Let's Talk About...Edith

Edith is a dusky pink corduroy over-shirt, embellished with dusky pink and light blue flowers on dark backgrounds. She has stud buttons, 2 breast pockets and 2 side pockets, just like a classic jeans jacket, but has a shaped shirt-like hem.

Corduroy is a fabric I always enjoy wearing. It is made out of cotton threads, and the technique goes back to the 18th century. When it is woven, the weft threads, which go across the fabric, are intermittently looped every few threads, which then get cut, creating a tufted ridge of cotton. The ridges, or cords, can be wider or narrower depending on the desired effect. Wide corduroy is chunky and known as Elephant cord; very narrow cords are much finer and are known a Needlecord. 

Corduroy was originally used for utility clothing, for the lower classes every day wear, which then got exported from the northern mills all over the world. Some countries used to refer to it as Manchester cloth, and Sweden still use the term today. In the 20th century it became synonymous with academic wear; we can all imagine the geography teacher or librarian with their corduroy suits and leather elbow patches. In the 1970’s it became part of mainstream fashion, from rock stars to housewives. 

As I said I do enjoy a bit of corduroy, which got me thinking about all the corduroy trousers, jackets, and skirts I’ve worn over the years. And I remembered, at school I made myself a dark blue needlecord pinafore dress when I was 14, along with a cheesecloth blouse to go under it. It was part of my C.S.E. Needlework course, with Mrs Crump, the needlework teacher. 

I needed photos of my creations to submit with my coursework. This proved not to be straightforward. Mobile phones hadn’t been invented, and instamatic cameras were only just on the market. My father did have a camera, bought in the 1950’s. It seemed like a complicated piece of equipment, involving a light meter and camera knowledge, and after we moved to the farm in 1964 my father lost interest, consequently there are very few photographs of me and my brothers as children. 

So it was decided we should ask my grandfather, who was always keen with his camera, to take some pictures of me. And here I am, in my grandparents back garden, in Leicester, during the long hot summer of 1976. The grass is looking brown and crispy, and there were water shortages all over the country, with hosepipe bans in place. It was undoubtedly a Tuesday afternoon, which was our regular visiting time.

As my birthday is in the middle of the summer holidays, I always have difficulty knowing my age. So I’m definitely 14 or just 15 in the picture. And what about those platform sandals? Eek! What happened to us in the 70’s? 

Amazingly I still have the paper pattern for the pinafore dress, which very helpfully has the date on the back of the paper envelope, 1975, and cost 60p from Lewis’s department store in Leicester. I loved my corduroy pinafore dress, and yes I did get top marks for it, and I’ve loved corduroy ever since!