Best childhood clothes

[Oma]

We were talking about this around the dinner table yesterday remembering how we felt about the clothes we loved the most , mine was when I was 8 my uncle who owned a newsagents and tobacconist wanted a hand picking some stock up and asked my Dad to go with him ,Mam was out and so I had to go too , I remember walking along a street in Newcastle and there was a basement shop and in the window was the most Beautiful dress I had ever seen , it was Lemon and had lots of net under skirts with lace and pearls all over it , I stopped still and I can remember just holding onto the rails and staring at it , My Dad and uncle came back to see what I was looking at and then my uncle took me into the shop and bought it for me , I cried I was so happy , as the youngest I always got hand me downs we were to poor to afford something like that , It was coming up to Christmas and my Dad bought me a pair of white patent ankle strap shoes to go with it for my school Christmas party , I thought I looked like a princess and had the best dress there . I wore it at any given opportunity till I could no longer fit into it . I still can feel the joy when I think about it 😀

[Gemini]

What a great idea for a thread Oma!

I can feel the joy in your memory of your princess dress and shoes

Most of my childhood clothes were not to my liking. My school uniform was brown, with brown shoes and fawn socks. Oh how I longed for white knee socks! I longed for long hair too, but my no nonsense mum favoured short hair and plain clothes. In winter when not at school it was trousers with jumpers, or pinafore dresses in drab colours. Summer was better though, mum made me cotton dresses. The one I remember most is one with yellow roses on. I loved that dress!

[Mimi]

Oma this is a great idea for a thread
As I was the youngest most of my clothes were hand-me-downs but as my older sister grew and I didn't it became clear a lot of her clothes were never going to fit me. Mum would then make most of our clothes. She was a dab hand on the Singer sewing machine. We only had to say that were liked a particular item of clothing than she would say , " I'm not paying those prices ". So off to the market she would go, but material and in a few days there was a completed skirt/trousers ready to wear and in the modern style we wanted. I remember she once made me a pair of black baggy(very) trousers which teamed up with my purple shiny ( very) wedge shoes a treat. The only problem was walking in them on a very windy day, they used to bellow behind me making me walk as if I had two wooden legs "
Some years later mum got a job in a clothes shop, it was a modern boutique and I got lots of clothes from there as mum had a very good staff discount .
I still remember a lot of my clothes I used to have, many mini skirts and figure hugging tops, but alas they have gone to the great wardrobe in the sky..... along with my size 10 figure, and 22 inch waist . Oh happy days.

[Nanto2girls]

my Auntie was very good at sewing, and made a lot of clothes for me and my cousin(her daughter). my Gran was an expert knitter amd always made our cardigans and jumpers to match what Auntie had made us.

[Nana]

Being Catholic we always had a new outfit for Whit Sunday. We used to go to my Nan's house where a man called with a suitcase full to the brim with new clothes. Mum paid weekly. I was so excited as a little girl, (with my usual hand-me-downs from my older sister) waiting for the man to come & open his suitcase. As he did so the fresh cotton smell always excited me as I knew I would soon be choosing a new crisp bright cotton dress. It was like Christmas had come early. I was so happy.

[Plantaholic]

Being the youngest of six, it was all handme downs until I could buy my own clothes, even my first bra was given to me by my sister.

[Daisy]

What lovely memories!

I was an only child so hand-downs weren't a problem. However, mum was practical and I don't think there was a huge choice in those days - especially immediately after the war when clothes were still on coupons. However, when I was 5 I was bridesmaid to a family friend, and someone made me a dress. It was a lightweight almost sheer fabric with a taffeta underlayer. The skirt was in tiers and full-length. Afterwards the two were separated - the top layer for dressing up and the taffeta layer shortened to make a party dress. I was so upset when I finally grew out of it, and I think I must have made a big fuss, because not long afterward I had another dress it was pale lemon with little sprigs of pastel coloured flowers on and I loved that too. I don't remember having another special dress until I was about 12 and I had a red dress with a white lace colour for Christmas.

Nana - I lived in a mostly Catholic community and I used to think the girls were so lucky to get a new outfit for Whitsun. I generally got something new to wear for Easter, but it would be everyday clothes, nothing pretty or glamorous. It was probably because I'd outgrown the previous year's things. My Mum didn't sew or knit, so everything was shop bought.

[Glammanana]

Mum made a lot of our dresses and being the eldest I was lucky to have a new one every time I felt sorry for my sisters specially my youngest sister as she had the hand me downs from my other sister and me,my favourite was a red coat with a hood bought from Paddys Market in Liverpool it was bright red with shiny buttons I thought I was so posh wearing it and cried when it had to go down to my sister when I outgrew it.oh and we all had matching ribbons to our dresses to tie up our ringlets brings back painful memories of having our hair tied up with old stockings every Saturday night prior to visiting our nanna on Sundays.

[Avo]

I did have some 'hand me downs' but my Mum used to like to dress my sister and I in matching outfits, and sometimes she also had the same! We were quite fortunate we had a dressmaker who made a lot of our clothes, but we did also go to the stores to buy them. We had little white gloves and handbags for Sundays! I remember us having little suits, skirt and matching jacket in blue and white check - all three of us had one of those! And a red and white party dress with layers, and netting and pretty ribbons, which I wore with silver sparkly shoes. I also had a lovely red coat with a fur collar - I felt very grown up in that. I too remember having my hair put in rags overnight to make ringlets.

[Nana]

Wow Avo, you were that girl who I looked on from afar. Money was scarce in our family so we were a family who had to 'make do'. The only time I wore white gloves were net ones to complete my First Communion outfit. You were certainly a very lucky girl.

[Gemini]

Nana, I think we would all have envied Avo Lucky girl indeed!

[Avo]

Ha Ha! Yes I was fortunate, but you don't realise that at the time!

[Gemini]

You don't Avo!
My OH grew up with central heating. This was very unusual in those days, but only when she grew up did she realise most homes didn't have that in the 50's and 60's!

[Avo]

We had central heating, and a phone, only I couldn't phone anyone because none of my friends had one! My Hubby always says, well its because you were rich!

[Shemadee]

I had a few hand me downs from an older cousin but having new clothes must be one of the few perks of being the only girl! My mother would pick out a few dresses from a catalogue and let me make the final decision. Can remember one of her friends being outraged that I was given any choice! I remember one dress called an American twist dress. White fitted top with red piping down the bodice and a flared skirt from the hips. Also a frilly white dress for my first holy communion. I had Sunday best for church which always included a hat and gloves and also a party dress which was always felt great to wear. I had a winter coat cut down from a grownup cousins coat. She took me to a dressmaker who stood me on a table in a bay window looking out to the London
Road. Guess this house is long gone as there is now a bypass in that area. Also had a blue coat with a fur collar sent boxed from an expensive department store by a great aunt. The receipt was in the box and my mother went round muttering for days that the coat cost more than she spent on all four of us in a year and was only suitable for church and not every day! No gratitude at all!