Early Fashion...remember this?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Circa. 1970's. Crusty Old Bats!!

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
Anyone have pictures of what male nurses used to wear?
WhiteUnifPan-2.jpg

White panty hose is becoming harder to find. What I do find strange is the number of younger nurses who will wear dresses with no hose, just those little tennis socks. At least wear sheer hose!

Specializes in Critical care.
Actually there is an infection control issue with skirts and dresses which is the reason they were for the most part gotten shot of in OR, L&D and other units/floors where nurses once wore scrub dresses. They were replaced by the scrub pants and tops common today.

The idea is to contain "perineal fallout" from (to put it bluntly) beneath nurse's skirts. Where nurses or female physicians for religious or other reasons wish to wear scrub dresses "big girl" underpants must be worn with pantyhose (not suspender belt and stockings).

Considering what accounts for undergarments among young females today (thongs about the size of a postage stamp) banning skirts and dresses seems far less intrusive than coming up with an exhaustive list of "allowed" undergarments. Even better than deciding whom is going to check and by what method.

https://allnurses.com/operating-room-nursing/skirts-in-the-146292.html

The hospital that I worked at in the early 1980's had this same rule because of " fallout" . Shortly after they rescinded the rule.

Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

Oh, please..."perineal fallout"? I've yet to come across credible evidence that this exists. Sounds like perpetuation of the female being somehow "unclean."

Yup, I leave a trail of lady particles behind me, each and every shift!

Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Critical Care Nursing.
Yup, I leave a trail of lady particles behind me, each and every shift!

Hahaha I love it!

Specializes in pediatrics; PICU; NICU.

When I was in nursing school, my classmates & I all hated our caps. They were shaped like Big Mac boxes (for those of you who remember when Big Mac came in a box). Because they were square, it was hard to get them to stay pinned & in place. We hated them!

However, when I graduated & got my first job, nurses at that hospital were still required to wear caps. Most of the nurses there had graduated from that hospital's nursing school so they all wore the same cap. Mine became something that I was proud of because it wasn't the same as all of theirs.

I did have problems with my cap, though, because I worked in Peds. Nursing caps & cage cribs don't go together well!

Actually there is an infection control issue with skirts and dresses which is the reason they were for the most part gotten shot of in OR, L&D and other units/floors where nurses once wore scrub dresses. They were replaced by the scrub pants and tops common today.

The idea is to contain "perineal fallout" from (to put it bluntly) beneath nurse's skirts. Where nurses or female physicians for religious or other reasons wish to wear scrub dresses "big girl" underpants must be worn with pantyhose (not suspender belt and stockings).

Considering what accounts for undergarments among young females today (thongs about the size of a postage stamp) banning skirts and dresses seems far less intrusive than coming up with an exhaustive list of "allowed" undergarments. Even better than deciding whom is going to check and by what method.

https://allnurses.com/operating-room-nursing/skirts-in-the-146292.html

ok. Now you have created images I did NOT need in my head prior to going to bed. Thanks! :nailbiting:

Seriously, though....I'd LOVE to see the data on "perineal fallout". REALLY??

What the XU*#Y%Y is falling OUT??

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
ok. Now you have created images I did NOT need in my head prior to going to bed. Thanks! :nailbiting:

Seriously, though....I'd LOVE to see the data on "perineal fallout". REALLY??

What the XU*#Y%Y is falling OUT??

And perineal fallout is bad but nothing is said about male chest and facial hair? I've seen some men with more hair sticking out of the top of their scrub top than you'd find on several ladies', well, use your imagination, combined.

Though many today associate all uniforms of the past with prim and proper dresses, that was *NOT* always the case.

Since nursing was by and large a female dominated profession often uniforms followed prevailing fashions. Yeah in the 1940's and 1940's you'd find various dresses from slim sheaths (with girdle) to full skirts but when the Swinging Sixties arrived and with it the Mini-Skirt (and hot pants as seen above), many facilities and even schools gave in to what young nurses (and a some older as the above photo speaks) wanted. That is skirts so short that bed making, hanging a bag or basically any other movement that caused one to bend or raise one's arms gave the world a nice good look.

Vintage+Photos+of+Girls+in+Uniform+Miniskirt+(1).jpg

From: Child of the Sixties Forever: The short life of the miniskirt

You can see a range of hemlines for both students and staff nurses here: Mass. General Hospital student nurses & doctor, Boston

By and large the biggest thing to rock the nursing profession in terms of uniform was the emergence of the pantsuit in 1970. For those youngsters not around then let me assure you this was *big*.

You only have to look at pictures of women in particular females from toddlers through college to see that sex rarely wore pants in public. When you watch old television programs or films from say the 1950's or 1960's you notice little girls wore dresses, and older ones either dresses or skirts with sweater sets or blouses. Dress codes from both schools, colleges and the workplace reinforced this social norm. And so it was with nurses, both students and professionals. Leaving aside jumpsuits assigned to military nurses working in certain areas and even then mainly out in the field, all female nurses wore dresses.

Thus it was like a breathe of fresh air in 1970-1971 when places began to allow female nurses to wear pantsuits: » #ThrowbackThursday: Rise of the pantsuit: For 1971 nurses, it was ‘infinitely preferable to the mini’ The Pulse

Pantsuits paved the way for separates and ultimately scrubs not just in the OR and units but the floors as well.

Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Critical Care Nursing.
Though many today associate all uniforms of the past with prim and proper dresses, that was *NOT* always the case.

Since nursing was by and large a female dominated profession often uniforms followed prevailing fashions. Yeah in the 1940's and 1940's you'd find various dresses from slim sheaths (with girdle) to full skirts but when the Swinging Sixties arrived and with it the Mini-Skirt (and hot pants as seen above), many facilities and even schools gave in to what young nurses (and a some older as the above photo speaks) wanted. That is skirts so short that bed making, hanging a bag or basically any other movement that caused one to bend or raise one's arms gave the world a nice good look.

Vintage+Photos+of+Girls+in+Uniform+Miniskirt+(1).jpg

From: Child of the Sixties Forever: The short life of the miniskirt

You can see a range of hemlines for both students and staff nurses here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/7071818165/in/photostream/?rb=1

By and large the biggest thing to rock the nursing profession in terms of uniform was the emergence of the pantsuit in 1970. For those youngsters not around then let me assure you this was *big*.

You only have to look at pictures of women in particular females from toddlers through college to see that sex rarely wore pants in public. When you watch old television programs or films from say the 1950's or 1960's you notice little girls wore dresses, and older ones either dresses or skirts with sweater sets or blouses. Dress codes from both schools, colleges and the workplace reinforced this social norm. And so it was with nurses, both students and professionals. Leaving aside jumpsuits assigned to military nurses working in certain areas and even then mainly out in the field, all female nurses wore dresses.

Thus it was like a breathe of fresh air in 1970-1971 when places began to allow female nurses to wear pantsuits: » #ThrowbackThursday: Rise of the pantsuit: For 1971 nurses, it was 'infinitely preferable to the mini' The Pulse

Pantsuits paved the way for separates and ultimately scrubs not just in the OR and units but the floors as well.

I just read the article about pant suits, and what was the point of wearing hosiery under the pants??

I just read the article about pant suits, and what was the point of wearing hosiery under the pants??

Article refers to "hose" which could be either knee highs or panty hose (highly doubt for many reasons anyone work a suspender belt and stockings).

One assumes the dress code requiring "hose" meant no sweat socks and or going without any sort of foot covering (bare legs). Unlike today where you often see the bottoms of scrub pants not only below the ankle but literally cleaning the floor, pantsuit slacks ended about above or just below the ankle. Thus some "skin" would be visible certainly when sitting down or reaching upwards.

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