When a balaclava was an essential part of a young mans wardrobe.

[allwednesday]

Yes my mum knitted them in the sixtys and mittens too bless her! there was five of us all lads! they never fitted us properly it reminds me of foghorn leghorn!

[pdmiltonst]

Knitted woollen gloves and mittens were never any good to make snowballs in, the snow stuck to the wool..

[soft ayperth]

I still wear one. Have several. Try going for a walk when the wind chill is -33 and you won't be long getting frostbite. That's what we have right now where I live in Canada. But, we call them toques here. Some come right down over your face and neck leaving holes for your eyes and mouth. Others, which can only be worn when it is less cold, just come down to cover your forehead and ears. I have one that I can convert from full face to semi coverage.

[earthdragon]

don't forget the liberty bodice as well

 

My brother, David, wore a balaclava in winter. Marvellous for keeping your ears and nose protected from the cold. Most small boys and some small girls wore them in the 1950s and 1960s. David probably had to wear it because he frequently suffered from ear ache. A sensible precaution, as we played outside in all weathers - except when it was raining.

 

I do remember liberty bodices as I wore one myself, complete with an inner lining.

 

Ah, those were the days!

 

---------- Post added 11-02-2015 at 00:03 ----------

 

Yes, used to wear one as a child. Along with short trousers held up by an elasticated snake buckle belt it was almost de rigueur!

 

There's a good short story about the fashion in George Layton's book 'The Fib and other stories'. Although the book is aimed at 9-12 year old children it's worth a read if you, like me, are from that era.

 

echo.

 

My brother wore short trousers spring, summer, autumn and winter and yes, they were held up with a snake belt. I don't think he possessed any long trousers. The only protection from the elements that his little legs got were his knee length socks and wellington boots, so his poor knees would be red with cold. Not that it bothered him.

[pdmiltonst]

I used to live in Crookes and walked every day to Tapton in Darwin Lane. So in the winter a balaclava was absolutely essential, even though as a teenager it wasn't exactly fashionable. I also had a morning, evening and weekend paper round at the newsagent in Crosspool on Manchester Road, and in 2 feet of snow trudging the Sunday Times's to the posh houses round & about wasn't fun! I remember my galoshes having a hole in them so put my feet in plastic bags over my socks! Happy days!

[darra]

God wasn't life a lot simpler then no designer must have labels just sensible clothing designed to do a job and do it well

[davebrmm]

I agree that knitting, crochet, dressmaking etc are more popular now than they were, say, 10 years ago, but they are now somewhat "niche" pursuits and often the motivation is creativity and pure enjoyment, rather than necessity.

When I was growing up, the vast majority of children wore hand-knitted jumpers, cardigans, hats, mittens, scarves etc; some even had hand-knitted dresses and skirts. Baby clothes were mostly home-made too; most people just could not afford to buy these items ready-made, nor was there the huge mass production of such a wide range of clothing that we have today. Even in the 70s and 80s, home-made clothing was still quite common.

I don't think hand-knitting is the cheap option anymore either; a friend who still does a lot of hand-knitting tells me that knitting yarn is quite expensive these days.

 

did the hole go to the front? no wonder I kept bumping into gas lamps

 

---------- Post added 11-02-2015 at 22:48 ----------

 

a pal of mine called Trevor Ibbotson had 2 older brothers who worked at T Wards they got him a ships brass telescope from a german sub.we used to take turns resting it on our shoulders so we could see the trains going towards the 5 arches .This was from Burton street school before any body had heard of the full monty with its phony sheffield accents

[Kidorry]

I used to live in Crookes and walked every day to Tapton in Darwin Lane. So in the winter a balaclava was absolutely essential, even though as a teenager it wasn't exactly fashionable. I also had a morning, evening and weekend paper round at the newsagent in Crosspool on Manchester Road, and in 2 feet of snow trudging the Sunday Times's to the posh houses round & about wasn't fun! I remember my galoshes having a hole in them so put my feet in plastic bags over my socks! Happy days!

 

Don`t forget the cardboard we put in the shoes to cover up the holes.It was a bugger when it rained and you stood in the school corridor with you foot on the radiator trying to dry it.When we had a potato(hole) in our socks we turned them round so that the hole was at the top,uncomfortable,but,so what.

[old tup]

As youngsters growing up in the 50s money was tight for most families so I did all the things like cardboard in the shoe soles that were worn down until you were almost walking in your socks!.One weeze as adolescents was wear your V neck jumper normally half the week then put it on back to front put on your coat,it then looked like a different garment the only trouble was you had to keep your coat on or the effect was lost!.Keeping warm was a struggle the old joke about the arms ripping off the eiderdown was close to home for us,I always had our old boys thick overcoat on top of my bedding in the winter,in my brothers and my bedroom you could hang meat no kidding.Christ it was cold,and don,t forget the joys of the outside loo,I,ve got goosebumps thinking about it!.Good old days my backside,youngsters today don,t know how good they have it but I wouldn,t wish it on them all the same!.

[trastrick]

As youngsters growing up in the 50s money was tight for most families so I did all the things like cardboard in the shoe soles that were worn down until you were almost walking in your socks!.One weeze as adolescents was wear your V neck jumper normally half the week then put it on back to front put on your coat,it then looked like a different garment the only trouble was you had to keep your coat on or the effect was lost!.Keeping warm was a struggle the old joke about the arms ripping off the eiderdown was close to home for us,I always had our old boys thick overcoat on top of my bedding in the winter,in my brothers and my bedroom you could hang meat no kidding.Christ it was cold,and don,t forget the joys of the outside loo,I,ve got goosebumps thinking about it!.Good old days my backside,youngsters today don,t know how good they have it but I wouldn,t wish it on them all the same!.

 

Ah. the old army overcoat. Seems every bed in the 40s had one.

 

We used to put studs and heel plates on every pair of boots and even shoes to make them last. Good for slairin down slopes, but you could hear us coming for miles.

 

That "back to front jumper" reminds me of just how poor we were. Every year poor kids went to this xmas party at the YMCA. I didn't have a shirt but mum found an old one with the back and sleeves all torn to shreds. Never mind just keep the coat on and nobody will notice.

 

Fast forward to the party, the magician and his assistant called for volunteers, and I was one that went up.

 

You can imagine what happened. In spite of my refusal, they insisted I take my coat off, and before hundreds of kids I was exposed! A few laughed, but mostly it went quiet. Never forgot that feeling.

Edited February 12, 2015 by trastrick