LIBERTY bodices, drainpipe trousers, PVC macs and dirndl skirts.

Each decade is remembered for the particular fashions it created - how could you forget hot pants, knitted sweaters, winkle pickers and mini skirts from years gone by?

You can relive the fashions of the past at a special exhibition which opens in Nelson this Friday, October 7, when Pendle's clothing history from the 1950s to the 80s is revealed.

It has been created by local folk, as part of The Sunday Best project, funded by the Heritage lottery fund and Pendle Leisure Trust.

Art work, photography, film and sound recordings, put together by Clare Evans and Helen Oxley, will take you down a clothing memory lane.

The Sunday Best book, by Cerise Ward, outlining memories and stories of past fashion fads, will also be available.

It all takes place at The Shop in The Victory Centre, in the town centre, beginning with a tea dance on Friday afternoon at 2pm.

A preview of the exhibition at 5pm, will be followed by an 'Imp Revival', when DJ Roman will be playing the sounds of the 50s, 60s and 70s.

You're invited to dust off your dancing shoes and relive the halcyon days of the ballroom, when thousands rocked to the latest chart topping bands.

On Saturday, fashion expert Esther Pugh will hold an informal talk on fashion and the exhibition will stay open until October 14.

The Sunday Best Project covers three decades of Pendle’s fashion history, from the days when money was tight, but creativity and resourcefulness were in abundance, through to the days of the mods and the rockers and the time when first the mini and then the maxi were the height of fashion.

After the war, housewives adapted, repaired and reconfigured clothing and one story from Nora, a teenager in the 50s, recalls her mum making her sister and herself dresses, using the same pattern, for years.

By slightly altering the hem, neckline, or sleeves, or using different coloured material, she made many variations of the same dress.

In the forties, when petrol was scarce, alternative modes of transport to access special events were called for and when Mary went for a night out, she recalled: “You couldn’t get petrol back then and I always went to dances on horseback - I’d carry a long dress in my bag and change when I got to the stable.”

The first youth group in Britain to distinguish themselves as rebellious teenagers were Teddy Boys in the fifties.

Harry remembers wearing a three quarter jacket with a velvet collar, worn with a lace tie and metal fastening at weekends, with suede 'creepers' on his feet.

He remembers buying his ultimate suite, a dark blue, Italian two tone jacket with tight pants from Weaver to Wearer in Nelson.

In the mid sixties. Roman remembers sporting ice-blue jeans, a striped French top, and collar length hair worn straight over his ears, which almost got him expelled from school.

As the middle child of three in the late 60s, Cerise recalls wearing her cousin's hand me down coat, her sister wearing an old raincoat and her brother wearing an anorak their mum made.

"She made them for the whole street to make a bit of money, they were quite bespoke with a unique 60s

trim. Imagine the whole street playing out in the same style jacket."