Harkness – MacGillivray Stories

Rummaging through my Magical Memory Box again, I noticed something significant about my mother. Whether she is getting married, going on a picnic, going on a holiday in the countryside, or wherever, she would always be wearing dresses that were in fashion in the 1950s.

My father, on the other hand, would sometimes dress to suit the occasion. For instance, he wore army shorts and shirt on the West Ferry holiday. He had probably worn these when he was working in Rangoon, Burma in the late 1940s.

Yet, I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know anything about women’s fashion from the 1950s. An interesting point is that while my brothers were dressed in raggedy home-made shorts because of rationing, my mother seems to have had several outfits; but as she is wearing some of the same dresses in different locations, this perhaps suggests she was affected by rationing too. I show some photos below without much comment, as I will mainly let the photos speak for themselves.

West Ferry holiday

Dressed up. Day out in Ravensglass – perhaps Muncaster Castle. Me in middle.

Making a fashion statement. I think this is taken in Mirehouse. 

Rhoda wearing a check coat on a picnic

1949: Wearing a dress suit – picnic at Holmrook. Alistair wearing fashionable cap.