Figure 2.--This is my very first long trouser suit. I was just beginning to grow up when this photograph was taken. I was 12 years old. The sleeves weren't so long, but the trousers still hung concertina-like around my ankles. Mumm was clearly planning for plenty of growth. The sweater is a slipover.

I was one of the first boys of my generation in the neighbourhood to start wearing long trousers. The decission to get my first long triuser suit was possibly a bit of both mom's and my ideas. My first long trouser suit was made from Cheviot wool and airforce blue in colour. Both the jacket and trousers were miles too big for me and I think my mother did this deliberately to allow for growth. I suppose it was made a big thing of, going into long trousers was a big event in your life a kind of rites of passage. It did feel funny at first, I soon got used to people saying how different I looked and it wouldn’t belong before I left school. In some respects, I felt a little bit sad that although I was technically a boy, much of my boyhood ceased to exist, the moment I stepped into my first pair of long trousers. On wearing them for the first time I noticed how itchy the material was and how much freedom I’d lost when I walked in them.

The Decission

The decission to get my first long triuser suit was possibly a bit of both mom's and my ideas. I think she felt that as a 12-year-old the time had come for me to stop showing bare knees and enter the ‘adult’ world. I also felt that that the time had come for me to start wearing long trousers. I guess it was just a matter of coincidence that we thought about it together.

The Suit

My first long trouser suit was made from Cheviot wool and airforce blue in colour. Both the jacket and trousers were miles too big for me and I think my mother did this deliberately to allow for growth. This was something you didn't really notice when you wore short trousers. The only thing you were likely to see was the amount of thigh protruding out of the legs of your shorts as you grew. There were several things I noticed about my new long trousers. The first being that they felt very itchy for the first few weeks that I wore them and their legs kept tickling my knees. Like my fathers trousers, they too had turn ups [cuffs], but the most striking difference my long trousers had over my short ones apart from length was that they were unlined whereas all my short trousers had beautifully white cotton linings and I have memories of seeing the linings of not only mine, but those of other boys whose short trousers that were hung inside out as they dried on the washing line. One other thing I noticed about my first long trouser suit was how long the jacket was compared with those I had worn with shorts. The hem of these jackets would come to a point a few inches below the waistband of my shorts, whereas the hem of the jacket of my long trouser suit ended around the crotch area of my trousers.

Coming Home

I suppose it was made a big thing of, going into long trousers was a big event in your life a kind of rites of passage. It did feel funny at first, I soon got used to people saying how different I looked and it wouldn’t belong before I left school.

My Thoughts

In some respects, I felt a little bit sad that although I was technically a boy, much of my boyhood ceased to exist, the moment I stepped into my first pair of long trousers. On wearing them for the first time I noticed how itchy the material was and how much freedom I’d lost when I walked in them. One thing I had to do in my longs that I never did when I was wearing shorts was to pull the legs up slightly as I sat down, I was told you did this so as to keep the legs of the trousers creased.

Shorts Discarded

As well as my long trouser suit my Mum bought me some fawn cavalry twill long trousers for school and brown corduroy long trousers for playing about in. Shortly after I started to wear long trousers all my short ones were given away. The only shorts I wore were for games at school, khaki ones for cricket and black sateen shorts for gym and football. I never even wore shorts in Summer, I guess I became to self conscious to wear them.

A Possible Return to Shorts

There was one time when it looked very much likely that I was going to be put back into short trousers. It was during the long summer holliday that one afternoon my Mum had a very important appointement to keep and I had to accompany her, as there was no one to look after me at home. I had to wear my best suit as I was going somewhere special. Having dressed and while I waited for Mum to get ready I slipped into the garden to play. While there and unbeknown to me I accidentally got the legs of my trousers covered in soil. This annoyed my Mum and as she brushed the legs down she told me that she had a good mind to put me back into shorts for being so careless. I couldn't believe what I'd just heard and the thought of returning to short trousers again filled me with dread at the thought of the teasing I would get not only from the boys around the neighbourhod, but also those at school. I couldn't stop thinking about what Mum had said and it preyed on my mind for a long time. The following afternoon I was talking to the daughter of one of my Mum's friends and I told her what had happened in the garden and my possible return to shorts. She told me I should wear them as I suited shorts more than long trousers, but not even that was enough to make me want to wear them again. My Mum's threeat was an idle one and thankfully nothing ever came of it.

Sports Jackets

When I was 13 I took to wearing sports jackets and slacks rather than suits. I much prefered these as you could mix and match whereas you couldn't do that with items which were specifically from a suit. Once again I was dressed in Harris Tweed jackets and matching slacks to go with them. One of the things I remember about the jackets was that they had an extra pocket on the right side and my Dad told me it was called a ticket pocket, which I presumed was for your bus or rail ticket.

Jeans

I was never fond of wearing these. I did have a couple of pairs when I was 13, a blue Denim pair and a black pair. I could tollerated the black pair, but I began to loath Denim jeans and I've never worn them since. In place of Jeans I wore cavalry twill slacks which were quite durable. They had a lovely twill to them hence the name and I had one or two pairs in beige and green colours.

Shirts

Most of my peers wore T-shirts, but I hated them with a passion. I much prefered conventional shirts with a collar and tie. I may not have liked T-shirts, however, short sleeved shirts were acceptable to me.

First Job

I left school at 15 and immediately got a job as a van boy for T. Wall and Son a food firm which sold pies, susages, pre-packed bacon and ham and ice-cream. I helped the salesman and made up the order for the customer which was pre-backed bacon and ham as far as wer were concerned. He wore a cream coloured coat which had red lapels and red cuffed sleeves, and on his head he wore a straw boater, while I wore a navy blue white striped butcher's coat and on my head I had to wear a navy blue beret.

Anthony