Frugal Frump to Fab - 2015

DD265

Hi ladies

Happy February!

I discovered I've worn through the thighs on a pair of jeans - they were £45 NEXT jeans so I'm not too impressed although if I'm honest I can't remember how long I've had them.

Not much has been done today as we stayed in bed until lunch time (I needed that and am feeling much better!) but we are going out to the cinema so I will tart up for that.

We have a skylight in the bathroom and as I was unclothed on the loo this morning, I heard the builder climbing the scaffolding ladder to the roof and had to sort myself out and scoot sharpish! :rotfl: It has meant that I have been unable to shower though.

I am going to see the horse now, hopefully by the time I get back it will be too dark for the builders and they will have left!

lessonlearned

Maman - planning.....yes that is a good one and something I need to get to grips with, for financial reasons as well as ensuring I have healthy food choices in the house.

I have just reviewed my January budget and the overspend, especially on groceries, is truly horrific. I thought I was doing reasonably well, obviously not:(

So yes I'm going to meal plan properly this month. I did watch that Greg Wallace "how to eat well for less" or whatever it's called. Whilst I'm not quite in the league of the family on that programme I am truly shocked at how much I've spent this month.

So I shall make February a use up month. I will do an inventory and shop from my stores.

chanie

I've done relatively well in January, so I'm quite happy!!

I got a new coat and boots for Xmas and I've really enjoyed wearing them. I tend to wear them at weekends as I have a long commute and I want to keep them 'nice' - one of the things I've observed with well groomed people is that their clothes are well looked after, so I intend to enjoy them, but avoid ruining them.

LL -I've had quite a good January in terms of budgeting - I think it's because I was organised for Christmas and didn't overspend. We aren't horrendous with grocery spends, but I do think we could improve, so I'm going to think about how we can do that.

DC265 - your bathroom story reminds me of an incident with MIL a couple of months ago. She came round to visit and I used the opportunity to sneak away for a bath. DS4 comes up to use the loo, so I let him in, thinking he'll only be a couple of minutes. He proceeds to strip and plonk himself in the bath with me. Then, mil comes in and starts using the loo. I couldn't believe it!!!!

Fabbing saved me from an embarrassing incident recently. I had a trip to a mosque and was given a guided tour, when we needed to remove our shoes. I wasn't wearing any socks, so I said I'd wait outside of the prayer room, but the host insisted I come along and see it. Luckily, my toe and were painted, so they looked okay.

VJsmum

Hello all, from a spring like Hong Kong!!

I am here on business and therefore have a very limited wardrobe. I packed for a week in Singapore followed by a week in Hong Kong (it's a tough job... ). Singapore temperatures were low 30's, Hong Kong a pleasant 17 - 20.

It's the first time i have done this and had to survive on a capsule wardrobe encompassing business, leisure and "social" time with our academic partners over here. Generally i have the same clothes for HK as i did for Singapore with an additional cardi, and that has worked quite well

I don't think i am cut out for "capsule", I am getting rather sick of my clothes now.

but a few things i have learned

A scarf can liven up the same old clothes
Mix and match has been great - each bottom has had two or more tops
Perfume really is a must
Don't buy new shoes the day before you fly - if you do pack plasters
When coping with so few clothes (I think i have counted 28 items), make sure you love them. I have two t shirts with me that only look nice with certain things, I haven't brought those things
Hotel laundry is a godsend - though a rather expensive one (but I am not paying, still resent the prices though)
One pair of denim shorts is a useful thing to have.

We went to one of the street markets last night - I am not a "label" expert but the Gucci bags, converse trainers etc looked good enough to me

lessonlearned

Good morning all

VJ's mum - lovely to hear from you from across the other side of the world. Hope you are having a lovely time.

Re the shopping - don't forget there are some fantastic 24 hour tailors in Hong Kong. My friend had a gorgeous silk evening dress made for and her husband had a couple of suits. Saville Row quality for uk high street prices.

When we went to China we went to the markets in Shanghai, we stocked up on Gucci bags for presents for my nieces who were just the right age to be wowed by them. They are fakes of course so I guess it depends on how you feel about supporting the "fake market".

I am afraid that over the years we have bought a fair few fakes "Ralph Lauren" shirts in Turkey, designer watches, sunglasses etc. at the time I didn't realise that they are often a cover for drugs, racketeering, prostitution and human trafficking. I just thought it was down to some enterprising wannabes who were copying the designers and didn't realise there was a criminal underbelly to it all.

I think people like the Hong Kong tailors are legit but then again you don't know what conditions the workers are kept in.

It's a very tricky area isn't it. We all like bargains but we don't like to think that people are being exploited.

I once tried to buy a Turkish rug and I asked the retailer about provenance, because there is supposed to be a label on them which states that they were made under ethical conditions. As the retailer explained, these labels have to be taken with a pinch of salt and a level of healthy cynicism - anyone can fake a label of authenticity.

The rag trade has always been an area ripe for exploitation, even before it was mechanised and clothing manufacture was done in factories - just think back to all those poor old Victorian seamstresses.

There is a historian I like, I think her name is Lucy Worsley, who specialises in domestic life and she often looks at fashion and clothing. She did a programme recently about medieval life under the Tudors and she explained how expensive clothing was then and how garments were passed down through the family. Apparently an outdoor cloak was a very valuable item of clothing, in today's terms it would cost around £2k.

There was a time when the cost of living index used the example of a mans suit (nowadays they use a basket of groceries). anyway they used to say that an off the peg mans suit bought from the high street, usually from Burtons, was the equivalent of an average weekly wage
for a man. Nowadays of course you can buy of half decent M&S suit for a fraction of that.

It does make you think though about the ethics of clothing manufacture. Yes mechanisation drives down costs but I still think wages are very low and of course Most of manufactueing has been shifted to developing countries across Eastern Europe and the Far East so we have no idea about wages and conditions. They are supposed to be monitored but we know that bonded labour still exists.

I don't know the answers. Where I live used to be full of garment factories, now there's nothing - just a couple of high end producers such as David Smedley for knitwear and some very top end lingerie factories. Short of everyone making their own clothes there is no real way of knowing that the clothes you buy have been produced under ethical conditions.

Same with just about everything we buy, not just clothes. How on earth can we buy a toaster for £5.without someone somewhere being exploited. The reality is there is no real difference between. £5 toaster and one costing £50. They are probably
made in the same factories, so even if we elect to pay more in the vain hope that the workers are getting a better deal it's unlikely to make a scrap of difference.

When I visited China we could only see what they allowed us to see, even so I saw enough to realise how bad some of their working conditions are. I saw the reality of cheap labour and sweat shop conditions, the reality behind their dazzling economic miracle. It wasn't pretty.

I guess the thing to remember is that they are now as we were during our own industrial revolution. Plus of course we still have own sweatshops only now they are likely to be a call centre or a distribution warehouse so I guess we are not always in a position to take the moral high ground. We don't always treat our workers right.

Judging from the amount of people suffering from extreme stress at work, it's not just the lower end of the job market either. There are plenty of professions, teaching and nursing etc where people are exploited.

Anyway enough of my ramble......

Its Monday, time to start the week. Today I am going to sand down and re-oil the kitchen worktops so it's scruffy diy clothes this morning. I'll fab up after I'm done.

silvasava

VJ - I wondered why you were posting at a god awful time of the morning!!
I used to have to travel on business too - and as you say a 'capsule' wardrobe is a must as lugging luggage through strange terminals in a PITA
You may be getting fed up with what you've got but don't forget - no one you are meeting has seen it before!
I always wonder why some people buy new clothes to go on holiday when they probably won't meet anyone they know anyway. Make sure you follow the old soldiers adage - dont stand when you can sit, don't sit when you can lie 'cos you'll feel shattered when you get back home.
Also - LOADS of water & moisturiser 'cos aircon in meetings & on flights dries out your skin something awful.
Enjoy your trip & hope you get some free time to take in some of the sights/culture

lessonlearned

Back in the day when I was Corporate Woman I used to keep a suitcase half packed on standby - together with a separate toiletry bag - more or less ready to go. It wasn't worth putting everything away after each trip.

alec_eiffel

Good morning,

Well done to everyone on their weight loss and general fabbing.

I am very happy at the minute, I hadn't had any alcohol since before Christmas but I had a drink yesterday to celebrate DH's birthday - it tasted disgusting! I am so happy to have broken the habit after such a short period of time (6 weeks). Friends have said to keep trying other drinks until I find something I like, no way, I love the fact I've lost the taste for it!

Have a good day everyone. I'm just at home today doing bits of housework, menu planning and all that kind of thing.

greenbee

silvasava wrote: »

VJ - I wondered why you were posting at a god awful time of the morning!!
I used to have to travel on business too - and as you say a 'capsule' wardrobe is a must as lugging luggage through strange terminals in a PITA
You may be getting fed up with what you've got but don't forget - no one you are meeting has seen it before!
I always wonder why some people buy new clothes to go on holiday when they probably won't meet anyone they know anyway. Make sure you follow the old soldiers adage - dont stand when you can sit, don't sit when you can lie 'cos you'll feel shattered when you get back home.
Also - LOADS of water & moisturiser 'cos aircon in meetings & on flights dries out your skin something awful.
Enjoy your trip & hope you get some free time to take in some of the sights/culture

Hang a damp towel over the aircon outlet in your hotel room (or just anywhere if that isn't possible) to help with the lack of humidity. When I remember to do this I generally feel less 'hungover' in the mornings.

lessonlearned wrote: »

Back in the day when I was Corporate Woman I used to keep a suitcase half packed on standby - together with a separate toiletry bag - more or less ready to go. It wasn't worth putting everything away after each trip.

I have a colleague who does this. Unfortunately it means she has to unpack, wash and repack in a hurry each time because she still has the stuff from the last trip in there, unwashed!

I have my toiletries & makeup ready to go, but clothes are all hanging up as what I need depends on location (Norway and Orlando require different packing), length of trip and type of trip (conference is different to days on client site which is different to lots of one hour meetings in different places). Capsule is definitely necessary, as is having something to change in after work (weirdly some of my colleagues just carry on wearing their suits - probably 24/7).

I agree with VJs mum about hotel laundry, but (like my colleagues) tend to get quite excited about being in one place long enough to actually be able to use it - lots of my trips are one night per city or even country, so laundry is impossible.

newthrift

Morning All
My fab friday was on Saturday evening, I had a long hot shower, de-fuzzed and exfoliated. Had a deep clean of my face and then a face mask and moisturised all over, both skin and face felt wonderful.
I hopped on the scales this morning as some of my clothes were feeling a little tighter than they were (which means I know i've put some weight on ) and i'm now 12st 5 &1/2lbs :eek: Not happy and major change will take place!!!! Luckily OH is very supportive and will help and eat good food with me which is really lovely My mum and MIL2B are both joining slimming world online ready for the wedding bless them, so I'm going to get some recipe's and join along without paying the subscription (if that makes sense). Weigh in will be every Monday morning before breakfast so I will report in each week. I knew I had been snacking and eating more with so much being left in the house since Christmas and then engagement gifts and birthday gifts of chocolate.

Well done everyone on keeping up with fabbing in any which way they can and also for those who have lost weight :j:T

xx