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The last page shows modern fashions, at least modern fashions in the early 1960s. Interestingly the scene could have easily been mistaken for a ddepiction of an American family. In fact the illustration may well be a more accurate depictin of an American than a British family. The Ladybird text reads, "The main characteristics of modern dress are comfort and good colours. The family in the picture show how easy and gay the clothes are. Father's jersey and
scarf are essentially comfortable, though if he works in an office in the city he may go off in the morning in a black coat and waistcoat, black shoes and a bowler hat--and carry an umbrella.
Trend that began in the 1960s became increasingly apparent in the 1960s. Short pants were still commonly worn in the 1960s, but by increasingly younger
boys--especially by the late 1960s. Boys began wearing clothes with a European influence. Short pants began increasingly short in the 1960s. The standard short pants were grey. Terelyn blended fabrics tended to replace flannel. These grey shorts were widely worn at schools. Some younger boys at secondary schools still weore shorts in the early 1960s, but this was rare except in private schools by the end of the decade. Outside of school, dress shorts were less commoly worn, but a varierty of play shorts in various colors and materials, including denim were popular for boys until their teen years during the summer. The year of 1968 is especially important as it was the year of the Paris school riots--which marked the increasing importance of youth culture throughout Europe. This trend was and fashions styles which accompanied it were also noticeble in England. By the end of the decade it was rare to see an older boy wearing short pants suits with knee socks, except at a few mostly private schools. Even the Scouts, but not the cubs, following the popular trend switched to long pants in 1969.
The Ladybird text read:
"The main characteristics of modern dress are comfort and good colours. The family in the picture show how easy and gay the clothes are. Father's jersey and scarf are essentially comfortable, though if he works in an office in the city he may go off in the morning in a black coat and waistcoat, black shoes and a bowler hat==and carry an umbrella.
Mother wears trouses, which would have shocked her grandparents in their day. They are comfortable, easier for casual wear than a skirt, and aklso very smart.
The greatest change generally is in children's clothes. Once they were stuffy and stiff for boys and frilly for girls; now they are gay and designed for free movement.
The boy wears 'jeans', worn these days for boys and girls, young and old. For school he probably wears shorts and a blazer, or perhaps a jersey like his father is wearing.
The little boy wears easy and brightly coloured clothes and no socks; not very long ago children always wore socks, or when they were older, stockings.
If you look back through this book you will see that we are dressing more like people in the earliest ages, instead of using clothes as a kind of ornamentation we wear them for their real purpose, to keep warm and be comfortable."
The last page shows modern fashions, at least modern fashions in the early 1960s. Interestingly the scene could have easily been mistaken for a ddepiction of an American family. In fact the illustration may well be a more accurate depictin of an American than a British family. Wdo not remember many English boys wearing baseball caps in the 1960s. We also believe that family cars were much more common in America thn Britain. A HBC reader also notes that the text which mentions a father wearing a bowler hat was pitched at well-to-do families and not the avwrage family. One item we notice that was not very cmmon in America was the father's cravat. We wonder howmany English fathers dressed like that.
A HBC reader tells us he was disappointed with this book because there were so few children pictured in the different historical period. Hetells us that he also wondered how boys in other countries were dressed. He remembers discussins in his French class a few years later as to how French boys dressed.
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