“EXCUSE ME, YOUR SLIP IS SHOWING! SAY WHAT?”

Every female used to dread hearing “You’re slip is showing.”
It meant that it was darned near socially unacceptable.  And off a girl or woman would rush to some restroom or a place where not to be seen, to pull up that blasted slip. Either the thing was doubled up around the waist or if it were a long slip, a safety pin came in handy.  Long slips had straps that could be adjusted just like some bras have. Course sometimes those straps didn’t work.   Do I remember wearing a slip?  Heck yes. Started wearing one when I was eleven: It was the norm for young girls and those older.

Slips were made of nylon and came in the colors of white, black and tan.  But as for me, when I was eleven and onward, I had to wear white ones.  They were either half- slips that looked like a skirt or full slips that in today’s world, would look like a sun dress.  I had to wear one or the other and dreaded it. Imagine if you can wearing underwear, then a garter belt, that blasted slip and a dress or skirt with a belt to top it off. That was four layers around a waist—or five if you had on a half-slip.  It’s a wonder that none of us, including me, didn’t pass out from the pressure around our waists.

Personally, I hated wearing either of these types of slips. And why were they foisted upon females? Why someone might see through a wool skirt, a corduroy one or a dark cotton skirt and the horror of that. How could anyone see through those three types of material?  Well they couldn’t.  But it didn’t matter because it was the acceptable thing to wear.

In my teenage years, some manufacturer came out with colorful full slips:  They were beautiful with lace and of course, made of nylon. I well remember having a purple slip that was drop dead gorgeous. And it was drop dead hot when I wore it. But wearing it made me feel glamorous. Had so many in so many different colors. Of course, the same problem existed: If the slip showed, it was decadent!  Couldn’t count the times I had to rush into a bathroom or somewhere to pull up the straps.  The repetition of this got old really fast. But then every female was bound by the same rule: A female has to wear a slip.

Forward into my twenties and those long polyester dresses were the thing to wear:  They came down to your feet.  Hot as blazes but it was the cool thing to wear.  And then another invention was made:  A long half-slip that almost touched the ground.  The same old problem existed for if the slip were showing, heaven forbid:  It was off to secrecy to fold over the top of that thing and it made your waist look lumpy. Dreadful.

Years went by of wearing half-slips or full slips until about eighteen years ago or so when I realized, along with other women, that it was absurd to wear either. In essence, it was plain torture and something out of the 1800’s passed down but ah the tradition was losing ground.

I haven’t worn a slip in forever nor will I.  Do I still have any slips? Yes, in a drawer there are some but they really need to be thrown away.  Today’s young females know nothing of slips and I hope that they are grateful.  And after all, if you look at what they wear dress-wise, why it’s a disguised slip—a full one that is.

Thank heavens I will never hear “Excuse me, your slip is showing.” I don’t wear one and I’m sure that most females don’t—at least in most countries. I can only hope that this tradition will go down the tubes if you are forced to wear one.

Slips were just disgusting.  No other way to say it.

Sherry Hill

Copyright © 2014

Sherry Hill

All Rights Reserved

By the way, I couldn’t find any images of a slip. What does that say?