What did you wear?

I too wore a liberty bodice with a flannelette petticoat I don't remember what my top layer was but I have a picture of me in a red wool double breasted coat with a velvet Peter Pan collar, white woolly leggings and patent shoes.. I must of been about 4/5

I remember wearing Liberty bodices with those strange rubbery buttons and also having circles of elastic to keep up my long socks. Also had navy blue knickers with a little pocket for my hankie. When I was in my teens my Mother was very critical of the underwear that I chose as it offered "no protection at all" (she would never elaborate further ) I think if she was
alive now she would be very happy at my underwear choices as I have copious amounts of protection

I remember wearing liberty bodices with bones and rubber buttons. I also had corduroy trousers and wore knee length socks with elastic garters to keep them up. In my first school photo I was wearing a short sleeved jumper under a pleated skirt with a bib and straps over the shoulders. On top of this I had on a double breasted cardigan with silver coloured buttons. I remember the cardigan being royal blue.
Did anyone have a "scooter scarf"? A scarf with a hood in the middle and pom-poms on the ends.

Strange patterned vests, leggings, hand knitted woolie poolies, some sort of pre Barbour waterproof, mittens..... oh.. sorry, the subject was what did you wear?
Strange patterned vests, leggings, hand knitted woolie poolies... I was fashionable in the 70s and 80s, though... and cold.

Liberty bodice definitely. Hand knitted jumpers or cardigans. Scotch kilt. Knee length beige socks and horrendous clumpy black school shoes. Over which I would wear the heaviest woollen school coat imaginable. I used to get one every winter. In summer it would be a navy gaberdine school mac. This would be in the 50's.

Girls didn't wear trousers when I was young so I was always grazing my knees.
I had a heavy winter coat made out of my Dad's naval overcoat.
Can't remember the rest.

Oh hildajenniJ you have really jogged my memory as I had one of those scarf hat things I never knew they were called scooter hats. Mine was red and was hand knitted by my Mum. This Christmas sixty years later my present from one of my GS was a red knitted scarf hat the only differences were this one wasn't handknitted and the bottom of the scarf ends are stitched up to provide pockets for either your hands or a mobile phone. Either way they were both given with much love and very appreciated by myself especially now the weather has turned so cold and chilly.

Juliette you could be describing a photo I have of my half sister. She's about 3 and this would have been c1950

I never wore a liberty bodice but did wear a vest and thick knickers. Woolly tights or knee length white socks. Can't remember what else.

Cherub vest with short sleeves tucked into knickers, liberty bodice over the vest it ended at the waist, fair isle jumper, tartan skirt with cross over straps which kept slipping off, cardigan, long socks, scarf wrapped round the neck twice and tucked front and back into waistband, warm winter coat, beret, knitted gloves and zip up suede ankle boots. So, everything was toasty warm except from the knees up to the arse which was bare skin and turned violently pink from the cold . What a relief when tights arrived on the scene.

Marmight you could be describing me in 1950/51. I had a fair isle beret that matched the jumper. I had a Harris tweed coat and mother used to do that thing with the scarf.

I think this was before I started school Nina so would be about 1951. It was in a box of photos which I brought home after clearing my aunts house out. I can't remember seeing it before. It's definitely a winter photo and I can only remember the 'Box Brownie' coming out in the summer, perhaps a neighbour took it. The weirdest thing of all is that I could be DGS in drag! We have the same facial expression, none of my children look anything like me, the genes must have skipped a generation.

Yes do remember wearing liberty bodices, whatever happened to them? We were often over wrapped up, thick school scarves under the beret and cap when going off to school on a bitterly cold day. Not a good look if I remember rightly, but we weren't consulted on matters like clothing or haircuts.

Marmite! Short sleeves tucked into knickers must have been inconvenient ! I know what you meant, seemed as if everything got 'tucked in' when I was young, and I remember the beautifully handmade clothes my mum made and knitted- fair isle and Aran jumpers, which sadly itched because I hated woolly clothes (and still do!)
Gloves on strings, my first pair of jeans which I begged my mother to buy when I was about 12 and which she hated!
Looking at a photo of me aged 2 in beautifully hand smocked dress.......very nostalgic this morning ........

My mum used to force me to wear a Liberty Bodice when I was at Secondary School. I used to head straight for the girls' loos or "bogs" as we so charmingly called them, take the Liberty Bodice off and put it into my satchel. At home time I reversed the process. Told my mum when I was in my 50s and she was quite shocked by my artfulness.

My auntie made me a party dress when I was 6. It was made of pink satin and lace. I wore it until I was at least 10 as a sundress, shortened and let out at the seams. It was sooo beautiful, the skirt was covered in net and it had a bolero. Wish I had a photo of it.

I also had to wear a Liberty Bodice which had a small muslin bag with a Camphor Square inside pinned to it.The squares were to keep cold at bay so my gran told me

A vest! The matron at my boarding school, was convinced that we 'would get a chill in our kidneys' if we didn't!
I now only wear a vest when playing with my bow and arrows! (Which I can't do at the moment as I can't walk across the room without difficulty!)

Ps. I never found out what a 'chill in the kidneys is?'

'Chill in kidneys', I remember that too as reason for wearing a vest. Also being told not to sit with your back to the fire 'because it will make you feel sick' - never worked that one out either!

The layers as already stated with the Woolies and skirts with straps. I had a coat made from a dyed blanket with white rabbit fur around the hood and a white rabbit fur muff. Hand knitted gloves, scarves etc. even in the summer still layers vest, Liberty, petticoat dress.. We also got keep the kidneys warm warning.
Never trousers, the boys all had short trousers until a certain age.

Right up until she died my Ma wore a vest, bra, corset, petticoat and then a dress.

I remember getting chapped legs in the winter. Girls didn't wear trousers in the fifties so my little legs were bare from knees to ankles. Mum used to put a green cream on the soreness. I would have worn a dress, petticoat, liberty bodice and vest in the winter, with hand knitted cardigan. My hats and gloves were also beautifully hand knitted. Our house had no heating except the coal fire in the living room. It was so cold upstairs that we often had frost on the inside of the windows.

Mum used to tell us not to sit on a cold surface outside (i.e the step) or we'd get piles.

Likewise we were told not to sit on the radiators at school or we'd get piles. I did and I haven't!

Remember suspender belt and stockings, Nora Batty look and when tights came in they didn't have any Lycra so kept the NB look going! And darning holes in them because too expensive to buy more.

Remember suspender belt and stockings ??? I fantasise about them still

All the girls with bare knees and legs and all wrapped up at the top with vests, liberty bodices etc., Seems a bit bonkers now. I was lucky and didn't get chapped legs or chilblains but I knew kids who did. The boys suffered as well with their short shorts. I used to get scorch marks from "hugging" the fire as my old mum used to call it. Remember when tights came in they were 12/11p and that was expensive but so worth it.