A Woman of the 60's

Janedandy · ‎03-07-2011

In 1962 I was twenty years old and working in an engineering office. To dress appropriately for work I had to wear stockings ( I don't think that panty hose was not out yet), a girdle with lingerie hooks, a pointy cupped bra, a slip, heels, a watch and a dress or blouse, sweater set and skirt. We dressed as if we were going out on a date. We were also in full makeup and hair done every day. Pants suits would come along about in the 70's, and were polyester. We could wear jeans if we worked Saturday O.T (and they weren't the nice fitting jeans you have now). You also had to contend with a lot of harassment, there was nothing to protect you in the work place.

I recently retired from a job that allowed us to wear very casual clothing every day, not just on "Casual Friday". Because we did not interface with customers, there was no reason to dress up. I found that you worked just as hard in jeans as you would dressed up.

I am sitting here writing this in a pair of shorts, a Michael Kors top, and sexy (according to my husband) sandals. I have fond memories of the past, but I would not want to go back. Women were not so much repressed as oppressed.

Sweetbay magnolia · ‎04-14-2013

We were not "allowed" to wear pants in the public school system until I was in 5th grade (somewhere on the '60s). It had to be a dress or skirt. Then my Mom was resistant to allowing me to wear them to school. We were then required to wear "appropriate foundations", but the boys were "allowed" to grow facial hair. I'll never forget the big announcement made that day at school, in a highly regarded school system, which is still highly regarded. We've come a long way. Panty hose was required then, once I entered the office work force. Who didn't have some nail polish in the desk drawer or make an emergency run to 7-11 for a new pair of Leggs? Horror! A run! I would not want to go back. And I feel more respected by peers of both sexes, now.

Cogito ergo sum

Kathlen · ‎03-09-2010

I was born in 1942 ... same age as OP. I retired in 2010.

I went to parochial school ... years of uniforms. High school required stockings, hats and gloves. So - I was accustomed to a certain way of dress.

I've always worked in professional offices ... and business attire was required until about 2005 ... when we first went to casual Fridays and then summer casual and then total business casual unless there were "meetings" with outsiders. Jeans were never allowed.

I worked in predominantly male industries both in San Francisco and New York ... there was never any harassment, repression or oppression.

I can "go with the flow" and adapt to my environment. Right now - Sunday afternoon - relaxing in a t-shirt and cropped pants from LandsEnd and some Skechers sandals. I'm in the midst of "creating" a scarf to wear with my Purple Slate Logo top. I found the perfect yarn in my stash.

I made Chinese food for dinner (orange chicken and rice).

natureluvr · ‎08-27-2013

I graduated from high school in 1967 and the following school term girls were finally able to wear pants to school. The only dress after that I remember wearing was in'72, a "granny dress" I made. I got me a really cute guy on a trip to Toronto in July of that year! As I worked my made through college I learned to shop cheap but began to develop my own style. I remember after I graduated and was making "good" money I went shopping for some "real clothes" and purchased my first Liz Claiborne casual top in golden yellow (a color I was to learn later was not flattering for me). I paid $17 for that top and I thought that was so expensive, but that was the start of my becoming a real clothes horse. I am proud to say that I have been admired for my sense of style.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

I was in High school in 1962 and I can say absolutely without reservation I have never worn a pointy bra. My bras then were pretty much the same as my bras now - made of t shirt jersey and soft. I do not recall my Mom ever wearing pointy bras either - and she had a real set of huge breasts. When i was a little older I started wearing lacy underwear but never , ever, a pointy bra. We did wear a garter belt to hold up our stockings, though.

When i went to nursing school they told us we had to wear a girdle but I always just wore panty hose because I was very thin and did not need a girdle.

ROMARY · ‎04-28-2010

All of my office jobs during the summers required us to be 'covered up'. They didn't 'tell us', but it was the norm to be nicely dressed. Well, actually, when working in a large dept. store during Christmas/holiday vacations, we were told to wear dark skirts (black, dark brown, navy, charcoal grey) with a white or off white blouse. Not sleeveless. Lower heels (which were in style, anyway) or flats. All in all, we all looked very appropriate, and not distracting at all.

'More or less', 'Right or wrong', 'In general', and 'Just thinking out loud ' (as usual).

okiebug · ‎04-05-2010

I graduated in 1968. We weren't allowed to wear pants to school. During my junior and senior years they even had "skirt checks" and anyone with a skirt shorter than that determined length would be sent home. We had to wear hose, relaxed the last year to tights in the winter. Two of my sewing projects in Home Economics those years were a knee length pencil skirt and coordinating top out of linen and a wool, lined "Chanel" suit, both of which I hated. After school, I worked on the farm and wore jeans and button front shirts, floral or plaid, and Keds.

When I started working in a law firm, we wore pencil skirts, tailored blouses and jackets or cardigans, hose and heels, but my casual wear was jeans and flowing tops.

Now I wear LOGO and similar soft, flowing styles with Birkenstocks because that's the look I prefer. I'm in the art community and live in a rural, casual area, and am comfortable wearing these styles to almost any occasion I go to. My only wish is that I could wear cowboy boots, but due to physical limitations, they aren't possible for me.

kittymomNC · ‎08-09-2012

I graduated from high school in 1962. This was a public school, but we still had a "dress code"...girls did not wear pants. On "Assembly Days", when the whole school went to the gym (which was set up like an auditorium) for something special, the girls wore nice dresses and high heel shoes, and the boys wore shirts and ties--some wore jackets as well. A year or two earlier, when the first "beltless" guys' pants came out---dress pants with no belt loops, it almost took an act of Congress to get those pants approved under the dress code because previously, the boys could be sent to the office if they weren't wearing a belt!

When I went to work in my first job, the men wore dress shirts and ties...of course, they had their jackets too. Women wore nice dresses, or skirts and blouses, jackets, etc., usually high heel shoes, and always wore hose. Over the years, and as I progressed to management, my wardrobe consisted almost entirely of dresses and suits and high heel shoes. It was not until later years that I was able to "dress down" to some degree. But as long as I worked in an office environment, if I wore dresses or skirts, I wore hose. When I wore pants, I wore knee highs, but I never had bare feet in my shoes. I did own a jewelry business for a number of years, so I could dress how I wanted part of the time, but part of the time I was doing fashion shows for ladies' groups and certainly had to dress the part to show off my jewelry! It turned out to be a lot more fun than those stuffy corporate jobs, and I did quite well at it - much to my own surprise!

Now I'm retired, and I wear exactly what I want, when I want, and where I want -- talk about freedom! ${#emotions_dlg.laugh}$