About working once retired.

lessonlearned

Ha ha......"dressmaking" - only for girls?? Bruce Oldfield, Ralph Lauren, Karl Largerfied, Yves St Laurent, Charles Worth, Hardy Aimes, David Emanuel to name just a few.

The London College of Fashion and most design courses in universities have loads of male students each year who are pretty nifty with a needle. I would say more than half the design students when I was at university were males and they were all demons with a sewing machine.

Do you remember the "New Romantics" with bands like Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet. Well they all started out by making their own costumes. They were trailblazers and the clothes they were wore so radical they couldn't be bought on the high street. It was only when they were riding the charts that the clothing manufacturers got in on the act. Most new "street fashion" comes from kids, boys and girls, getting busy with a sewing machine.

Remember that posh convent school I went to.....well no cooking lessons, or domestic science and sewing lessons were basically down to a little light embroidery. :rotfl:

My domestic and diy skills are all self taught.

I tend not to sew much now, have you seen the price of decent fabric. Making your own clothes is no longer really cost effective. The cheap fast fashion that people go for these days has largely killed dressmaking, although I do see signs that it's creeping back.

dorothy52

Oh yes, my maternal grandfather made clothes. My mother had one good black dress that he had made and warious detachable collars and accessories to ring the changes. My mother couldn't sew but I had a real talent for it, I must have got it from him. She used to 'dye' her legs with used tea leaves and draw a seam up the back with an eyebrow pencil as stockings were too expensive!

Ah the eighties and the New Romantics! Men wore frills and make up and some were prettier than us girls. I loved the gold braided military tailored jacket I made, and do you remember root perms and big back combed hair, dark at the roots and blond at the ends?

I agree that the price of fabric and rhe advent of cheap clothing has rendered dressmaking uneconomical, which is such a shame. Would love to get back into dressmaking but oh dear God, the size of the patterns I would have to make for myself!! Used to be 24 inch waist......Daren't even go there now.

lessonlearned

Just another thought.......all those back street tailors. All men.

moneyistooshorttomention

:rotfl:Well there's a thought or two then:rotfl:.

So I guess it is possible for a woman to do dressmaking without being "traditional female" - but some of us are still blimmin' useless at it:) (ie me).

lessonlearned

Yesterday Margartet and I were on the receiving end of some pretty unpleasant abuse.

So the following is especially for Percy and Rev Timms. Although of course I am laying myself open to accusations of boasting again, however, I won't be around to read it, so it won't bother me. :rotfl:

When I joined this site in March 2006 I was £30k in debt and staring bankruptcy in the face. Now I have a net worth of £180k plus I have given each of my sons £50k to get them on the housing ladder. I make that a total gain in my net wealth of £310k. Not too shabby is it.

Plus I have other assets......paintings, objet d'art, antiques and collectibles, designer clothing and decent jewellery which could be turned into hard cash if I fall on hard times again.

So......perhaps you would like to tell me how I am not qualified to give advice to someone who Feels they may be facing hardship when I have managed to haul myself out of the financial abyss and am once more (hopefully) financially secure.

I think I am just as "qualified" as any one else on here to give a bit of help and advice. As a matter of fact I did at one time have a credit licence, which is a proper qualication to give debt advice, when I worked In mortgage arrears but as that was over 30 years ago so it has lapsed by now.

CAndy if you are still reading, I wish you well but I will no longer be posting on here. I am not going to waste any more of my time and energy.

I will leave you in the oh so capable hands of Percy and RevTimms who obviously feel they have more to offer you than a bunch of "smug old women".

Although I have yet to see any evidence of how they intend to help and support you.

dorothy52

It is indeed an amazing achievement, and as you have said yourself this site has been largely instrumental. Knowledge and expertise are shared, encouragement given, set backs understood and triumphs applauded. This community is phenomenal. I don't know anywhere where people of all ages and walks of life meet up and help each other. Real friendships are formed on here. It's easy to say ignore the haters, however unless you have been subjected to the ridicule and abuse that you and Margaret have it's impossible to know how it affects you.

I hope this thread continues. I know it has meandered off course from time to time but even though Candy hasn't posted, she may still be reading, and if not I am certain that others will and will benefit.

I will catch up with you on other threads LL, I for one value the contribution you make. I have and will continue to learn from you as will many, many others

lessonlearned

I couldn't have done it without the blessed St Martin and MSE. :rotfl:

lessonlearned

I know I said I wouldn't post again but I thought I would just recommend a book that I am currently reading. Or should I say re-reading, because actually reading it a second time is proving even more beneficial.

It is called "Your Money or Your Life" by Vicki Robin. She is American so a few of the pension and investing terms used are different but the principles are the same. The psychology behind is certainly still applicable not just for the UK, but also on a global scale, we do after all live in an era of global capitalism.

The discussions about how consumption has affected the environment, our planet and future generations are also of great interest (and rather sobering).

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It's so good I even bought my own copy after I had first borrowed it from the library so I could let my kids read it. :rotfl:

Another one worth reading is the "Millionaire Next Door" - a bit dry and wordy and again written for America but the same basic rules and ideas still apply across the pond. Quite an eye opener that one. It explains how even a blue collar worker, given enough time, can reach that magic 1m simply by working hard and being thrifty. It's the "time" part of the equation that really works the magic.......

Enjoy.

margaretclare

Can I add another book to the list? 'A Girl's Best Friend is her Money' by Jasmine Mack and Jane Birtles.

lessonlearned

margaretclare wrote: »

Can I add another book to the list? 'A Girl's Best Friend is her Money' by Jasmine Mack and Jane Birtles.

Ooh thanks for that ....I now love money books.....never used to. I didn't "get" them but I do now.

I can even understand tax guides now......shocker.!!!