What happened to petticoats?

[Helpmechooseausername]

I saw something on another thread that made me wonder what happened to petticoats? I'm sure you can still get them but I'm also sure most women don't bother with them!
My Mum always wore one when I was a kid back in the 70s / 80s, but I wouldn't even consider wearing one now.
So why not? What's changed that means women don't need them any more?
Thanks!

I think they're still needed sometimes. I wore one today. There are lots in M&S

So many dresses are unlined these days, I’m surprised petticoats (full and half versions) haven’t had a revival. I have a lovely full silk slip which keeps me warm and improves the way my dresses hang.

Some unlined skirts are better with them. They don't stick to your legs when you're wearing one and aren't see-through.

Skirts and dresses are often lined or made with fabric that doesn’t require a petticoat.

I bought a dress last summer and I hadn't realised you could see straight through it, then I had to go and find a slip.
I eventually found one - and have now decided the dress looks shit on me. Although the slip could work as a nightie.

I remember wearing petticoats when I was about 5 in the 80s and I still remember that horrid clinging feeling of them. Urgh. Have never sought them out as an adult!

" Petticoats" reminds me of my childhood: we wore petticoats and liberty bodices for heavens sake. Makes me feel positively Victorian.

I thought petticoats were now referred to as Slips? I ve got a couple of those - waist slips as opposed to full slips. I don't wear them and haven't for years but they did used to make your skirt or dress hang nicely

I used to wear a slip up until I was about 14/15 - it was still quite normal in my girls’ school in the 1980s/early 1990s. People would still say “it’s snowing down south” to tell you your slip was showing!

I’m guessing better central heating, gradual climate warming, more heating on buses and better and warmer coats, among other things. I remember being often cold at school or on a journey on the bus as a child, but not that often since then. Winters now seem much milder than I remember (and I’m in heated cars and offices much more as well). I also wear opaque tights a lot of the time which keep me pretty warm.

I don’t quite remember when we all seemed simultaneously to stop wearing them! Early 90s I think.

This tracks with some of the SIDS data I remember seeing about cot death. Apparently there was a bit of a spike in baby deaths in the late 80s/early 90s, because lots of people finally got central heating, but were still wrapping babies up in lots of clothes to keep them warm, as they’d been told by older relatives — but this caused overheating. Campaigns like Back to Sleep also focused on not over-covering the baby or letting it get too warm. I wonder if there’s something similar that led to the death of the slip - more and more efficient heating indoors around that time, including school buildings, public buildings etc. which helped slips and other extra layers go out of fashion.

I've a couple of silk dresses that look better with a silk petticoat. They are a little opaque without and the petticoat makes them hang better. I also bought a couple of merino petticoats a couple of years ago. These are great under medium weight dresses and means that I can wear them all winter.
I think that we all stopped wearing petticoats in the early 80s because the static produced by a nylon petticoat, an acrylic school skirt and a pair of tights was intolerable!

Not needed when it was decided a vulva skimming pair of hot pants was acceptable dress

I’ve just bought a lovely linen dress and DH told me that I’m bright sunlight it’s almost see though 😟 I’m desperately looking for a petticoat to wear under it

I always think it looks like girls are wearing their underwear.

I think that we looked better in jeans & jumpers, as teens…

Slips, I’ve always worn them. I have loads of different types.

@Charliecatpaws have a look at Daydress, they have a cotton slip in 2 lengths £25 - £30. It’s a very handy buy for dresses that are a bit sheer.

I always wear a slip under dresses and skirts as they hang better and cheap material looks more expensive. It also does away with a VPL

I went looking for one in our local upmarket ladies department store and the 20 year old helping me had absolutely no idea what I was talking about.

I never wore one - then I caught sight of myself in a mirror in a shop and my linen skirt was extremely see through (think Lady Di at the kindergarten, but with 65 year old legs!). Thankfully I was in another town so no danger of seeing someone I knew. I rushed to the nearest shop and bought a petticoat, and have since purchased others in different lengths and colours.

Consigned to the past! I remember wearing one as a kid in the early 90s and despised it. It clung to me and became twisted all the time which was a lot to deal with in primary school. I think older ladies still wear them and people seem to wear shorts under semi opaque skirts or the fashion is to see legs through a skirt, but that looks ugly to me. Petticoats and see through skirts should be binned for good.

Mid 50s. Always wear one if skirt lined.

@Charliecatpaws Aspiga do a cotton slip for £20 in white or cream - www.aspiga.com/products/cami-v-midi-slip-white?_pos=1&_sid=919ef3ee1&_ss=r

I find if I don't wear one with my unlined dresses they get static and stick to my legs.

Maybe it was the changing fashion. Pencil skirts or ra-ra skirts. Girls my age were wearing trousers more often. Jump suits like on the cover of Just 17.

i bought some cropped leggings to wear under a see through dress
in the 1980s i had to buy a slip on the way to work as my skirt was see through

I've wondered this before. I definitely wore one to infant school in the early 80s but no idea *why" looking back. Presumably it was the beginning of nylony clothes so did it do anything???

My nan talked about her "slip" but I've not heard that in literally years.

I'm nearly 50 and don't think I've heard anyone mention petticoat since I was a child. My children wouldn't know what they are....

And although I get with silky dresses they might hang better - I dont wear those. My dresses and skirts look fine.

I've genuinely no idea why they were the norm. Was it a bit like a hang over from when they were needed for warmth and then just became expected??

I bought a couple last summer, when I'd enthusiastically invested in some crochet dresses. I found they stretch as you wear them - making the between-stitch spaces unexpectedly large and potentially embarrassing!

Mine are microfibre and they don't cling. Silk jersey's better but I'm a cheapskate. I got M&S ones from ebay at around £6 each; they must experience a lot of 'wastage' at that factory.

I wore one yesterday under a thin cotton skirt