2018 Fashion on the Ration challenge

PollyWollyDoodle

Good for you, I love the idea of a dancing frock! I bet you're going to look fabulous in it. i think you probably found the organza in a trunk of old clothes in the attic, didn't you? :rotfl:

PipneyJane

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

Head:wall argh...

Having had an "I'm too fat/old/etc to wear anything that nice" wobble, my lovely chap convinced me to go ahead and make a serious party-frock for January-ish with fabric I was given by a kindly friend five years ago now - only it needs some other fabric to go with it, so um, er, well.

Only does organza count as fabric? I mean, there's hardly anything of it, right? (looks hopeful)

I have NO self-control when it comes to sparkly organza for a party frock!!!

And he's right. I'm statuesque and not fat, and if I can't make myself the ultimate party frock as I approach fifty when on earth could I make it?!

So... in the next six weeks or so, I hope to make a velvet dancing frock, and a velvet everyday skirt, and an organza and tulle extravaganza!



And oh jings, how I need to keep on top of 2019's coupons...!!!!!

Organza? Isn’t it first cousin of mosquito netting? Let’s just pretend you’re using the latter.:rotfl: It wasn’t rationed.

You are worthy of nice clothes, made out of good fabric, Laura. Make for the body you have now - not an idealised, skinny one - because that’s the one that needs the dress. (Your “lovely chap” sounds like a keeper.)

Agreed, re 2019’s coupons. I have binned the shoes I wore to my friend’s wedding on Saturday, so “nice black court shoes” have been added to my list. (The shoes were ancient, extremely thin in the sole and increasingly uncomfortable to wear.). You know what? If I end up spending double my coupon count in 2019, it won’t be an issue, so long as I shop deliberately, buying things that are needed/co-ordinate with my existing wardrobe/are a quality garment that will last for more than a season.

- Pip

Laura_Elsewhere

You're both quite right! I found some of the organza in an old trunk in the attic and the rest is mosquito netting that fell of the back of an Army lorry!



Mwah! to you both, on all counts...

I'm a little daunted by making three new things, designing them too, but I know they're within my capabilities. At least the two velvet things are... the tulle and organza extravaganza (extravorganza?) is pushing it a bit - and especially pushing my poor old 1902 straight-stitch Singer!
I might yet end up hand-stitching the velvet seams, if it's easier... we'll see. Whipping a pair of folded edges together with 1/8-inch stitches can be remarkably quick, with a good drama on tv to keep you company!

Laura_Elsewhere

PipneyJane wrote: »

You know what? If I end up spending double my coupon count in 2019, it won’t be an issue, so long as I shop deliberately, buying things that are needed/co-ordinate with my existing wardrobe/are a quality garment that will last for more than a season.

Yes! This!

Oddly, as the years go by and I realise I need this or that thing and suddenly remember I have it, buried in a cupboard in my parents' house, I am realising how much it is true that you get what you pay for.
I do my own re-soling of shoes and boots, and put Blakeys' segs on so they never need re-heeling, and the most comfortable footwear is from last century. I have bought modern shoes and boots, but gradually they've fallen apart, unrepairably, and because I can't find something comfortable now, that looks how I want, I end up retrieving an old pair from the old house "to do for now" and then by the time I've re-furbished them and polished them up, I have a comfortable pair of shoes or boots...

My only warm jacket is Dad's old Harris tweed cast-off. Otherwise I wear wool jumpers in most weather, and add a wool shawl in foul weather. In summer, I wear a cream cotton sun-hat that's rainproof and at least 20 years old, and just get wet arms and legs if it rains.

I have a rail full of lovely skirts I rarely wear, and I'm realising that "I love the fabric!" isn't enough... there's a lovely one which is cool summery greens and blues and purples and turquoises on a white background, really cool and summery, but because I made it by gathering an entire dismantled king-size duvet cover onto a waistband, and lining it with a gathered double sheet (!I know...) it means it is unbelievably hot! It would be ideal for winter, except it looks all wrong then...

Slowly, I am learning a LOT more... and this Coupon Ration Challenge has helped SO MUCH! I didn't really get into it properly in the first six months, but now I've got the bug, and it's an exciting prospect to see how it goes next year.

PollyWollyDoodle

Laura you are such an inspiration to me, first the shorts made from a window blind and now you tell me you've got a skirt made from a duvet cover! I think you're so good at reusing fabric you'd have been a whiz in times of rationing.

But PipneyJane has made a really good point above; this isn't just about following an artificial restriction, it's about choosing clothes thoughtfully and not just buying for the sake of it. I'm definitely going to try and stick to this next year, but not going to beat myself up if I exceed it.

Laura_Elsewhere

Me too, not beat myself up, I mean - the thing is that in modern times we have no concept of a "recommended amount" for buying stuff, let alone for buying clothing.

For activity, we all know we're meant to aim for vaguely 10,000 steps, or maybe 30 minutes a day of walking, that kind of thing.
For food, we all know it's about 2,000 calories a day and not too much sugar or salt.
for alcohol, we all know it's good to have a couple of days each week with no booze at all and try not to get plastered more than occasionally!

But for buying? No concept of any limitation to aim for...

I think that's why it took me so long to get the hang of this, that first six months when I kept not bothering to come and read posts, not bothering to make a note or work out coupon-spending... avoidance tactics to delay having to look at just how much fabric and clothing I do acquire. I'm worse than I had thought re clothes, I definitely buy more than I had thought - but I'm worst of all at buying fabric and not using it...

(a short-sleeve jumper, and a pair of curtains for a skirt, second-hand on eBay today - argh...)


So yes, now that I've grasped the idea of there being the 66 Clothing Coupons as a "Recommended Annual Amount", so to speak, I know what to aim for and can spend more time considering whether to skip the elevenses cake so that I can enjoy pudding after supper, metaphorically speaking!

thriftwizard

I've had to impose a total ban on buying new fabric until I've used up (or sold) half of what I already have. Two huge cupboards-full, and drawer after drawer of scraps/dismantled shirts & skirts etc. I'm rather hoping that secondhand/reclaimed fabric doesn't cost any coupons? Or is that wishful thinking?

Laura_Elsewhere

Second-hand fabric yarn and clothing/footwear are all COUPON-FREE!

I wonder if I might impose on myself some kind of coupon-cost for them for next year, though. Otherwise I think I will simply switch to hunting down second-hand stuff on eBay, which is better for the plant but NOT better for our tiny flat or my finances!!!

Maybe I'll go for half-price, or 1/3 or 1/4 or something... 1/2-price seems fair to me.... not for everyone, but for me, I think I need something to stop me going on a wild spending spree!

Laura_Elsewhere

Oooh! My, er, mosquito nets form that old trunk in the attic, ahem, have arrived!

I think the January frock will look less tacky than my fevered imagination feared

But before then, I'm making do, by using five yards of crimson crushed velvet I'd had (actually at one point in an old trunk!) since the mid-1990s, to make a nice dancing frock for going to dance-y gigs...

And I went all round Primark the other day and didn't buy anything! I went in looking for two or three things, they didn't have any of them - they had things that were nearly the right things, but not quite, so I left them there! Whoohoooo!!!!!

PipneyJane

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

Oooh! My, er, mosquito nets form that old trunk in the attic, ahem, have arrived!

I think the January frock will look less tacky than my fevered imagination feared

Given your style, it will look lovely.

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

And I went all round Primark the other day and didn't buy anything! I went in looking for two or three things, they didn't have any of them - they had things that were nearly the right things, but not quite, so I left them there! Whoohoooo!!!!!

Well done you! That’s the real point of the challenge: knowing what you want and need before you go shopping. If you find the exact thing that you want, then buy it; if you don’t, then don’t buy it because “almost good enough” never is.

While I spotted yarn in two knitting kits at the Hobbiton Movie Set on Wednesday, I didn’t buy either. The last thing I need is to pay $55 for a kit containing one ball of DK to make fingerless mits of $67 for a kit containing 3 balls off the same to make a scarf. The only thing they had going for them was that they yarn was pure NZ Merino DK. I can’t say that I won’t buy yarn while I’m here but it has to be a jumper’s worth and it has to be in my colour(s).

I can report that the best thing to travel the world with is the classic, round-necked, cashmere cardigan. I’ve brought two with me on this trip and they’re giving me my money’s-worth. They weren’t cheap but were well worth it (£89 each from John Lewis in 2017). They’re light, fold up small and very warm. We were on a boat yesterday - sailed from Whakatane* to the White Island - and, while it wasn’t warm out on deck, I was lovely and toasty in my cashmere cardigan. (I need the wind in my face when I sail or I get sea-sick.). Everyone else on deck resorted to coats and fleeces.

- Pip


* pronounced Faakaataanee. Yes, seriously. “Wh” is an “F” in the Maori language.