I couldn't let pass without comment your column on school uniforms. I used to love seeing girls in their uniforms when I was a schoolboy. I have a theory about this (I have theories on lots of things!). I believe that the female fashions that a male prefers, depend upon what girls are wearing when he goes through puberty, and he notices them for the first time as something other than bossy nuisances (and tormentors!)! This might be why many Englishmen seem to like women in uniform - during and after puberty the girls they see are most often in school uniforms. I imagine there are, for example, few "red-blooded" straight males who do not relish the lovely Honeysuckle Weeks in her Army driver's uniform in "Foyle’s War" (and in 1 episode, there was for me the added bonus of a Land Army girl in what was plainly a rubberised mackintosh!).
For boys, of course, a school uniform was perhaps less of a fashion challenge, being, after all, something of an introduction to the "uniform" of the office suit, which shares the great advantage of lots of pockets for male essentials - keys, wallets, credit card wallets, coin purses, ID cards (recently), cigarettes & matches/lighter (not recently), etc. I always refused at my last office to abandon my suit on "dress-down" days, because where would I put everything? Of course, my school uniform was short trousers topped by my rubberised mackintosh, which, although I kept this a secret, I actually adored wearing as often as I could, even in summer if it rained, despite my numerous playground fights and pinnings-down!
Returning to my "theory", in my case I went through puberty in the pre-miniskirt era, and my favourite styles include long, full summer dresses, especially if "flounced out" by a "froth" of stiff petticoats. Two of the girls' schools local to me wore gorgeous pale blue "shirtwaister" style dresses; at least one girl I knew spent an entire summer term in fabulous starched white petticoats under her blue uniform dress. She was not my girlfriend (sadly), because I was very shy at that time of life, but I did once succeed in goading her into a playfight on our way home, on a day when earlier rain had provided me with justification for wearing my mackintosh over my short trousers. She was something of a "horsey" girl, and although a little younger and shorter than me, quite strong; she easily wrestled me to the ground, pinned me down and then smothered me in the stiff rustling petticoats under her uniform dress. She triumphantly straddled me for over an hour and I think she was really enjoying herself. I, of course, was in heaven!! Sadly, I never had the nerve to try and take things further with her.
Reverting to your column, did you see a comment recently from one of your colleagues? She appeared, I recall, to praise school uniforms for their crisp white blouses, cosy woollen jumpers and non-acrylic skirts. Another point of view, perhaps?
Crinkly-Mack
As a very pretty girl, and being in the public eye as a journalist, I suppose you often get "odd" or "dubious" e-mails, especially from males. If this seems to be one of those, I can assure you I am quite respectable, and totally harmless, and, if I do give any offence, then I do wholeheartedly apologise.
Although a lot older than you, I often feel no older than when I came down from university, and so I enjoy reading your various articles and columns. I was especially drawn to your tale of Christmas on 11 Jan. Like many males I enjoy seeing, or reading about, "girl-on-girl" encounters, whether amorous (a la Andrew Davies!) or involving a catfight. I therefore had my imagination aroused by your relating your quarrels with your sister - is she, by the way, as pretty as you?
Rather, however, than hair pulling and scratching, perhaps you might do what schoolboys who have a quarrel, do, or in my day at least, used to do, namely to wrestle on the floor/ground until one gets on top and pins the other down until he submits. No-one in those days, thank goodness, would have dreamed of carrying round a knife, still less using it! From my own experience some years ago, I know about that sort of fight - while at grammar school my mother sent me to school in a long, double-breasted, rubberised mackintosh, rather than the normal shorter, single-breasted, gaberdine raincoats of all my fellows. She took this rather over-protective step to keep me dry, and free of colds, partly because I was also, unusually, still in short trousers - this did however mean that I did not suffer from wet trouser bottoms! One of my friends called my mackintosh, which rustled loudly, my "Crinkly-mack", and my friends used "Crinkly mack" as a nickname; virtually all the other boys just called me "the mackintosh boy", especially as they wrestled me to the ground in the playground, and triumphantly straddled me and pinned me down, helpless, in my mackintosh. One consolation, of course, was that, being in my mackintosh which was waterproof, I always stayed snug and dry during my defeats. Indeed I sometimes "won" in a way, if I could roll with my opponent through a puddle, and make him so wet that he broke off our fight! I came to live with this, and, even more so if, but only on the way home, my triumphant opponent was a more powerful girl! That, however, was a much rarer event!
Crinkly-Mac
The following are the texts of e-mails I sent, without obtaining any response, to various columnists in the national press. I hope they may be of some interest to your visitors.
Crinkly-Mac
I don't think this e-mail strictly qualifies as one of your normal enquiries about fashion issues, although there is (eventually!) a question; and even I would not really want to see the following in print! I do pray it does not give offence, and apologise profusely if it does; I am in reality quite safe and respectable!
Before, however, going on to my question and its background, a big, but very belated thank you for the fashion piece about rubber mackintoshes a year or so ago, which focused on Weather Vain in Sandycombe Road in Kew. This emporium has been my "mecca" for nearly 40 years, now, not only in Kew, but also at its previous addresses in Richmond, especially 48 Hill Rise.
It was only a pity that the article did not appear earlier, while Tony Goddard, the founder of the business, was still alive. As everyone said of the article, after it appeared - "Wonderful! Respectability at last!!" As you will gather, and also from my e-name above, I am an enthusiast for rubberised mackintoshes; no, let's be quite open and honest about it, a rubber fetishist!!
I also have a second passion so far as female fashions are concerned; I am not sure if it is another fetish, or simply a very strong liking. I have learned, from books, that a fetish is usually acquired by a male at a very early age, perhaps even shortly after birth, and while I cannot remember a time when I did not love to wear rubber mackintoshes myself or look at girls wearing them (or preferably, both!), I don't recall the same about my second passion. In fact, I usually explain it if asked, by quoting one of my "theories" (I have several!), namely that a male's preferred fashions throughout his life are those being worn when he goes through puberty and notices girls for the first time as something interesting, even desirable, instead of bossy nuisances and, occasionally, cruel tormentors!! If my theory is right (and it just might be!) it might explain why some men like women in uniform - an English thing, I think. Perhaps it is because at puberty, the girls they most often encounter are in school uniforms.
My second passion is for skirts (I hate ladies in trousers or jeans!); my favourite lengths are from just below the knee to just below the mid-calf; flared, or, especially, pleated; and I also adore summer full skirts or dresses, especially if flounced out by stiff or net petticoats. Such dresses and petticoats were all the rage when I went through puberty in the summer of 1959. At about that time I saw, and cut out to keep, a picture from an advert in I think, National Geographic. The ad. was for a cruise line, I think, and showed a young lady descending a flight of steps on a ship; she wore a black top, which left arms and shoulders bare, and a long really full bright yellow skirt, over a positive "froth" of red stiff petticoats. I suppose the picture, taken from below to show the petticoats, might, for those times, be thought rather risque. I loved it, but sadly it became mislaid in later life, and it is almost impossible to find it again; the magazine itself doesn't archive adverts, nor do libraries like that of the Royal Geographic Society - I've tried that.
Now, at long, long last (sorry!), to my question! From your extensive knowledge of the fashion world, can you tell me of any websites (or books, although I'd have to keep them hidden from the family!), perhaps dealing with the history of fashion, that show lots of pictures of girls in the 1950's dresses and stiff petticoats that I love so much? I've tried various searches on Google, but only seemed to get retailers!
Can you help, please?
Crinkly-Mack
