VintageGent’s Menswear Daily

Clothing Songs: St. Cecilia and the Knickers Ban

There are a number of popular songs that mention fashion designers or specific articles of clothing. Today I was thinking that fashion that ends up in song may not be reflective of the actual attire of the time, as it seems that for something to make it into song, it has to be outrageous.  Someone usually needs to obsessively love a fashion or piece of clothing, or is pointing out something unusual.  After all, your everyday socks don’t inspire artistic expression.  For example, the polka dot tie that I mentioned in the song Pink Shoelaces.

Sometimes, it is amazing to ponder how sensibilities change in such a short amount of time.   In 1971, the group with the ever so pious name of St. Cecilia, was kicked off the air for their tune Leap up and Down (wave your Knickers in the Air) for singing a “rude song.”  Of course, with the “knickers” title, this created an uproar in England, as it wasn’t referring to the synonymously named faux jodhpurs that were so popular with middle school girls in the 80s.

In the early 80s, when tastes changed, and people calmed down about the song, they were able to perform it and it was considered rather tame, and a little silly.  In fact, the song makes many lists of worst songs of the 70s, despite the hoopla.   A decade after the song saw light, we of course started seeing people’s behinds on network television, such as on NYPD.  Apparently waving one’s knickers around had become passe’ and “no knickers” was the “new knickers”.

Oddly enough, I have not been able to find the lyrics transcribed anywhere unless I got cracking myself.   Are there any other crazy clothing songs among your favorites…or least favorites?