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Bang in the middle of the swinging 60's, cast principally of women, most of them young(ish). Still not a PVC mac in sight.

Still seeing Gaberdine Mackintoshes on there?

There was one episode, about 1963, when there were two girls in plastic macs, one for a fee minutes here and there. But agree, for a series set in the late (0’s now, there is scant rainwear of any type.

JM

it is surprising.... pvc macs were the staple of the 1960s and into the 1970s...

pity though that there werent more on show....

Last night’s episode featured a young lady wearing a lovely pvc mac.

As Call the Midwife is set in the then working class neighborhood of Poplar in London’s East End, it is likely that there were not many residents who were shopping for and wearing the most current trends in fashion. Gaberdine raincoats were “tried and true” and a commonly worn item of outerwear. And as is clearly evident among the nurses on the program, their gaberdine rain capes were an essential part of the uniform. A gaberdine or poly-cotton raincoat or mac was a near universal and required item of outerwear among students of all ages and/or nurses. These were very prevalent in both education and medical missions of the period, including those such as Nonnatus, which were sponsored by a religious community.

joe wrote: January 8th, 2024, 11:58 pm As Call the Midwife is set in the then working class neighborhood of Poplar in London’s East End, it is likely that there were not many residents who were shopping for and wearing the most current trends in fashion. Gaberdine raincoats were “tried and true” and a commonly worn item of outerwear. And as is clearly evident among the nurses on the program, their gaberdine rain capes were an essential part of the uniform. A gaberdine or poly-cotton raincoat or mac was a near universal and required item of outerwear among students of all ages and/or nurses. These were very prevalent in both education and medical missions of the period, including those such as Nonnatus, which were sponsored by a religious community.

Even in the East End teenagers were starting to earn their own money. They were exposed to the new pop culture and fashion through newspaper articles, magazines and the cinema, and emerging TV (but not yet a staple of most homes). Record shops existed and allowed you to listen to music before you bought. I think that overall the portrayals in the programme are quite accurate, with the more reserved clothing of the older generation and the bold colours of the younger ones. We all like to remember the 60’s as being filled with plastic raincoats all the time, but we are programmed to see what we desire most, so one woman in a shiny PVC mac will appear more prominently in our memories than all the ‘safe’ raincoat wearers all around her. After a trip to town last week I can still visualise the woman in loose shiny black PVC trousers walking along the road, with her square cut lime green top but I honestly say I don’t remember anyone else.

Cherie x

?? This forum is called "pictures and videos" - where are they?