It's a story of the functional, the fashionable and the frumpy.
When I was in my teens, we had required uniforms for gym class, and they were
not pretty. Made of a cheap, scratchy white cotton, they were sleeveless, snapped up the front and had bloomer-type legs that were gathered onto elastic. I don't remember anyone looking good in them. Maybe that was the idea, because they certainly didn't inspire any admiring glances from the boys. The required footwear was plain white Keds with crew socks, which we called bobby socks back then. White Keds were completely practical and associated with group calisthenics and shared showers.
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| etsy.com - bamboobettie |
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| baileyknit.com |
For date nights, at least at my high school, the only acceptable way to be shod was in a pair of colored P.F. Flyers.
Not Keds. We wore them with ribbed white socks (not bobby socks!)...pulled straight up and then slouched ever-so-slightly, never rolled down. My favorite pair was made of a light blue polished cotton with red stitching, and I felt totally cool when I wore them.
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| etsy.com - eharbaug |
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| etsy.com - eharbaug |
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| kohls.com |
So why not Keds? Well, silly, because that's what our moms wore. And, believe me, moms weren't nearly as cool as they are today. Moms in my hometown, almost to a woman, wore Grasshoppers. Even the name tells you why teenage girls weren't going to wear them. Way too cutesy and with a coolness factor that registered on the negative side of the number scale.
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| ebay.com - chopt |
Looking at those blue P.F.s, I can almost hear the roar of my boyfriend's '56 Ford...and, when I look at the Grasshoppers, I could swear I hear my mother saying, "It's time to get off that telephone and go to bed!"
Love an old time tale! It was converse all stars for me, purple! (still are) and you can hear me say to my Master three, get off you tube and go to bed!
ReplyDeleteThe more things change, the more they stay the same, huh? Love the purple All Stars. During my hippie college days, I either wore black low-top Converses or sandals.
DeleteOh what a fun read! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteEmilie
www.liveeatsmile.blogspot.com
And thanks for sharing your coconut shrimp. I'm seriously thinking about making it today.
DeleteI hadn't thought about Grasshopers in forever! Our gym suits were white and we rolled the legs up to make them short. We had to have our names embroidered on them and our school on the back. Loved the kick down memory lane.
ReplyDeleteThe legs of our uniforms were already short...and elasticized...and poufy. And we weren't posh enough to have our names embroidered on ours. They were written with Sharpie...LOL Lucky you to be able to customize yours somewhat. We all looked like Michelin tire girls.
DeleteUgh - Blogger ate my response! It was brilliant, of course. Loved the kick down memory lane.
ReplyDeleteGret post! Thanks for the deja vu!
ReplyDeleteJust FYI, I had to try 3 times to get past the word verification. Are they trying to make it illegible? Here goes, since I'll be trying again. LOL!
ReplyDeleteGlad you got a kick out of the post. And I agree with you about the word verification. It's becoming very annoying. I'm thinking about doing away with it on my blog altogether.
Delete<3
ReplyDelete:)
DeleteWe really enjoy your tales from yesteryear. Funny, but the shoe in the first picture is having a revival over here - all the teens are wearing them, and white seems to be de rigueur!
ReplyDeleteIn the late 80s, white Keds were popular here, and I wore them just like everyone else did. Since I retired from teaching, I don't know if the girls here are wearing them again, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were. White Keds are a classic style that will never really go away.
DeleteDid you ever see the movie, A League of Their Own? Well, our gym uniforms looked like theirs; one piece "dress" with bloomers underneath in a hideous off yellow color. OMG, bloomers? We had these mesh gym bags to carry our stuff back and forth and they were ultra ugly. Plus, group showers. How did we survive? Personally, I loved my Keds and like wearing them now, but they are hard to come by.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the memory jog.
I got over associating white Keds with gym class by the 80s and early 90s, and that's just about all I wore then...along with big shoulder pads and spatter painted tee shirts. Fashion is so fickle. :) I have to say that your gym uniforms sound even uglier than ours!
DeleteAlways interesting to hear a different generations take on there past and reminisce about it. Sometimes I wish I had grown up in the 50s or 60s or even earlier, things were built better and built to last and had more style, automobiles being the most obvious not like the cookie cutter cars of today that all look the same. Or today's homes block after block, mile after mile of the same identical row homes popping up faster than you can blink, earlier homes and neighbourhoods have there own style and tell a story. I reminisce about my childhood in the country, and not what my new urban sprawl neighbours seriously consider country, a 6x12 condo fee maintained patch of grass.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I have wonderful memories of growing up in the 50s and 60s...long horseback or bicycle rides alone or with friends with no fear of being harmed by strangers...stopping to play in an icy cold, crystal clear stream to cool off with no worries about pollution...and, yes, all the things you mentioned. It was a good time to grow up.
DeleteI sure hope you buy yourself a new pair of PF Flyers.... I mean just for those moments you want to be brought back to your teens. *hehehe*
ReplyDeleteI can't believe all the designs Keds make nowadays.
I'd never thought about it...but a pair of P.F. Flyers is cheaper than a facelift, huh? Maybe I'd better look into that. LOL
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