Catching up on Charles Cockell’s Life in the Universe Pandemic Series:
Reflecting on my own wardrobe over the decades. After finishing the Fashion as Design Coursera course, I am doing some thinking about my wardrobe history. What was memorable about each decade (after I was old enough for clear memories).
1960s
I started school in 1960 so a lot of my growing up was done during the decade. I can remember learning to iron my clothes early on but being thrilled later with synthetics that did not need to be ironed. Underwear and socks were ordered from Sears as needed, but we shopped in local stores for clothes and shoes. I rarely had more clothes that I needed to last between the weekly laundry days although we did have seasonal clothes that we kept in heavy cardboard barrels during the off season. As I got older, my mother involved us in deciding the clothes we wanted with the budget she allocated for each of us. I learned to sew to stretch the dollars as I got older.
The schools I went to were not air conditioned until I was in high school so the beginning and ending of the school year (in Texas) was extremely hot. Maybe it was a positive thing that girls were expected to wear dresses to school!
I remember dresses getting shorter and shorter as the decade progressed. In 6th grade I had a drop waist dress that I liked a lot. High school colors were important.
The worst fashion of the decade from my perspective was corrective oxfords. I had flat feet. The oxfords were white leather with metal arch supports to hold the foot as it grew. They didn’t help at all since my foot already was the size it is now by the time I started wearing them. They were heavy and awkward; I seemed to always be catching the low, clunky heal on my ankle (frequently enough that scars formed).
1970s
My dresses and skirts reached their maximum shortness in the early 1970s. It seems that I transitioned to wearing slacks and jeans more during the decade.
I was making all my clothes except underwear and jeans…even making some dress and flannel shirts for my husband. I made my own wedding dress out of white brocade upholstery fabric (for a January wedding).
My clothes had to go from office to school because after I graduated from high school, I was working full then going to college classes in the evenings. I still didn’t have many clothes; they were all general purpose. There is a picture of me in a vest, puffed sleeve blouse, pants rolled up over my socks – carrying a camera bag on a geology field trip – not the most practical outfit (or shoes) for hiking!