro not long ago ?

So good to see you back and on form Germanshepherdsmum. Cracking list from you. Of course I couldn’t possibly admit to agreeing with you.

As for red shoes, I loved the fairy tail by Hans Christian Anderson. His tails were much scarier than the brothers Grimm. I’d plead with mummy to read it, promise I wouldn’t cry this time but always did. My grannie bought me my first pair of red shoes when I was 8. I’ve rarely been without red shoes/boots since then. My current red boots are Rocket Dog and I’m looking forward to autumn when I’ll be wearing them again.

hollysteers my grannies both used ‘a right Mary Ellen” - my mother told us not to say it. She didn’t need to spell it out. We knew it was common

I was born overseas and have no idea that fish net stockings are associated with common women and prostitutes.

My daughter once told me that she received an invitation to go to a fancy dress party. I told her in all innocence, ‘I got an idea! Why don’t you go dressed up as a school girl, plaited hair, fish net stockings and stiletto high heels’
She said ‘No way am I going to a fancy dress party dressed up as a prostitute!’

I also did not know the women wearing ankle bracelets are considered common in this country.

Hard hat on:

Multiple tattoos
Multiple piercings
Acres of old lady flesh* (tattooed or not) on the streets in summer
Very low cut tops
Trout pouts
Slug eyebrows
Makeup that looks as if it’s been applied with a trowel
Very long nails
Swearing in public (eg on the train, in shops or in the street) and in front of children

* (I have plenty of my own but try not to scare the horses.)

As you can see, I’m a very tolerant person!

Someone upthread mentioned red shoes - with ankle straps!? I had a lovely pair of flat red shoes with ankle straps when I was about 16, I loved them to bits.

Granmarderby, while I don’t remember her ever using the C word, a GM of mine was always very ‘correct’ in her behaviour, and was evidently most particular about manners etc. in her son, my father. Her own mother had been a lady’s maid so I’ve often thought there must have been a considerable influence from that direction.