2019 Fashion on the Ration Challenge

PipneyJane

Good morning Ladies

I've just got home after taking Lucky Car to have his left windscreen washer jet fixed again - yes, my car has reached the Age of Sentience (a.k.a. the Age of Personality) - and popped into Lidl on the walk back (I'm stalking them for their recycled toilet paper). While I normally wouldn't encourage you to spend your coupons, they had a stash of thermal tights and thermal "footless tights" in the Aisle of Surprise. If you needed some, now is the time to pounce.

- Pip (Since I have several pairs from last winter, I didn't buy more)

PollyWollyDoodle

Thanks for the tip - I wear thermal leggings underneath my smart trousers when it's very cold, could do with some spares. Haven't needed them much this winter but ...

CAFCGirl

My latest effort

https://pin.it/pulquzxe7kg5ca

Loom knitted slipper booties. They're a tad big on my feet so will make again with few rows, but quite happy. Yarn I already had so coupon free.

PipneyJane

CAFCGirl wrote: »

My latest effort

https://pin.it/pulquzxe7kg5ca

Loom knitted slipper booties. They're a tad big on my feet so will make again with few rows, but quite happy. Yarn I already had so coupon free.

They look great! Are they warm? The colour is really cheerful.

PollyWollyDoodle wrote: »

Thanks for the tip - I wear thermal leggings underneath my smart trousers when it's very cold, could do with some spares. Haven't needed them much this winter but ...

Ditto, Polly. I spend 3 days a week sitting in an ancient portacabin, which is when I wear mine. The cold comes up through the floor. This last week has been so warm, I haven’t bothered. Two weeks ago, I left my puffer coat in the car - normally wear if for the first hour in the portacabin, while the heating kicks in - and haven’t bothered with that since, either.

With the rugby on this afternoon, I’m meeting up with a Wales-supporting friend to watch the game, so went through my drawers to find my England shirt. Oh my! Was it a revelation! I won’t need to buy any t-shirts for a while. Found a few I’d forgotten and some that are only fit for the rag-bag. I also found a couple of items that are good-enough to donate which I just don’t wear, commercial jumpers mainly. Time to have a good clear out.

Speaking of charity shops, I was early for my eye test this morning, so popped into Oxfam for a browse and bought another pair of dress shoes for £4.99, black patent “Chinaberry” Mary Janes by Clarkes.


(Hopefully the image will come out.). The heels were a bit scuffed but there was no wear on the soles which still had a clean, white label on the instep. I think they must have originated in America or Australia because the size on the label was the US one, 7.5. I nearly put them back on the shelf then thought “that doesn’t look right” and checked the sizing inside. (UK5) Thank heaven I did. They’ll look perfect under my work suits when I wear a skirt. That’s 5 coupons saved.

Nothing caught my eye clothes-wise; the branch was looking rather sparse.

Did I mention that I finished the Fashion On The Ration book? It was fascinating. The next book that caught my eye was called “The Capsule Craze”, about building a capsule wardrobe. Don’t bother. It took about an hour to read and was not worth the time. There was only one quotable quote and the author didn’t go on to give you examples of capsule wardrobes, for inspiration and to copy. The quote is:-

The idea is to fill one’s closet with timeless pieces that can be mixed and matched to create a plethora of outfits. If you’ve done your capsule correctly, you should need a total of thirty pieces in your wardrobe.

Which left me silently screaming, “OK, Show me!” And she didn’t.

If you want to learn about how to build a capsule wardrobe, read Wardrobe by Susie Faux. The other book even cited it as the bible. Amazon are currently selling the paperback for 1p plus postage.

- Pip

Laura_Elsewhere

One of the things that really put me off capsule wardrobes, and still does on the rare occasion I read something about them, is that they seem to have decided that you will spend the rest of eternity in one specific neutral. So you choose black, or navy, or camel, and then everything is those colours...

Also, it's always very urban and chic in style, so lots of navy and white, or black and white, that sort of formal version of informal.

What about those of us who wear colours and textures, and change with the seasons?

I eventually came up with metaphors for my seasonal clothing - in summer, I wear a box of children's crayons, lots of primary colours and bright pure colours... egg-yolk skirt with big dark-orange polka-dots on, for example - or a crimson skirt made from pieces printed for quilters with designs from Russian shawls in green and gold and royal blue on a crimson background...
In autumn, I wear grey or dark green as a neutral, with autumn leaves for colour.
In winter, I wear black or grey or ivory as the neutral with scarlet or emerald for colours.
In spring I wear grey or mid/paler green as the neutral, with the colours of a bunch of spring flowers - tulip-pink, primrose-yellow, hyacinth-blue - and the deeper rich gold-yellow from the centre of the primroses too!

I could probably (and actually would enjoy) putting together a capsule wardrobe that would work with that: say, for each season, two skirts, half a dozen blouses over camisoles, and 2-3 cardigans with long or short sleeves, and jumpers for colder weather, shawls for warmer summer evenings. It wouldn't be hugely over 30 pieces, either.

But it would have only a few black pieces, one or two navy pieces and no camel at all... I love camels, but as camels, not as a colour.

Here I am, years ago, at a conference in N.Africa. This is the kind of camel I like!

(dress made from a 1940s pattern of my Gran's and ideal for the climate!)

CAFCGirl

I fully agree 're the capsule wardrobe. All lovely if you live\work in that chic semi Parisian effortless manner.
I dont. I dig, I craft, I run about fields with my son, I walk the dog, keep chickens, have an artisan soap business, as well as being petite with sensory issues and disliking high heeled shoes on my feet. I'm mostly in dungarees, sweatpants or harem pants, with oversized cardigans flat boots or Toms style shoes. So camel trousers and white blouses would be utterly redundant in my lifestyle LOL

CAFCGirl

PipneyJane
Yes they are very warm and snuggly. It's a lovely colour I agree, sort of a golden English mustard.... Aldi special buy last year.

I have got some second hand pashminas coming my way so no coupons YAY and they will hopefully be turned into kimono style cardigan\cover ups for warmer spring days. Better dust off the sewing machine!

PipneyJane

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

One of the things that really put me off capsule wardrobes, and still does on the rare occasion I read something about them, is that they seem to have decided that you will spend the rest of eternity in one specific neutral. So you choose black, or navy, or camel, and then everything is those colours...

Also, it's always very urban and chic in style, so lots of navy and white, or black and white, that sort of formal version of informal.

What about those of us who wear colours and textures, and change with the seasons?

I eventually came up with metaphors for my seasonal clothing - in summer, I wear a box of children's crayons, lots of primary colours and bright pure colours... egg-yolk skirt with big dark-orange polka-dots on, for example - or a crimson skirt made from pieces printed for quilters with designs from Russian shawls in green and gold and royal blue on a crimson background...
In autumn, I wear grey or dark green as a neutral, with autumn leaves for colour.
In winter, I wear black or grey or ivory as the neutral with scarlet or emerald for colours.
In spring I wear grey or mid/paler green as the neutral, with the colours of a bunch of spring flowers - tulip-pink, primrose-yellow, hyacinth-blue - and the deeper rich gold-yellow from the centre of the primroses too!

I could probably (and actually would enjoy) putting together a capsule wardrobe that would work with that: say, for each season, two skirts, half a dozen blouses over camisoles, and 2-3 cardigans with long or short sleeves, and jumpers for colder weather, shawls for warmer summer evenings. It wouldn't be hugely over 30 pieces, either.

But it would have only a few black pieces, one or two navy pieces and no camel at all... I love camels, but as camels, not as a colour.

Here I am, years ago, at a conference in N.Africa. This is the kind of camel I like!

(dress made from a 1940s pattern of my Gran's and ideal for the climate!)

Laura, you look gorgeous!

I’d argue that you do have a capsule wardrobe. You’ve built it around colours that you like and that work together.

Susie Faux’s original concept was to pick shades that went together, so that it resulted in multiple combinations of clothing. It wasn’t about keeping your wardrobe small; it was about making your clothes-buying Pound go as far as possible. It was all about combinations of colour. Neutrals were for things that had to be worn a lot and were expensive: jeans, your winter coat, shoes and bags. Inevitably, “neutrals” included your work suit, because good work suits cost a lot and most people couldn’t afford to buy more than 1 or 2 a year. Everything else was colour: wear a top in this shade of red, because it reflects the red stripe in check of your suit, making the latter stand out and making the suit look different. And, by the way, that top goes with the other skirt, in the contrasting colour, to make an entirely different outfit.

Frankly, I’m not paying much more now for a suit than I would have in the early 1990’s, maybe £20 more for the skirt or trousers and £30 more for the jacket, but I earn considerably more and would do proportionally, even if I was doing the exact same job. Jeans are cheaper than they were then - I paid £50 for a pair of Levi 501’s in 1992 when my take-home pay was £720. (I remember agonising about them.) Even shoe prices haven’t increased by much, maybe 20%.

- Pip

Laura_Elsewhere

CAFCGirl wrote: »

I fully agree 're the capsule wardrobe. All lovely if you live\work in that chic semi Parisian effortless manner.
I dont. I dig, I craft, I run about fields with my son, I walk the dog, keep chickens, have an artisan soap business, as well as being petite with sensory issues and disliking high heeled shoes on my feet.

In my mid-20s I got my first post-student proper work as a researcher in a huge posh prestigious and old-fashioned university dept. All I owned were combat trousers, army boots and an interesting range of stripey tights and micro-skirts, with a bike jacket and tour t-shirts! Oops.

For reasons I don't remember, instead of dashing out with my first paycheque and buying normal work clothes, instead I sat down and thought like you've described above - I knew I wouldn't change on getting home, so I needed clothes that would do for work, but also for cycling to and from, and for going out to do some gardening when I got home, etc. "When was a time when people made one skirt do for virtually everything?" I thought, and "the late 1930s and 40s" sprang to mind, and that's where my unfashionable style started to emerge... it's got more practical over the years (the pockets!), and slowly it's getting smaller in that more pieces work with more other pieces.

But yes, looking at what you expect and demand of your clothes is absolutely essential, imo!

CAFCGirl

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

But yes, looking at what you expect and demand of your clothes is absolutely essential, imo!

That is quite possibly one of the most nail on head statements I've seen in a long time. So apt for the throwaway society we've been turned into.....
People have become accustomed to badly designed\cheap materials so expect little of it, don't bother to 'treat' it, and as such refuse to pay for it, which in turn drives the demand for more of the same.

I guess unless we're willing to pay to move out of the cycle of demand, it won't improve - for us individually or the planet as a whole.