trousers that stood up by themselves
As to clothes that would stand up by themselves, there were some of a very different kind. When my wife was in nurse's training, at Church Home and Hospital in Baltimore ca. 1960-62, the uniform included a long white apron, only a couple inches shorter than the hem of the uniform frock (which came 3 inches above the shoes), going halfway round the body with a high bib and wide straps crossing behind, made of heavy cotton. It had to immaculately laundered and, literally, starched so stiff that it would stand up in a corner of the room. The uniform frocks (blue for students) had detachable white collars which also had to be starched so they were stiff as celluloid and which were often felt to be instruments designed for self-decapitation. Dr. Bill probably remembers uniforms of this type. The school kept these uniforms until it closed, in the 70's, but only the oldest nurses, like the teaching faculty and the director, wore the old-fashioned uniforms; graduates wore something more bearable, and nowadays, of course, hardly any nurses wear uniforms or the distinctive caps any more.
