Nippy

A nippy was a waitress who worked in the J. Lyons & Co tea shops and cafés in London.

From 1926, because the waitresses nipped (moved quickly) around the tea shops, the term "Nippy" came into use.

By the 1920s it was already long established in the advertising world that attractive female models could sell products, and the tea business of J. Lyons & Co was no exception.

Unlike other endorsements of the day, which often took the form of popular celebrities or cartoon characters, a Nippy was accessible and close to home.

She had to pay for the laundering of her uniform, which was made of bombazine-type material with red buttons from the neck downwards.