Fashion is fickle. It comes and goes, and what is trendy one decade becomes old fashioned the next.
Today we’ll go with fashions of the 1950s and ’60s, and of course all can’t be mentioned here, as the changes in dress were many.
There was still the tailored elegance of the pre/post war years for the older woman, but the younger people came into their own with their unique style. Duffle coats and desert boots for both sexes for those chilly winter days worn with long pants (velvet was in) and brightly coloured socks (lime green, purple or hot pink). Sloppy Joe jumpers were also the trend and often hand-knitted. For warmer days the ladies wore pretty dresses that highlighted feminine curves, and full knee-length skirts with wide belts emphasising small waists. Pleated skirts were in for little girls and their older sisters, worn with twin sets or fuzzy-wuzzy jumpers in lovely pastel colours.
Men’s fashions also changed from suits and ties to flared pants, polo necks and jackets, and guys were classed as super cool with a leather jacket and stove-pipe trousers worn with shiny pointed-toed shoes. Team these with an Elvis Presley hairstyle and you could claim the title ‘Bodgie’. His partner, the ‘Widgie’, with her lashings of black mascara and eyeliner, black stockings and tight skirts, was frowned upon by the more conservative older generation.
Skirt lengths were never above the knee until English model Jean Shrimpton attended the Melbourne Cup and much to the disgust of the Melbourne upper class fashion icons she wore a dress at least three inches above the knee, and horror of horrors — no stockings! There was no going back though. Short skirts were in.
Jeans were there but not the staple in a wardrobe as they are today. Rubber thongs made their entrance and all a girl wanted for Christmas was not two front teeth but a brand new pair of thongs! Hairdos were another story. While the cool guy was plastering his short back and sides with Brylcreem the girls were teasing their locks into a beehive so high a family of birds could live in it.
When we look back at fashions, we have to smile at the memory of some we wore, but one style never changes and that’s the good old cosy dressing gown and fluffy slippers you’re probably wearing now, as the winter nights set in and you plan on what to wear tomorrow.
A few Facebook memories of Shepparton’s fashion through the years:
Ann Murray
I remember the queues in Fryers St waiting for the doors to open for Fairleys’ sale. The year they decided to sell cheap imports from Asia caused an outcry. It’s the norm nowadays.
Jules JR Julia
I remember Lindsay’s store, which was located on the north-west corner of Fryers and Maude Sts. I remember it was a two-storey shop with classic men’s and ladies’ wear, and my grandmother always told me I could be guaranteed of getting quality goods from Lindsay’s.
Shirley Hughes
Fairleys: I would spend many hours browsing in the wool, haberdashery and dress materials departments before and after getting married. Was a great place to shop in.
Val Pattison
We had ‘fuzzy-wuzzy’ twinsets, jumpers and matching berets in pale pink, worn with pleated skirts (on a calico bodice).
Michael Halsall
Lunn & Fordyce: Bought my first suit there in early 1972 when I started boarding school. I was meant to wear it to school socials etc. As a child, I thought the business was called ‘London Fordyce’.
Brenda McDougall
I'm sure my mum kept Lunn & Fordyce in business all those years. I have seven brothers. Say no more, but they smiled whenever they saw her walk in the door with kids in tow, to be sure.
Lesley Fowler
Used to buy my daughter and son’s secondary school (South Tech) uniforms from Lunn & Fordyce.
Chez Bishop
McKeon’s kept us so fashionable back in the day and Riordan’s and McArthur’s shoe stores... aaargh! Memories.
Georgina Johnson
Every pay day — off to McKeon’s to pay some off my lay-by, then to the shoe shop.
Sharon Bassani
l remember going into Adler’s with Mum. Lovely lady who always gave us kids biscuits while mum was trying on clothes. We loved shopping with Mum; if we were good, we would get a milkshake from the Hurco.
Dee Harris
Max Carlos Menswear: Loved Maxi. Worked in Little Paris ladies’ wear near his menswear shop. We shared much time chatting and laughing. He was a great friend and I missed him when he sold the shop.
Jenny Brain
Max Carlos Menswear: I remember his classy menswear shop where my father bought all his outfits. Good old days, hey!
