Grandma Dot Posts: What Was It Really Like?

There were morning and afternoon papers in the 50s and the ‘social pages’ were a great source of entertainment for us ordinary girls as we dreamt of wearing the glamorous outfits of movie stars.

I liked to wear ‘New Look’ dresses with long full skirts and nipped in waists. ‘Rope petticoats’ were in fashion to make skirts look fuller. We used to starch them to make them go stiff. They were nice to wear but took forever and a day to iron.

Ladies shopped at big department stores like David Jones and wore stockings held up by suspenders rather than pantyhose. ‘Step-Ins’ were worn by lots of women and were elastic garments you wore under your clothes to pull your tummy in and make you look slimmer. Torture!!!!

‘Slacks’ or long pants were coming into fashion but lots of people thought they were ‘un-ladylike’. Millinery or hat making was a strong industry as most occasions required ladies to wear hats and gloves. A lot of my friends worked as hat makers.

All dressed up- 1952.

Bras were heavily boned and were long to the waist- they were horrid things! There were no bikini pants either and instead women wore cotton knickers with bands around the legs. Satin was reserved for your ‘sexy undies’.

There were many awful trends such as mink coats ( which most women couldn’t afford) and crocodile skin handbags and shoes.

Two piece swimwear was not allowed at the beach until the late 50s. If you wore a two piece the ‘beach inspector’ would ask you to leave! Every woman had a ‘beach robe’ made of towelling to cover up when she left the water. You didn’t wear thongs, only lace up canvas ‘sand shoes’.

The beauty regime of the fifties was simple as shampoo and conditioner were not yet available. Instead we used plain soap and rinsed with vinegar diluted in water to make hair shine. You used a mixture of sugar and water to keep your hair in place because there wasn’t any hairspray.

Most ladies used face powder, though ‘cake’ foundation was just beginning to appear. You wore ‘rouge’ (cream on your cheeks) and lined eyes with kohl eyeliner.

It was a woman’s weekly job to polish the family’s shoes to preserve their leather. For evening wear women wore ‘ball gowns’ of rich velvet or delicate lace with elbow gloves.

I think the styles in the 50s were more elegant and ‘dressed up’ than they are today.