Remember those crisp white shirts that men wore? All starched and ironed so neat. There was no permanet pressed then. I still love to see those white shirts. I like the pastels but nothing looks cleaner and neater than a basic white shirt.
The clothes were washed on a wringer washer, hung on the clothes line to dry in the fresh air and sunshine. The clothes were brought in after they dried smelling so fresh and full of sunshine. They were then all, and I mean virtually all, sprinkled to dampen for ironing. Mama had a empty bottle that had been washed thoroughly. The cap was punched full of tiny holes, the bottle was filled with water, and the cap replaced. This was the sprinkler. The next day was usually ironing day so the sprinkled clothes were put in a plastic bag of some kind and stored in the Ice Box. Later it was an electric fridge but we still called it an Ice Box. Ironing was usually my job and I really didn't mind. I still don't mind ironing and making things look fresh and crisp. Crisp even without starch like then.
The starch was different chore aside from the rest. Ours was Faultless starch that came in a box. It was a powder that had to be mixed with water and heated, yes heated, on the stove. I remember the starch smelled almost as fresh as the outside. The clothes were dipped in the starch and wrung out before hanging on the clothes line. If I was allowed to help I usually wound up with it all over me, even in my hair. I can't remember if they were wrung by hand or put through the wringer. When they dried they were very stiff. Ironing jeans and pants was not easy. We put creases in them and it was a chore to get them straight.
When I wore Can-Can slips Grandma would starch them for me and hang them on the line. When they were dry they could sit up on end and they sounded like paper rattling I wore at least three at a time. I remember once getting in the car with my date on prom night and I couldn't sit near him because my dress took most of the seat. We wore floor length formals then with lots of net overlay.
Then there was the nylons women wore with that dreaded seam down the back. We needed someone to stand behind us to see that the seam was straight. No panty hose either. We had to wear a contraption called a garter belt that attached to the tops to hold them up. I still think those were very elegant with the straight seam in the back. I can remember trying to paint a seam on the back of my leg when I had no hose. Needless to say it didn't work very well. I guess no one wears hose now whether panty hose or other but I still do. I probably wear lots of things that no one else wears anymore. Heck I don't care if I'm not in style, I have my own style and I'm happy with it Thank You very much. In my years I've seen many many styles and fads and I know if I wait long enough I'll be in style again because things change fast. I don't like change so I just go about my way not knowing or caring what the current style is.
Tags: Memories
