Figure 1.--

I remenber a few conversations or incidents about clothing as a boy growing up in London. Here there were conversations with mum, my brothers, and schoolmates. As far as I can remember when we were young we wore what mum put out for us. I don't remember any major arguments before my objecting to wearing a pair of my elder brothers "baggy" shorts for school one morning when I was about 9 years old. I don't recall a lot of discussions with my brothers about clothes, except when they would tease me about the check short I so disliked. I do recall one episode with by brothers. I can remember a few conversations involved comparing who was wearing what at my secondary school.

Mum

As far as I can remember when we were young we wore what mum put out for us. I don't remember any major arguments before my objecting to wearing a pair of my elder brothers "baggy" shorts for school one morning when I was about 9 years old. This wasn't due to anything anyone at school had said - they just didn't feel right - probably because they were new to me that morning and I missed my "normal ones". Maybe he'd got a new pair but I don't remember that being the issue - it's honestly my first memory of strongly objecting to wearing an item of clothing.I did go off to school in them - I had no choice! And I suppose after a while I grew used to them and they became "mine". The only big arguments that I remember with Mum were over those check shorts I mentioned earlier. Even then I realised that my mum just wanted us to look extra smart to show her parents that she was "coping" so, as long as my schoolmates didn't spot me on the way to the tube station, I put up with my brothers' comments. Other than shoes I never remember going shopping for clothes with my mum until we went to get my secondary school blazer so I suppose I got what he chose--eventually. As I said, he was in the Cubs. So I suppose he got the uniform for that but I was running wild in my old school clothes or jeans. I do remember asking for those grey jeans so that was another thing for me. As for school (primary) I don't recall any major discussions about clothes, although some boys used to turn up in fancy-looking (to me) shiny looking grey shirts in the summer rather than the normal white or flannelette grey. I think these new shirts were nylon, but in grey.

Brothers

I don't recall a lot of discussions with my brothers about clothes, except when they would tease me about the check short I so disliked. I do recall one episode with by brothers. It was on one Christmas trip up to Leeds to visit our grandparents. I particularly remember that trip as we went by coach [bus] rather than train. I felt smothered and uncomfortable on the coach. Everything was wrong with my clothing on that trip. I remember I had to wear one of those hand knitted sweters I disliked--the bottle green sleeveles one. Mum made me wear it with my sheepskin coat (which was a real luxury then for a kid). But I hated that too because, it being light brown suede, it showed the dirt and I was afraid to do anything in it. I had on my black school shoes, my long grey school socks with new garters that pinched, a hated white shirt and a solid green tie with a picture of a "Red Indian" chief on it. Where that tie came from, I had no idea. At least the jumper covered that up but it also seemed to dig into my back with it's stitching. O.K. so I was exaggerating, but thats the way I felt as a boy. And those check shorts that I disliked so much had miraculously reappeared again. What was worse the coach broke down on the M1 and we had to wait at a service station for ages for a replacement. My elder brother joined in with a group of Scouts with funny (to me) accents in ridiculing me with the "hilarious" comment that I was going on a duck-hunt. He was well in with them by discussing "scouting things" before they turned on me. I had no idea at the time as to the connection. One of the Scouts just came out with it and the others (including my brothers) just took it up. You know makiing duck noises and pretending to aim shotguns in the air--you know kids stuff. They were from up north - Northumberland or something so maybe they associated that sort of pattern with hunting clothes. Being a city boy I didn't know about that kind of thing but they could have been from a more rural area. Or maybe it was from a T.V. show/comic strip local to their area and my brothers just copied them. I do know that Sherlock Holmes was often portrayed in TV adaptations in a cape and a deerstalker hat and "plus fours" in Prince of Wales check but ducks??? Even my Mum thought it was amusing and when my little brother joined in I gave him a punch and got the backs of my knees smacked in return. Merry Christmas eh?

Schoolmates

I can remember a few conversations involved comparing who was wearing what at my secondary school. For some reason brightly coloured Ben Sherman socks had become fashionable. They were sort of "towelling" socks and very expensive and comfortable. The game was to wear them to school without being spotted (socks were meant to be grey). the popular colour being bright red was no easy matter. They were worn out of school with boots - which defeated the point - but you had to have everything just right. Before the school came down on this fashion with a "may we remind parents...." letter home, chain stores, such as the British Home Stores brought out a cheap imitatation of these socks (not sold as schoolwear of course) and any boy who turned up in these was ridiculed. You could easily spot the difference. They "fluffed up" after a few wearings and wore out quickly. On the other hand - I still have a pair of my Ben Sherman Socks here with me right now and this is from about 1973! Although I did wear them sparingly and they are now a sort of deep shade of pink rather than the bright red they once were but they are still wearable. For some reason boys switched from the lurid red to white towelling socks - more like sports socks - and the school seemed to accept this. We were all in long trousers at the time of course.

Bill