Community Chat

[Mz iMac]

I grew up in the 50s & 60s.  From what I remember, working moms wore.....

after changing out of their work clothes.  My mother had a whole wardrobe of those house coats.  That's what my mother called them.  Never heard the term house dress.

The "stay at home" moms wore.....

peignoirs or something very similar minus the pearls during the mornings & evenings.

A next door neighbor I had as a teen had a beautiful emerald color peignoir set.  She looked so glamorous getting the morning newspaper on windy days.  It was like she had a wind machine directly on her as her outfit was flowing.  She was a sight to behold to us school kids (& the men peeking out their windows).

[ECBG]

I was born in 1952.  I remember my mom in wool slacks and a buttoned up cardi. while my parents were married.

When I went to college at a state university, it was the first time women could wear jeans during the day.  

We went away with suitcases of wool skirts and matching sets and came home in denim and smocks!

[cindyNC]

We lived in a small town in a rural area (more cows in the county than people). I remember my mother wearing nice slacks when going out and very occasionally a skirt. 

When I was married and working in the 80s, I took a day off during the week and went grocery shopping. All the women except me were dressed up.  A co-worked told me those were the stay-at-home moms whose kids were in school and when she went shopping on the weekend, she never dressed like that. It was funny. 

[golding76]

Mz iMac, I am so delighted that you brought up the topic of the chiffon nightgowns and peignoir sets.  Why?  Because only the other day I was thinking that I and my contemporaries almost always wore fancy nightgowns to bed -- every night.  In fact, I wore a very nice nightgown to bed until the time my first-born was walking and could come into the bedroom and see me before I put on my robe.

Peignoir sets were popular Christmas and birthday gifts in the 1960s (when I came of age).  When you see those women in '60s films, many of us were wearing similar nighties to bed.  

So, the other day I was thinking that fancy nighties are not that popular anymore.  Who remembers "Baby Dolls?"  Not the kind you played with but the ones you wore.  Those I kept for special occasions.  And then, no more.

Even after my children were both walking around in the mornings I tried to emulate the pretty nightie look to some degree but with much greater coverage and in a non-diaphanous material. 

[Witchy Woman]

@chickenbutt 

All the years I worked, I wore suits or dresses with stockings, high heels, etc.  And, I commuted 2 hours each way on a bus.  That's what was expected in a professional office environment.  Period.

My dry cleaning bill was crazy.  

Flash forward and I'm retired.  I laugh and say that my clothes are one stop before rags.  

My husband still works, so I'm home alone most days and I have no desire to "dress up" anymore. 

If we are going out (rarely anymore), I put on nice jeans and a white shirt.

Other than that, I look like raided the rag bag.  

[Witchy Woman]

@Mz iMac 

I laughed when I saw that pink nightgown set.

My mom worked at Miss Elaine lingerie when I was growing up and gifted me several of these numbers when I married.

So much fabric swishing around all the time.  I was afraid to get near the stove!  

Over the years, I gave them all away.  At the time, however, they seemed very alluring and glamorous!

[Witchy Woman]

@golding76 

Oh, my...Baby Dolls were very aspirational when I was growing up.  

Mostly they were gifted at bridal showers.  Feels like a 100 years ago

[GingerPeach]

Movies were supposed to be, back then anyway, inspirational, fantasy, an escape from daily life, as well as a way to attract viewers into the theaters, another means to sell tickets.

That's still true. Moviemakers need to sell tickets.

Film is, after all, a visual medium.

Unless the film was a gritty detective story or something along those lines, Hollywood glamour played a prominent role.

As far as real life, I remember one neighbor who wore frilly dresses with lots of net petticoats.
We thought she was too fussy.

Most of the other neighborhood moms in the 50s wore pants or capris. 

[Jinlei]

My Grandma wore a dress every day and she,lived to be 86.    She cooked, cleaned and did laundry while taking care of 8 kids.  I think people back then had different ways of dressing.  It is kind of refreshing that people did this unlike the way society dresses today, where it seems like, anything goes.  

[colliegirls]

I remember the soaps were they same way when I was little.  Everyone was all dressed up at breakfast.  I thought that was so awesome at the time and wanted to be just like that.  Of course, I am not!