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>Let me start by pointing out that it was way back in >the late 1950s and early 1960s when I began to take an >interest in girls/women and what they wore. In >Britain, tights and panty girdles were virtually >unknown and shops and mail order catalogues (just >about the only places where I could see girdles) >displayed open girdles, suspender belts, bras and >slips. > >There were just a few sources of information from >which a teenage boy could learn about what women wore >beneath their dresses and skirts. Catalogues were >good because there were quite detailed descriptions. >Shop windows allowed a view of actual garments. Girl >friends might be willing to answer questions. Women’s >magazines and newspapers had adverts and articles >about foundation garments (still often referred to as >“corsetry” in those days). Finally, there were >conversations – mainly overheard – between women about >their “unmentionables”. So, my “stories” are derived >from observing, hence the name I am using, and not >from experience of wearing. > >What intrigued me early on was the huge variety of >these foundations. Why so many variations? I could >see that older women and those with larger figures >would wear the more complex (and very >uncomfortable-looking) girdles. The catalogue photos >tended to make that clear and the descriptions were >full of references to boning, underbelts, >reinforcements and even lacing. I also knew that the >teenage girls around me (no sisters, unfortunately) >who all started wearing nylon stockings, must be >wearing some means of holding them up. > >One day, I was with my mother when she visited a woman >who was an old school friend. She had two daughters, >one of them, Rita, the same age as me (15 or 16 at the >time, I think). There was also a younger brother and >I was on the floor helping him with his clockwork >train set. I realised the two mothers were talking >about Rita and the fact that she was “growing up fast” >and “costing a fortune” because she now wore stockings >to school and didn’t like the thicker ones, so was >always getting ladders. A few moments later I heard >another snatch of conversation: “she really doesn’t >need it and it makes her walk like a duck”. My ears >pricked up. > >I could only catch odd fragments of the ongoing chat >between the two mothers but from what I could make >out, Rita had persuaded her mother to buy her some >kind of girdle (there was a mention of hooks and, >later, I concluded that it was probably a hook-side >type) and it was this girdle that caused Rita to walk >differently. I had recently acquired a girlfriend at >about that time and, after hearing about Rita, wanted >to try to find out from my girlfriend a bit more about >what girls wore and perhaps even get an explanation of >“walking like a duck”. > >More to follow.

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