What did you wear in your youth?

Jeans, t-shirts and trainers- as we had no uniform. Then I moved to London and discovered Carnaby Street and the markets- mini skirts and dressed (my favourite mini was suede) and flares- hoppy tops.

My favourite item of clothing when I was in my 20s was a mini dress with matching hot pants. I remember spending £11 on it and feeling endlessly guilty at the huge extravagance.

I also used to wear very short mini-skirts with those tight knee-length boots - anyone remember them? They had a firm foot section then skinny shiny floppy PVC tops that you zipped up your leg. I had a white pair and loved them. The matron of the hospital where I was working stopped me in the corridor and forbade me to go on the wards with so much leg showing! But I think it cheered up the male patients!

I too had circular skirts, Elegran, though I didn't go the length of making them myself. 'Paper nylon' petticoats or hooped ones which were a bit hazardous when the hoops started to slide out and tangle round my ankles. And what about those 'waspies' - elastic belts, some of them about 4 inches wide! Pride and joy in the 60s was a black and white checked mini pinafore skirt worn with white polo neck, lacy black stockings and kitten heels. My navy bouclé coat with pink collar and pocket trims was very 'Jackie Kennedy'. I made lots of shift dresses when I went to spend 5 years in Africa, generally worn with Scholls sandals or flip flops.

In the fifties I made circular cotton skirts.

No pattern needed, just bought 4 or 5 yards of 36 in wide material, and cut two large semicircles from it with 40 inch radius which it was not quite wide enough for, so bits had to be added to get the length in places. Then did some maths and calculated the size of the semicircles to cut out at the top, to give the right circumference for the waist, remembering to allow for the seams. Waistband cut straight across the fabric, and Bob's your uncle. The leftovers made triangular headscarves/neckerchiefs.

Worn with a longsleeved thin jumper, I looked the bees knees. I saved up and bought a waist slip with layers of lacy frills, which made the skirt stand out like a lampshade and frothed becomingly when I danced, displaying my (rather good) legs to advantage.

A problem with circular skirts was the way the material stretched unevenly as it hung, so after a while the hems had to be redone to get rid of the droopy bits.

The iamges of what you ladies wore in the 60's 70's bring back many memories of those times, I had forgotten CND.

Ok, I've smartened up now, put some trousers on. Disrespectful to watch Cenotaph in my boxers.

Under 18, in the fifties: dresses with big frou-frou petticoats under them, very full skirts and tight wide belts, which all pictures show were not a good idea. My hips sit very close to my waist so skirts bunch out over them making me look frumpy and overweight, which I was not (overweight that is).

In the 1960s, university and work, fashion was far kinder to me. I have long legs and miniskirts, coloured tights, empire line and shift dresses and later smock dresses were great and I loved and wore all of them. My wedding dress was a white mini-dress.

My Dad bought me a cotton a line mini dress from Whitechapel market it had mauve and lilac swirls it cost £1 10shillings. I was fifteen and went every week to visit my Mum who was in London Hospital recovering from an operation. I absolutely loved that dress and wore it until it became just too shabby. I also used to apply a grey streak to one side of my hair never thought I would get one naturally. Never seemed to have enough money to supplement my wardrobe much , so eventually managed to get a Saturday job in a local chemists I worked from 9am until 6pm and received 18 shillings used to save and save until I could buy something fashionable to go out in.

Late 60s and 70s for me were spent in long skirts, no bra under cheesecloth shirts and floppy hats, lots of beads and a hippy baby in stripy leggings and dungarees. Ah happy days!!!

Somewhere I have a wonderful photo of the two of us at Land's End in 1974 (when I would have been 23). I am wearing check trousers, a different check jacket, grey tank top (remember them?) With diagonal purple stripes, a cream shirt and a grey/black paisley tie! Who said the Seventies had no style!

Into the Sixth Form in 1963 and ditched the frillies - black tights, black duffel coat, short tight skirt, long straight hair, CND badge.....what a poser! But, of course, full school uniform most of the time - navy and yellow. Ugh!

Much the same as I wear now. I did have a mini skirt or two in the late 60's/early 70's.
I don't wear skirts much these days, and only have a couple in my wardrobe, one of which is black (I keep it for funerals).
I had special Sunday Best clothes, usually a dress, and a pair of good shoes.
Then as now I mostly lived in my trousers.

In the 40s and early 50s we had none of the tribal pressures - we lads wore pretty much what our fathers wore - flannels, sports jacket... I remember I had a suit that I didn't care for, and gave it to my dad... and I also wore his dinner jacket for some of my first gigs...

When I was about 12, I went to a village social event run by the church. My mother made me a red taffeta sleeveless dress with sequins sewed around the sleeves and neckline. There was a tussle between mum and dad over how 'grown up' I could look. Eventually he compromised on the stockings (so I wore those for the first time instead of the usual ankle socks) but held firm against the lipstick. However, just before I went out on the big night mum was putting a bit of the forbidden natural coloured lipstick on me when dad walked in. They didn't speak for a week.

That was in the mid 1950s. Since then it was huge sticky out skirts, ponytails, bouffants, very high heels with metal screw in 'soles', miniskirts. Now it's jeans/trousers, tee shirts/jumpers and flat shoes (I could manage high heels if I wanted to but I don't).

NanKate, I was a bit after the Wide Boy era, start of the Mod era.
Days of the Beatles, Dave Clark, Stones etc.

Unfortunately "Fat Git" is not too far wrong

Pretty much the same as I wear now except I wear skirts far more seldom now. I was always a practical dude and wore clothes that suited my active lifestyle. My criterion with shoes is and always has been that I have to be able to walk ten miles in them without having painful feet.

Pompa you must have looked very smart in your handmade suits. However I suspect my mother would have described you as a 'wide boy' and one to be avoided.

You did make me laugh when you mentioned Onslow he was brilliant as the fat git. Of course I am not implying you are a fat git.

PapaO what a wonderful description of you and her indoors.

The night I met my hubby to be I too had false eyelashes, a purple streak in my hair and a shift dress of many diagonal colours.

In those days I could wear lovely high heels, now alas I wear Hotter shoes, but I haven't quite lost my flare I still wear purple tights, the thick ones not the lovely sheer ones of my youth.

Those were the days.

Sharp handmade suits from a little Jewish tailor in Walthamstow and Saville Row. Nice shirts, silk ties, cuff links the lot. Used to spend a fortune on suits, as did most of my mates at that time - trying to pull the "birds" at Tottenham Royal. Circa 1963

Oddly my last Saville Row Suit was my wedding one ???

OMG where did that smart me go, now I am only to be found in holey jumpers and craghoppers.
Sitting here in my boxers and vest atm, Onslow, eat your heart out.
I do still own a couple of off the peg suits, wouldn't have been seen dead in an OTP suit in the 60's.

Mini skirts and dresses, hot pants, maxi coat, false eyelashes and long blonde hair. Seems like a long, long time ago.

Flared trousers, flower shirts and kipper ties. Long hair and sideburns, previously drainpipes, fluorescent socks and brothel-creepers. And Madame nicely turned out in mini-skirt, tank-top, bouffant hair and black make-up. Those were the days!

I had an 'op art' dress - a sleeveless knitted shift with irregular squares and rectangles of maroon and mustard, with thick black lines separating them, trimmed round the neck and armholes in black.
Sounds awful but it was quite elegant and Mary Quant-ish.

Full skirts with 100 yard net petticoats, starched with sugar water. Shift dresses with kitten heels, white cardigan and white gloves. Mini skirts with tight jumpers, leather boots and a leather cap. It helped that I was a skinny Minnie.

Full skirts, frilly petticoats, 2" heels, which to me were high. 2 to 3 inch wide plastic belts, I lived with my grandma, and she often said I was tied up like a rice bun, as I fastened them as tight as they`d go! What`s a rice bun??

Hot pants,loons,oxford bags and anything with a tartan trim. I was a 70's child after all .