Yours writer Marion Clarke thanks heaven for today’s comfy underwear, and shares some Yours readers stories of the underwear that was fashionable when they were young.
When we were small, I used to feel sorry for my cousin Christine who had to struggle with the tiny cloth-covered buttons of her liberty bodice every morning while I slipped on an Aertex vest.
I feel even more sorry for Jeanette Young whose mum insisted she wore both a vest and a liberty bodice, as well as a petticoat and grey knee-length socks – "When I got to school I took them off, and changed into white ankle socks, then put them back on again to go home."
Pat Wells had a friend who also removed her underpinnings when she was at school, but for a different reason: “Every Monday she arrived with her school skirt (rolled up at the waist) worn over stiffened paper nylon petticoats. She would then be summoned to the headmistress’ office from where she returned minus the petticoats and with her skirt rolled back down to cover her knees.
“Every Friday she collected her petticoats and the process was repeated every week until full skirts went out of fashion.”
Patricia Mason loved the lime-green net petticoat she wore under her dropped-waist pink dress
Patsy Davis has hilarious memories of her first bras: “As a teenager, I used to wear a pointy bra to get the fashionable ‘sweater girl’ look that was ‘in’ then. Although it made them uncomfortable to wear, I used to starch my bras to make them even more pointy.
“If your partner held you too closely on the dance floor, there was a danger of stabbing him in the chest. It was even more embarrassing if the points got squashed, causing indentations in your sweater!”
“Suspender belts were the bane of my life!” writes Marie Harvey. “When I was pregnant with my first child, the question was whether to wear them above or below the bump.
Although it made them uncomfortable to wear, I starched my bras to make them even more pointy
The little ‘poppers’ were always popping off at inconvenient moments, requiring temporary repairs. When tights appeared in the shops I thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread.”
Joan Bannister is not quite as enthusiastic: “I purchased my first pair of tights from Woolworths. They consisted of stocking legs attached to nylon pants. The very long legs were a horrid shade of tan, but the pants did provide some modesty when wearing mini skirts!”
Sandra Kibble-White was mortified by her underwear: “When I was 11 and somewhat overweight, my grandmother decided I was ‘developing’ (as it was called then) and I should be fitted with a corset and brassiere custom-made by Spirella. I was duly measured and fitted. The corset was made of pink satin with bones and hooks and eyes and laces. The matching brassiere was also boned.
“Having seen what the other girls wore under their uniforms, I avoided wearing my Spirella underwear on the days when we had gym. The last straw came when I was ascending the stairs of the bus and a fellow pupil asked: ‘What’s that hanging down?’ It was the laces of the horrible corset! I never wore it again.”
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