to wonder why we, and our mums, used to wear the silly garments...

[KatrineEM]

petticoats?

I don't remember what age my sisters and I stopped having to wear petticoats (thin, little dresses under clothing), but I've never even thought of dressing my DD in one.

Mums used to wear underskirts, with elasticated waistbands, didn't they? I wonder why?


AIBU to think petticoats are/were a silly garment?

[BoreOfWhabylon]

Oh, well done garlicgrump!

[nickschick]

I sold a charnos one on ebay last year for about £20

[garlicgrump]

"Charlie's dead" or "It's snowing down south!"

Looking for bra slips, I've now discovered shapewear slips which might well be the very garment I need. Any undergarment with 26% lycra has got to be a bonus! Not so pretty, perhaps ... I can see myself stocking up on lycra slips AND pretty petticoats to go on top of them.

[500internalerror]

I wear one every day

[burberryqueen]

oh my daughter had one of those kilt vests, it was superb.
and i had an underskirt for a summer dress i wore once and nearly caused a car crash as it was totally see thru.....(i was younger then obvs.)

[PiratePanda]

Oh, and kilt vests! I was obsessively attached to mine as a child and refused to wear anything else!

[PiratePanda]

Women wore them for warmth and withe cheap unlined skirts as a form of lining. I don't own a petticoat, but I do own a slip to go under a couple of slightly seethrough pale/white dresses and tunics. Actually, it helps give line to an outfit too. I'm a bit of a fan.

[garlicgrump]

LOOK!!! :)

[garlicgrump]

Another "Oooh! Yes!" to the bra slips :) I'd forgotten about them - they were great; all your trimmings held together nice and smooth!
Yoni - yes, they were a fitted shape so they didn't bag around the waist, if that's what you were thinking. I don't think it would look right under a skin-tight top, though ... Mind you, I bag around the waist these days so I'd need a very special kind of 'fit'

I'm really glad you thought of this, Katrine, I'm going to get or make some. That nice feeling of my clothes fitting over my body - instead of feeling like they're desperately gripping here and there - shall be mine once more!

[YoniTime]

Can you wear full slips underneath skirts with tops? Or would that fit strangely.

[frillyflower]

Petticoats are really nothing to do with washing or cleanliness! They are all about giving you a better line under a sheer dress or skirt and preventing static cling.

[Chandon]

I would love for petticoats to come back into fashion.

They make skirts flair out, it is pretty and fun.

I have one with a 50s dress, but am too shy to wear it....

[TheSmallClanger]

I had to wear one of those kilt ones sometimes at infant school. I hated the bloody thing.

I never ever wear them now - I almost always wear tights with skirts anyway. DD has never owned or worn one, apart from as part of a godawful bridesmaid dress she had when she was 9.

[MrsHoarder]

I might make myself a silk one if I can get a pale silk in the sale at some point.

I had one underneath my pinafore in infants, but have no idea what a liberty bodice is.

[GlassofRose]

I wished more women adopted slips/petticoats it's stops you having to see their lumps and bumps and vpl

[ParsingFancy]

I'm wearing one today. Under an unlined wool skirt: helps the skirt hang better and means I can wear the skirt an extra day (it doesn't wash well).

Also much used with flimsy see-through summer stuff - though at the moment it's more use as an extra thermal layer.

[HibiscusIsland]

I quite like kilt vests. I think they look nice with a knitted jumper. I'd prefer the vest bit to be cotton rather than nylon as in the 70s. Probably more comfy than a skirt kilt

[DeWe]

Hibiscus not only did I have one (when about 5yo) I had a couple for dd1 and dd2 who are now 12 and 9yo when they were toddlers. I got them off ebay.

[UtterflyButterfly]

I generally wear trousers, but have recently bought more skirts, and was only thinking the other day I needed a slip.

Anyone remember the phrase 'Charlie's dead', when your petticoat was too long and showed under your skirt? (unintentionally). This was always a problem at school, as we used to roll our skirts up at the waist to make them shorter, but then your petticoat showed! (late 1960's early 70's)

[Spinstrel]

Wasn't there a scandalous (then) picture of Lady Diana Spencer caught with her skirt clinging to her legs with no petticoat, in the early 1980s?

[diddl]

I tend to think of a petticoat as something layered & meant to be seen.

To go under something thin/stop clothes sticking-don't you just say underslip?

[QuinionsRainbow]

I had a couple of half-slips when I was at school, but didn't wear them very often and haven't worn anything like that since. Never had a full-length slip - too clingy up top for me and too much like wearing a vest - ugh! I remember a cousin coming to stay one weekend when I was in my mid-teens. She forgot to bring a nightie with her and spent the week sleeping in the full-length petticoat that she then often wore through the day.

[allmycats]

They are perfect for wearing under un-lined clothing, make the fabric hang properly and not cling to the body so there is a smoother appearance and I really like them.