My Mom always wore dresses. Just the way she was brought up. She would be appalled at today's fashions! She didn't mind my wearing pants, though. She just didn't feel comfortable in them. She worked at a place where she HAD to wear pants - but she put on a dress as soon as she came home! Just the opposite from me until I retired and never wore a skirt or dress again!
My high school (in Southern california) didn't allow girls to wear pants or skirts above the knee. Sigh. There was a brief craze when the boys wore their jeans pretty low, risking being 'pantsed'. Use your imagination. If they wore 'regular' pants (usually khaki or white) they wore white bucks. Girls wore bucks with socks to match our outfits.