The current series is set in the period that my parents were 17-18. They think it's pretty authentic, especially the idea that the fashions and music travelled across regional and class lines with ease for the first time.
They had both been working from the age of 14 so had some disposable income. My dad was an apprentice and after his board, bus fares etc he could still own a couple of tailored Italian style suits (with 'bum freezer' jackets and daringly narrow lapels) by saving up for a month or two. There were lots of mills and you could buy 'flawed' suit lengths for a tailor to make up.
Mum made her own things with fabric bought the same way, or for more complex patterns there was often someone within a few streets who worked from home as a seamstress.
I have a few photos of them from when they were courting and they look incredible. They were two working class kids from refugee families that arrived here after the war. They grew up in slums and eventually got offered brand new council housing which seemed like paradise to them.
CTM has provoked so many conversations in our family, taught me so much and has had some really important storylines. Plus it's a female written and female led cast drama that's an international commercial success. Sadly that's still as rare as hen's teeth in 2018.
And here endeth the sermon for today...I only intended to say that my folks said it's pretty authentic!