Figure 1.--Here I am at age 4 before I began school wearing my checkered winter coat with shorts, and white kneesocks.

I do not recall the clothes I wore as a very little boys in great detail. I do know what I wore, however, because of all our family photographs. These photographs of me were taken during the last 12 months before I started primary school; I suspect they portray typical clothing of the late 1960s in England. I do not remember having any say in what I wore; whether that was down to my lack of interest or the complete absence of choice of ‘trendy gear’ when compared to what is available now, I do not know. Here I am wearing a sweater with short pants and white kneesocks. I also had heavy checkered coat with a hood.

Headgear

I did not wear anything on my head; children now seem to have a baseball cap, or equivalent, virtually welded to their heads.

Sweater

I wore a lot of sweaters as a boy, both here as a younger boy and when I was olfer (figure 1). Here I wear a kind of pullover ski sweater.

Jewellery

I did not wear any at all. I have seen boys, as young as toddlers, wearing an earring in their left ear and gold chains around their necks. Surely that must be at the behest of their parents; I cannot imagine a 3 year-old shouting ‘me-want pwease!’ for such an ‘adult’ adornment, or am I completely out of touch?

Merchandising

My clothing did not have any merchandising link at all, I do not know whether such a concept existed in Britain in the 1960’s. Today there is a complete proliferation of such items connected with Television shows like Postman Pat or Bart Simpson.

Designer logos

Tommy Hilfiger was not around in the 1960’s and Jean Renee Lacoste, I believe, only catered for the adult market at that time. In any event my parents would not have justified spending that much money when I would grow out of the clothing within a few months.

Shorts

My shorts were, well, short. Children have much more of a choice nowadays ranging from ‘hot-pants’ to ones which are little more than ‘half-mast long trousers’.

Socks

I don’t think you can now readily purchase white leisure knee socks and ankle socks with turnover tops for boys that I wore; they are probably relics of a by-gone age. Many boys nowadays do not wear knee socks at all unless they are football ones whilst ankle socks appear to have been over-taken by ‘no-show’ shoe liners

Coat

For cold weather, I had a heavy coat with hood. I wore it with short trousers and kneesocks. I think the shorts were a heavier material than I wore during the summer, but I wore the same white kneesocks.

Footwear

I wore lace-up shoes and buckled t-bar sandals, I know of one current 7-year old boy of a friend of mine who has no idea how to tie laces because he has never had to. His parents have always bought him Velcro strap fastening footwear, I do hope this changes before he starts looking for girl-friends - asking them to fasten his shoes would be one embarrassing chat-up line! Children now rarely wear sandals, preferring trainers instead. Slippers are again a rapidly disappearing item because many children prefer to lounge round the house in either bare or stocking feet; such is the advantage of under-floor central heating systems.

Paul