I’ve been doing some research into London in the mid-1950’s; this is where my stash of old books, maps, catalogues, guides and magazines comes in handy. The more down-market women’s mags – Woman’s Own, Woman’s Realm, Woman’s Mirror, Woman’s Day and the rest – are probably the most useful in gauging the real lives of real people, but my favourite is English Vogue. If I ever need a quick, emergency cheer-up, they are the very thing.
My heroine, Helen Harris, is an Australian librarian working in London and though I dreamily turn the pages on her behalf, unfortunately she doesn’t have the money to buy anything, since she was probably earning between 8 and 10 pounds a week for full-time work. Take this suit, for instance. It was 11 guineas (the guinea was a unit worth 21 shillings, and used for ‘posh’ or luxury goods, like professional fees, high fashion, antiques and art) and it would be over AU $700 now.
But, she would also have had to buy a corset or girdle and perhaps a long-line brassiere so that the skirt and jacket would fit. There are pages and pages of ads for corsetry in amongst the fashion, and I keep thinking how uncomfortable ordinary life must have been if you had to achieve a teeny-tiny waist on a daily basis. A few years ago, I bought a pair of Spanx – so-called ‘shapewear’ – to wear underneath a tight dress for a special occasion. It was hell, and not worth it.
Just look at the waist on this suit!
