Dress codes can be pretty strict, and that was especially true in the '50s and '60s. If you look back at that time, you probably noticed women of all ages typically wore skirts or dresses to school and work. Pants were often "forbidden" for ladies due to societal norms, even on frigid winter days.

I recently stumbled across a Reddit thread where women who grew up in the '50s and '60s shared how they stayed warm when pants weren't an option. Here are their eye-opening experiences:

1. "We were allowed to wear snow pants under our dresses in elementary school, but had to take them off once we were inside. After elementary? We frickin' froze."

2. "Mostly we DIDN'T keep warm. I hated recess so much because it was so painful. I used to hide in the classroom window seat to try to be forgotten when it was time to line up for recess. At some point, we were allowed to bring pants with us to wear under our dress at recess, probably around the mid-1960s."

—u/galacticprincess

3. "In the 1960s, I was sent home from school in third grade for wearing a skort. My mom sewed my clothes, and knowing how rowdy I got during recess, it made sense. The principal didn't agree. But after a phone call from my mom, the principal suddenly decided it was OK. 😂😂"

—u/obgynmom

4. "Knee socks! Every day, all day. I was still cold all the time."

5. "In high school in the '60s, if the temperature fell below a specific point (I forgot what that was), we could wear jeans under our dresses but had to take them off before class. In the hallway, you learned to be careful!"

—u/Global_Sense_8133

6. "My mom used to tell me her nylons kept her legs warm while she forced me to wear what we called leggings, which were pants that matched our wool coats."

—u/Sensitive-Season3526

7. "We were allowed to wear pants under our skirts or dresses to and from school. We took them off when we got there and could put them back on before leaving. My mother told me she was well into adulthood before she ever owned a pair of pants. It was a whole different era."

8. "I remember getting to wear my first pants to church! I was so excited that I wouldn't have to worry about keeping my knees together during service. Liberation!"

—u/Fem-EqualRights

9. "I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and we wore tights under our dresses! We FROZE OUR ASSSES OFF!!! I will never forget looking down at a boy's pants and seeing long johns under his jeans! The freezing wind whipped right up under your dress!"

—u/rose442

10. "Knee socks. I hated wearing them but loved being warm. They never matched my dress."

11. "North Texas chiming in. We were allowed to wear 'pant suits' — a matching top, bottom, and the 'tunic must cover the hips.' Skirts still had to be within 4" of the knee if no pants were worn. What saucy vixens we tweenagers were! 🙄"

—u/NaomiRedshoes

12. "We didn't. We froze. It was worse when miniskirts came out in the '60s. When skirts were longer in the '50s, girls wore knee socks so there wasn't too much bare exposure."

—u/Bellavavenus

13. "My mom (now 71) was raised by her grandparents and wasn't allowed to wear pants until she graduated, got married, and moved out to make her own decisions. So stupid."

14. "OK, I am apparently the only responder who actually grew up in the '50s. We all wore what we called 'leggings' that were actually very thick snow pants that were wool with straps to keep them up. We either wore them under our skirts or tucked the skirt inside the pants. We took them off when we got to school, had to put them back on when we went home for lunch, took them off again upon return, and then put them back on when school was out. It was a pain!"

—u/Several-Phone1725

15. "In primary grades, we wore snow pants under our dresses and skirts and took them off at school. In upper grades, we just bare-legged it. My school years were in Cleveland and Erie. We had plenty of snow and cold weather, but back then, girls didn't wear pants."

—u/pleasantboomer

16. "There were knee socks for girls only in the winter in plain, solid colors. My mom wore nylon stockings. In elementary school, we wore pants under our skirts and removed them at school. I froze, and so did she. Eventually, they came out with nylon pettipants to be worn under slacks. They were half slips with legs. I wore a couple of pairs under my skirts for school with my knee socks."

17. "I grew up in a state with cold, snowy winters. I had to walk over a mile each way to and from the school bus. It was a rural area, and many kids did that. When I was in third grade or so, a large group of parents mounted a vigorous protest against the ban on girls wearing pants in winter. After that, we were allowed to wear pants to and from school, change at school, and wear knee-length skirts all day at school."

—u/FormerUsenetUser

18. "You didn’t. I remember running from the bus to get indoors as soon as possible. Some girls thought they found a workaround. They came to school with pants under their skirts and took them off in the school foyer. But school officials stepped in fast. First, any girls with pants on weren't allowed inside. Then they waited on the sidewalk and turned away any girls with pants. In my school, girls were finally permitted to wear pants to school in the fall of 1967."

—u/awakeagain2

19. "In kindergarten, I walked to school in a dress, and it was -20 Fahrenheit. Unlike the boys, girls were not allowed to wear snowpants to school. That night, my father decided to run for the head of the PTA. His entire platform was snowpants for girls. He won. Still love you, dad!"

If you're a woman who grew up in the '50s and '60s, share how you dealt with strict dress codes in the comments, or submit anonymously using the form below. Your response might be featured in an upcoming BuzzFeed Community post!

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.