The nineteen fifties was a wonderful time to be a child in grade school. We were free. We rode Schwinn Bicycles and pulled Red Flyer Wagons. We didn't know what a "Fad" was. We had ‘Captain Midnight Secret Decoder Rings'. Some of us wore ‘Mary Janes' and I wore ‘Saddle Oxfords'. We had two brands; Red Goose Shoes and Buster Brown Shoes. Buster Brown had a dog named Tag. We clipped playing cards to the spokes of our bikes with wooden clothes pins. We smashed ‘tin' cans on our feet to make sounds when we walked, ran or galloped, which was our normal speed. It seemed like we were all either "Brownies" or "Cubs".
The 6th grade was a time of changes. Suddenly we were wearing our dads long sleeved shirts with rolled up jeans and a scarf tied around our necks or pony tails. Pink and gray felt skirts with applique poodles were the thing to wear at the hop.
Crazy Fads??? No, we didn't have any.
~ Gin
Peggy Lipton Wanna-be
When I was in the sixth grade I had a one piece jumpsuit. I thought I looked soooo cool in this outfit, kind-of-like Peggy Lipton from the Mod Squad! The legs had very large bell bottoms. It was almost like wearing a dress they were so big. The fabric had a light pink background with paisley patterns of lime greens, sherbet oranges, pastel blues and light lemon yellows and whites. There was a full length zipper in front with a big brass ring on it (nifty huh?) I believe it was sleeveless and I wore a long sleeve white turtleneck under it. (The high school girls probably didn't wear the turtleneck ... but was only 12 years old.)
To go with my outfit was a pair of high platform shoes, they were made of a brown shiny plastic instead of leather. They towered at least a 1/2 inch above the ground. "Groovy man!" I would wear my long hair in pig tails or a pony tail with these big plastic pink or white looking bubble-gum hair bands.
During this time I would play with a "Clacker," a very annoying toy for the grownups or "the man" as it was referred to by the older kids. The clacker had two plastic balls attached to a string and we'd take one ball and drop it into the other...gravity would take over after that. You could hear the clacking throughout the house. My folks thought it was "gross" and I thought it was "fab". "Far out!"
~ Kal
My grade school fad? Clothes & Hair
In elementary school my mother always made me cut my hair very short, military style. I was mostly in Arizona so it was ok. We didn't have much money so I didn't really follow any fads, but in high school in the late 70's, (when I wanted to dress sharp), I wore a shirt with an oversized collar, black bell-bottomed double-knit pants, or elephant bell (really oversized) levi jeans. My hair was just below my collar, I was about 5' 7", 120 lbs., and my pants were 29" x 29". Sometimes I wore my shirt with a staightened up collar in back like Elvis's. What fads?
~Dondi Jon
Fads and Hair Often Don't Last
When I was in the 7th grade, crew cut and flat tops became popular. My mother wasn't too keen about me having one. I think she associated crew cuts with hoodlums i.e. athletes. I eventually talked her into it and I never became an athlete so I guess it worked out. I was blessed with a double cowlick and I grew up with hair sticking up like Alfalfa in the "Our Gang" movies. I was very pleased to find that a short crewcut took care of that. When I went into the Navy, I had a flat top and all they did was round off the corners. I stayed with the crew cut until my mid thirties and then I combed it over like the rest of the old timers.
That was about the time my cowlick died and I no longer have to comb that part of my head. A crew cut at this stage of my life would cause me to use quite a bit of sun screen. I grew a beard when I was about thirty. My mother wasn't too keen about me having one. I think she associated beards with hoodlums i.e. hippies. I never became a hippie, but now folks are saying that I am beginning to look a lot like Santa.
~MK
