# At-home clothing on old TV shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 18, 2015, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849 "2015-11-18T01:29:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/41 "2015-11-19T18:44:45Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > Yeah, that was standard on TV shows until the mid-60s. Very funny to see Rob and Laura Petrie in separate twin beds, but the Hollywood “censors” generally wouldn’t allow a couple to be shown in the same bed until standards loosened up in the mid-60s. There were a couple of shows in the late 40s/early 50s where a married couple shared a bed ( **Mary Kay and Johnny** and **Ozzie and Harriet** ) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/42 "2015-11-19T18:49:51Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > My grandfather worked nights - he had a dark room in the back of the house. He was a photographer who worked nights? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/43 "2015-11-19T18:51:36Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > When I entered the workforce in the mid 70s I had to wear a tie and dress pants (no jeans) while working in a chain grocery store. > > Hate, Hate, Hated that damn tie. I heard “fix your tie, Mustard” several times a day from the boss. > > I look at what grocery workers wear these days and I’m jealous. > mmm Better to have a tie on your Mustard than mustard on your tie. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/44 "2015-11-19T18:53:39Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > I can understand that t-shirts, jeans and sweats were unknown 50 years ago, and the button-down shirt without a tie makes sense. But wearing a tie and jacket in your own home in the evenings and weekends? Did that really happen? Hardly unknown, but were considered “yard work clothes” by any white collar worker or above. Obviously the blue collars wore their jeans or overalls at home, they didnt change into a suit! My Dad took off his tie and changed into army khaki pants. And they same for me when i first started, i just took off my coat & tie. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/45 "2015-11-19T18:56:00Z")
> [@40below](#): > > For nearly 100 years, denim was considered workwear for the poor, for farmers and for convicts. A middle-class professional of my father’s generation wouldn’t wear jeans any more than he’d show up at his office wearing a boiler suit. Right, and my Mom wouldnt let me wear or buy me jeans until i got into college. her concession was Dickies green or khaki trousers. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/46 "2015-11-19T19:23:51Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > He was a photographer who worked nights? 😕 No - he worked nights in a factory that made steel and aluminum cans. The room in the back was dark so he could sleep during the day. It was perfectly clear in my mind… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/47 "2015-11-19T19:39:18Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > No - he worked nights in a factory that made steel and aluminum cans. The room in the back was dark so he could sleep during the day. It was perfectly clear in my mind… 😉 Aha! Well, hit me on the side of the head and call me stupid! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/48 "2015-11-19T21:32:23Z")
Darkroom vs dark room. Lots of photographers work at night. Sporting events, night clubs, astrophotography, etc… Sometimes, I would be in the darkroom for so long that it was dark out when I came out. Odd sensation to go into the dark house rooms after being in the darkroom. Seemed wrong somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/49 "2015-11-19T22:10:35Z")
I never saw my father wearing a pair of jeans. I did see him, on many summertime occasions, wearing plaid Bermuda shorts with black (over the calf) dress socks… …and black dress shoes. Unless he was really kicking back, in which case he’d break out the Hush Puppies. I think he did it just to mortify me…it worked. He would also wear dress socks (no shoes) on the beach because he didn’t like the feel of sand. And the only times I saw him wear sandals: yup, black dress socks. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/50 "2015-11-19T22:43:34Z")
My grandmother in law always wore a nylon dress- like apron at home. She wore it over a collared shirt. It was a stiff, smooth nylon, usually in a pattern of stripes or flowers. Like this. [http://www.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http://www.kampsberoepskleding.nl/images/users/17106/4822-jasschort-v-hals-bont.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.kampsberoepskleding.nl/p/jasschort-v-hals-bont-134790&h=600&w=253&tbnid=CN6pSQQMVSPxuM:&docid=G-WlbAdyHLqkQM&hl=nl-nl&ei=sE9OVrC\_HMfSUcXinPgO&tbm=isch&client=safari&ved=0CCQQMygEMARqFQoTCLDX2fvGnckCFUdpFAodRTEH7w](http://www.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http://www.kampsberoepskleding.nl/images/users/17106/4822-jasschort-v-hals-bont.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.kampsberoepskleding.nl/p/jasschort-v-hals-bont-134790&h=600&w=253&tbnid=CN6pSQQMVSPxuM:&docid=G-WlbAdyHLqkQM&hl=nl-nl&ei=sE9OVrC_HMfSUcXinPgO&tbm=isch&client=safari&ved=0CCQQMygEMARqFQoTCLDX2fvGnckCFUdpFAodRTEH7w) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/51 "2015-11-19T22:54:52Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > Darkroom vs dark room. > > Lots of photographers work at night. Sporting events, night clubs, astrophotography, etc… > > Sometimes, I would be in the darkroom for so long that it was dark out when I came out. Odd sensation to go into the dark house rooms after being in the darkroom. Seemed wrong somehow. I was, uh, being facetious in “misinterpreting” “dark room.” But thanks for the input. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/52 "2015-11-19T23:54:46Z")
My father-in-law was born in 1933 and was retired when I met him, but still ALWAYS wore a dress shirt and tie around the house, and would add a jacket when he left the house for any reason whatsoever. He was definitely a “square” even by the standards of his generation; I discovered a few years ago that he had _never heard of Bob Dylan!_ My own father is slightly younger, and I’ve seen him in a tie and jacket only at weddings and graduations (and Halloween sometimes). I vaguely remember seeing my mother wearing dresses when I was very young, but certainly not since the Carter administration. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/53 "2015-11-20T02:09:26Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > It’s a fairly common bit of “Golden Age of Television” lore that Lucy and Desi pioneered the practice of TV couples sleeping in the same bed (American TV, anyway). I’ve also heard that the show spawned something of a boom in the sale of double-beds (IIRC, that part was from L.M. Boyd, so take that for what it’s worth). IIRC only time Lucy & Ricky were actually shown in the same bed was in the episode on the way to Hollywood were they had to share that rundown cabin with the Mertzes. Up until Little Ricky came along they slept in twin beds pushed together, but still made up with 2 separate sets of bedding. Once the baby came along they tuck a nightstand between the beds. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/54 "2015-11-20T02:20:59Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > If I may ask a related question: those old TV shows usually showed the parents’ bedroom containing a pair of twin beds, implying that they did not sleep together. The classic movie _A Christmas Story_ also shows this arrangement. Am I right in suspecting that this is a “Hollywood-ism,” and few people ever actually slept like that? I’m aware that observant Jewish couples are not supposed to sleep together when the wife is having her period, but if even 1 couple on any of those old shows was supposed to be Jewish, I’ll be very surprised. “The Goldbergs” > **[The Goldbergs (broadcast series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goldbergs_(broadcast_series))** > > The Goldbergs is a comedy-drama broadcast from 1929 to 1946 on American radio, and from 1949 to 1956 on American television. It was adapted into a 1948 play, Me and Molly; a 1950 film The Goldbergs, and a 1973 Broadway musical, Molly. It also briefly spun off a comic strip from June 8, 1944, to December 21, 1945, with art by Irwin Hasen, a comic book artist who worked on various DC Comics titles and would later do the Dondi comic strip. > The program was devised by writer-actress Gertrude Berg ... ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/55 "2015-11-20T08:42:48Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Up until Little Ricky came along they slept in twin beds pushed together, but still made up with 2 separate sets of bedding. Why bother? You can’t get romantic this way because the damned beds spread apart as soon as you get started. And the gap is mighty uncomfortable to begin with! Better to just do it in a single and then retire to your own bed. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/56 "2015-11-20T08:53:45Z")
Hell, I’ve seen old movies and TV shows that show winos and panhandlers wearing tattered jackets and ties. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/57 "2015-11-21T04:25:10Z")
My folks dressed up all the time, and slept in twin beds like the Petries. And went to a WASPY church and a WASPY bridge club and joined the WASPY tennis club. it was somehow tied in with WW2 and the GI Bill and the Eisenhower Years and working hard to save America and why would you dress like a beatnick or a juvenile delinquent (or later, a hippie) that were “thumbing their noses at America”? Oh, no, not Thumbing Their Noses! ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/58 "2015-11-21T05:34:07Z")
```php ``` > [@DrDeth](#): > > Hardly unknown, but were considered “yard work clothes” by any white collar worker or above. Obviously the blue collars wore their jeans or overalls at home, they didnt change into a suit! > > My Dad took off his tie and changed into army khaki pants. > > And they same for me when i first started, i just took off my coat & tie. Mostly incorrect. My dad and grandpa were both blue collar union workers. While they did not change into a suit upon coming home neither wore jeans or overalls at home. They came home everyday, changed out of their work cloths, took a shower and put on white shirts and black dress pants. My mom always wore a dress, her pearls, stockings and heels for dinner. Every damn night. We kids got a bath and were dressed for dinner every night too. As I grew older I thought the parental and grandparental units were slightly unhinged. My grandmother who was a flapper in her previous life always wore spike heals from the moment she got up in the morning until she went to bed at night (in a twin bed in a separate room from grandpa). I don’t think she owned a pair of pants in her life. My mom started to wear pants in maybe the 80’s or 90’s. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/59 "2015-11-22T03:41:28Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Why bother? You can’t get romantic this way because the damned beds spread apart as soon as you get started. And the gap is mighty uncomfortable to begin with! > > Better to just do it in a single and then retire to your own bed. ☹ Ricky and Lucy’s bed seemed to have two mattresses, but one frame. Maybe they didn’t spread apart as bad with a single frame? ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849/60 "2015-11-22T07:59:36Z")
My dad took off the tie and wore y-fronts at home. Later, jockettes 🙂 But he didn’t have much social life. His dad would have worn a tie socially. But what about scarfs and collars? I can’t quite picture the old cowboy/cavalry films, but wearing neck scarfs, surely they would have been collarless? English films always showed the working classes without collars – a tradition continued in Disneys “Mary Poppins”. Did Americans start wearing collars sooner than the English? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-clothing-on-old-tv-shows/737849.md?page=4)