A liberty bodice was like a vest but made out of a soft,
warm fabric. My mum made me wear one
during the winter when I was very young.
I suppose in the days before central heating we needed all the warmth we
could get.
When I think about it - this was my winter school gear when
I was about 5 years old - pants and woolly tights, vest, liberty bodice, full
length petticoat, school blouse and skirt then a cardigan! If I was going outside, then this ensemble
was topped off with a school blazer and trench-coat! How on earth was I able to move???? Getting ready for PE (gym) must have been
awful - although when I think about it
we didn't have PE kit in primary school, we just pranced about in our
uniform. No wonder! Teachers would have had to spend an entire
morning waiting for the little girls to
divest themselves of all their layers!
Discovered that liberty bodices (sometimes called
"emancipation bodices") were introduced when flapper gals abandoned
their corsets and freed themselves from the tyranny of restricting
clothing. Although given what I had to
wear when I was little, I'm not sure my Mum got the message!
Love, Liz