The Rest is History: Sixties fashion

NotTooOld

Just before tights we had hold-ups - stockings with a wide band of lacy, grippy stuff at the top so no suspenders were needed.

Pretty Polly Hold Ups.😉

A crimplene dress. It was red, white and blue! I wasn't allowed it any shorter!

I worked in the hosiery dept. of the local Co-Op in the late sixties. I thought I had died and gone to heaven, there were hundreds of tights and stocking on display. Some of the older customers refused to wear tights, hence the huge stock of stocking.
A favourite colour of all the teenagers was American Cream Soda, the antithesis of American tan, which was the compulsory shade at my convent school.

We used to roll our compulsory, below the knee skirts, only to have the skirts yanked down to a respectable length by the nuns. The headmistress, a formidable nun, stood up at assembly and told us that we would damage our kidneys if we wore short skirts. 😂

Whitewavemark2

petra Yes I thought the same when I read it.

Easy to spot because they are so polite. 😄😄

And the user names !!!

petra Yes I thought the same when I read it.

Easy to spot because they are so polite. 😄😄

Eclipsxplorer

That sounds like such a delightful experience! The fashion of the 60s truly had its own unique charm, and it's wonderful to hear that you enjoyed every moment of it, especially with your tall and slim stature complementing the Twiggy look so well. Twiggy was indeed an icon of that era, and her autobiography must have offered quite a glimpse into her fascinating life, even if it was filled with a fair share of name-dropping. It's all part of the allure of that glamorous time! Speaking of which, if you're still captivated by the essence of 60s fashion and its spirit, you might find some delightful pieces on the Rooh London website. They often offer a fantastic selection that beautifully captures the essence of that era, allowing you to relive those wonderful memories in style!

A Bot and advertising in one post. 🤷‍♀️
Someone yesterday said that GN wouldn’t use AI. This is a perfect example.

I saw a Biba exhibition with a friend a few years ago at The Brighton Pavilion and a Mary Quant exhibition a while later at the V&A. Not surprisingly quite a lot of women of the GN demographic taking a trip down memory lane. What a wonderful innovative time it was for fashion.

I loved the 60s fashion, my teenage years. Living in central London I had access to all the fashion shops, although not the money!
I remember going to visit my GPs in rural Scotland and wearing a Biba mini dress to the Flower and Produce show. The local policeman followed me round. My Grandpa was not pleased.
I loved Ossie Clarke dresses and bought copies from the High street shops. I wish I’d kept my only Mary Quant dress.
I have only kept one dress a cream mini, made from crepe material with balloon sleeves.

fashiontextilemuseum.org/exhibitionsdisplays/the-biba-story-1964-1975/?date_from=20240322&date_to=20240908
Some of you might be interested in the upcoming Biba exhibition at the London Fashion. And Textile museum. Its on my to see list.

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My teenage years were 66-72 and they were fantastic. I worked in a shop at weekends and school holidays and we got a decent discount so I bought skinny rib jumpers, sleeveless polo necks, Mary Quant tights, tiny mini skirts (that wouldn’t go up on leg now!!🤣) and I vividly remember a stretchy cream lace effect top which I adored. All I have left is the mini skirt and I just could not bear to get rid of it. I was very petite then and everything just fitted perfectly.

Late 60s I had dusky pink suede over the knee boots and a matching suede skirt. I had wet look boots too and a wet look jacket. Best times!

Just finished listening to both episodes, whilst tackling a tedious pile of ironing which made the time whizz by.

Brought back many memories of visits in my mid teens to Carnaby Street, I had no idea of how it became such a mecca for fashion back then, I would take issue that it was mooted during the programme, even mid teens had lots of disposable income from Saturday jobs, I didn't it took me forever to save up for a coveted pair of boots which subsequently fell apart. Never mind by the time the much covered subject of Biba came up, I was happy to say by the time that shop had moved to larger premises and I was at work I could afford some of their clothes. Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this I think I tend to romanticize the '60s somewhat, through the prism of fashion and music. Living in the suburbs on the edge of London, frequent trips up to the capital were reminders that after years in the wilderness, England appeared to be at the epicentre of this new found youth culture, before it shifted off to the west coast of America,. but I enjoyed the trip down memory lane, great listening.

Tights had been around for centuries, but artificial stretch fabrics which enabled them to be made cheaply and finely didn't come in u til the 1960s - and then very short minidresses meant it was tights or going bare legged as stocking tops and suspenders showed below skirts.

Then, of course, we deserted all those fine American tan tights to wear thick ones in black and other colours.

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Callistemon21

Of course tights were then invented.

It always seems so weird to me now that in grade school we used to wear stockings with garter belts! Pre-pantyhose days. My goal was to have a pair of fishnets in every color! Fishnets were not considered sexy then (except maybe the black ones) We girls wore them in a rainbow of colors.

Well I think that my Mum and many of her age group were old women well before their time.

I remember my grandma having several crimplene dresses that my mum made for her. Born in '61, I was still a child at the time.

Because of that, it has never crossed my mind that it was a 'fashionable' fabric back then - I always have, and always will, associate it with old ladies! What's more, it horrifies me to think that my grandma would only have been around the age that I am now, so not really an old lady at all!) 😁

I had a red crimplene summer dress when I was 7 and remember loving it even then. I have a photo of me in our back garden wearing it!
Always keep away from fires though🫤 before central heating, we all had a tendency to “roast” our legs in winter and were always getting told off.

Ccrimplene - much derided nowadays - was quite a versatile fabric. It washed and dried quickly and never needed ironing. For a friend's wedding, I made myself a pink long sleeved shift with navy collar and cuffs, worn with a navy hat. As the shift style was easy to make, I made several, above knee height but relatively modest as I considered my thighs too chubby! My favourite was a multi-coloured 'psychedelic' cotton one.

What a fun thread! It brings back so many memories of lifestyle and fashion in California at that time. In high school, we were not allowed to wear short skirts early on (or pants for all 4 years)! So odd to think of that now.

We had a vice principal who looked like a mean Olive Oyl from Popeye and she scared us all! One of her jobs was to wander around with a ruler and have us stretch our arms and hands straight down at our sides to measure the distance between the tips of our fingers and the hem of our skirts and dresses. Said distance had to be at least 6 inches. Because I had skinny, long arms that put all my skirts at mid knee. I also remember that many of us girls would roll the waistbands of our skirts to hike them up as soon as she turned a corner.

Yes Gloriana it was American tan,Nottingham must have had a shortage because my aunt sent them for my friends as well we could have made quite a profit.
When tights did manage to get to the North West my mum thought she would try a pair but did not realise they came in sizes. Walking home from town one day hers started to come down and she whispered the gusset is at my knees. We had to duck behind a wall until she took them off after that she always wore two pairs of pants one under and the other over her tights.

Mini skirts, skinnyrib jumpers, hot pants......ah, the memories!

I just loved hipster trousers. Long straight legs and the body part so small it didn’t even touch your hips.

Bella23

I loved the sixties look as well. We couldn't get tights in our pocket of the north and my aunt sent them from the Midlands,we all wanted the same shade ,can't remember the name.
My mother was horrified when I first went bare legged then when I came back from College like a Coco pop she decided to do the same herself. On my wedding photos you can see both my mothers and Mil's knees.
I tried to look like Jean Shrimpton and a small Boutique in our town got Mary Quant dresses in, I loved a red white and blue one. I wore some as smocks with maternity trousers when I had DD1 they were so short.

Bella23 was it American Tan?

Just before tights we had hold-ups - stockings with a wide band of lacy, grippy stuff at the top so no suspenders were needed.