Lacarno/City Hall 50/60s

[buck]

I remember the Locarno opening, but I liked the City Hall better. During the interval we'd go down to the Black Swan for a couple of jars, then get back in time for a last dance or two and pick up a date. They didn't like you bopping at the city so we bopped more just to be awkward. Sunday nights we went to the Palais in Nottingham on a charter bus. cos they allowed Sunday dancing in that sinful lovely town!

[milcan]

In the early sixties, my friends and I went dancing at the Lacarno every Saturday morning. We would have been about 12-13yrs old. We loved it. We often went in black polo neck jumpers grey skirts and black stockings and thought we looked great.

[drainpipe]

In the early sixties, the places for me (with the lads) were the Locarno on Wednesday nights and Nether Edge Hall on Saturday nights. I met my wife at the Locarno and "we,ve bin togevver nar for forty years...."

[peterdo]

HI,Oldrowley I think it was a British home stores before it became lacarno. but Spent some happy hours in that place.

[Freda]

Originally posted by poppins

Wouldn't been seen dead in rollers, my duster coat was black, shoes from Saxones, white with bows on, i think you could buy the bows and change them to other shoes, although the heels of my shoes would always go UNDER as we use to say, too much walking home after the dance, ]

 

Ha ha - that could have been me posting lol!

Just joined this site and we all seem to have the same memories - we were probably at the Locarno/CH on the same nights ;-)

I had a pair of pink shoes from Saxone - 49/11, with a tiny white bow on the front - I LOVED those shoes! I also bought a pair from a catalogue which were pale blue with a peep toe, very high heels and had pink running stitches in a sunray effect on the front complete with pink bow - I thought I was the bees knees in them - now I cringe at the thought lol!

I loved the fashions of the late 50's early 60's of wide belts and flared skirts, and lots of net petticoats underneath - the aim being to make our skirts stick out as much as possible. My friend Sandra and I bought cotton half slips that had 3 'channels' circulating around the skirt, into which you threaded plastic strips, this created a 'crinolin' effect, but when we sat down on the bus, the front of our skirts shot up lol! So we had to stand up, to spare our blushes.

ah - those were the days........ :-)

[rubydazzler]

I remember the girls wearing those crinolines ... I wasn't allowed cos i was considered a little too young but remember an older friend ... she was sooo embarrassed ... major design flaw lol.

 

I was allowed to have a net skirt though ... let loose in either BHS or M&S not sure now - racks and racks of them - soooo pretty ... white net with either little bows and roses on in red, blue, pink. or lemon ... rainbow coloured ones ... girly dream!!

 

the net underskirt, red gingham dirndl skirt, white shirt blouse with red buttons, a beige elastic belt and matching suede ballerina slippers with a 1" kitten heel ... I was 13 or 14 but I felt so very grown up ...

 

They used to stiffen the net with sugar water - some girls used to spray their bouffant hair do with it too - did you ever do that - all the wasps in Millhouses park making a target of you!!

[Freda]

yes I remember soaking my net petticoats in sugar water to make them as stiff as possible. I too loved seeing all those lovely net petticoats in M&S and C&A , but as money was short, I made my own with net bought from the market - 1/11 a yard lol! Did you find that the stiff net snagged your stockings?? I got around this by wearing a straight slip inderneath the net one - it also prevented the boys from glimpsing my stocking tops when spinning around on the dance floor - hee hee. ;-)

[hazel]

I think the elasticated belts were caled waspies,

I too made my own net skirt on a treadle sewing machine that had belonged to my grandma and it did snag your stockings and scatch the tops of the legs. I also usd to go the market buying enough material for a £1 to make a dress. Used to take a piece of the dress material to Coles and for 4/6d they would make a belt to match.

Shoes from Saxone-- seemed to wear a lot of white stilletoes, but remember a beautiful blue and white pair, white broderie anglaise blouse royal blue skirt and shoes to match. Never left home witthout my long umbrella with cover to match

We must have all looked the same.

hazel

[Freda]

Hazel as I remember it, the waspie was something you wore underneath your clothes to pull in your waist, an abbreviated version of what the Victorians wore, although the elastic belt certainly helped to cinch in the waist too. I found I couldn't wear the waspie for too long as it gave me stomach ache lol!

[Applegrim]

I used to buy my shoes in the rag and tag, they were 39/11d,

and it seems as though we all did our own underskirts, but we also used to have fancy long handled umbrella's,with covers to match, what must we have looked like,and we had gloves to match! Can you girls remember the cloakroom in the Lacarno?All those mirrors and lights, it was like Hollywood in there.!