2019 Fashion on the Ration Challenge

CAFCGirl

Can't remember but I'm sure it was mentioned on the thread - the most ethical of the high street brands?

ETA Google search suggests M&S, Zara and H&M

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

Third month in and I found another gem in a charity shop. Another long sleeved top for £3.99 (and as it is second hand it is 0 tokens). I get such a sense of satisfaction when I find something in a charity shop that is perfect for me. I wish I had discovered this cheaper buzz years ago. I could have saved a fortune over the years.

PipneyJane

True quote from my husband this morning, “Where did those boots come from?”. My reply, “Under the bed”, which is where those boots have been languishing for at least a year.

Ever rediscovered an item of clothing in your wardrobe? Last night was the Head Office Ladies* quarterly meet up. We went for dinner in Wimbledon. I wore my new M&S skinny jeans, a 10 year old, white, long-sleeved t-shirt (Joe Browns, worn frequently, lasts forever), a denim blue, cotton cardigan (bought in Montreal in 2007), and the aforementioned ankle boots (Barrett’s, in the sales). I’ve had those boots for at least 9 years, but I didn’t wear them a lot until 2015 because they’re great with skinny jeans but not with wider legged ones (and I couldn’t find any skinny jeans that flattered me until then). Back then, I saved them for dress-down-Fridays at work.

I broke my right foot in 2016, so the boots went under the bed and were forgotten about until yesterday, when I chased a stray sock into their hiding place. Result! They’ll go back into regular use now.

- Pip


* Only 2 of us still work there (out of 8), but we’re good mates. I left Head Office Finance in 2001.

PollyWollyDoodle

Yes, I rediscovered a dress yesterday in the wardrobe - bought four years ago for the 'smart' bit of my work it's a very plain navy dress with a slightly flared skirt. Because it's quite straight up-and-down I never felt all that comfortable wearing it, and I don't really like having my legs on show. It's hardly seen daylight since I got it.

Tried it on yesterday and because I've lost weight it now fits like a dream and I actually felt really happy to wear it. Now I'm wondering what else is lurking in there that might fit!

I've pared my shoe collection down because so few things are comfortable any more, so no surprises there for me. I'm still searching for the perfect wide-fit ankle boots at the right price.

Laura_Elsewhere

PipneyJane wrote: »

True quote from my husband this morning, “Where did those boots come from?”. My reply, “Under the bed”, which is where those boots have been languishing for at least a year.

Ever rediscovered an item of clothing in your wardrobe? !

I mentioned last autumn the boots (mine) I thought had been thrown out by my sister (she did that kind of thing) back in 1991 - my parents found them in a box of their stuff in a long-unsorted cupboard...! I've been wearing them ever since, have re-soled them, and am delighted with them - flat-soled ankle-boots, with a nice 3/4-inch boot-heel, just right for tired arches, pull-on with a wrap-around ankle strap buckling at the side; black leather, and good Clarks ones.

I also have a pair of handmade kid-lined Victorian-style ankle-boots, lace-up, mid-heel, which I saved up for over months and months and months aged 15 and finally bought myself from a theatrical bootmakers' in Drury Lane - they cost an eye-watering £54 in 1984 but are still being worn 35 years later... you really do get what you pay for...

When I lived in Scotland and went to ceilidhs, I wore my late Gran's pre-war plum silk-satin dance shoes with leather soles, carrying a bit of sandpaper in my bag to rub the soles occasionally

Interestingly, my older shoes, the 1980s and 1990s ones, fit me really well, even the ones like the recently-found ones that weren't heavily worn. I am still a size 6 in those. Modern shoes, I have to buy a size 7 and try to lace them up more tightly than they should be. I think shoe shapes have altered as shoe manufacture has moved to parts of the world where people have narrower slimmer feet, compared to old-fashioned British plates of meat!

Laura_Elsewhere

PollyWollyDoodle wrote: »

Yes, I rediscovered a dress yesterday in the wardrobe - bought four years ago for the 'smart' bit of my work it's a very plain navy dress with a slightly flared skirt. Because it's quite straight up-and-down I never felt all that comfortable wearing it, and I don't really like having my legs on show. It's hardly seen daylight since I got it.

Tried it on yesterday and because I've lost weight it now fits like a dream and I actually felt really happy to wear it. Now I'm wondering what else is lurking in there that might fit!

How brilliant! Well done!

I'm off on Monday for a week back at my parents' place (aaargh!), partly for work, partly because I need a holiday - not sure I mentioned it but 3 months ago my chap's only child was left for dead by a hit-and-run driver, and was on life support for quite a few weeks. That understandably resulted in my chap becoming life-threateningly ill. At the time, I was just struggling to deal with a quite bad episode of exhaustion and ensuing depression...!

We have all made it. We're all still here, and astoundingly, Chap's offspring should make a near-complete recovery despite massive injuries. I've learnt to cope with only seeing my Chap for about 20 minutes a day as he comes in from work followed by hours at the hospital, and eats some food and falls asleep. Once every couple of weeks we get a day or an evening - today he's here and it's unbelievably wonderful to be typing this and hearing him tapping away in the other room trying to catch up with admin and so on.

Anyway... I have some meetings and a couple of bits of one-day work up where I used to live, so I'm going up all week and hoping to relax and sleep quite a lot.

And maybe have a look through some boxes to see what else is there!!!! I had a pair of trousers for work that I'd love to find again, men's 1940s ones in very fine black wool with pleats and a button-fly and braces-buttons - the danger in that house, of course, is that anything wool will have been mothed too badly to rescue, but it's worth looking...

PollyWollyDoodle

Crikey Laura, I had no idea - that must have been lifechanging for everyone, but I'm pleased to hear you have all come through it. I hope things begin to get a bit easier.


Sadly my family home was sold many years ago and there was a hiatus before my parents were able to buy another, so everything had to go into storage. I was away at Uni at the time so many, many things disappeared*, never to be seen again. Otherwise I feel sure I'd have some lovely discoveries! Those trousers sound fabulous.


*this doesn't rankle at all, obviously, and is never raised by me. My sister is sometimes driven to say bitterly 'well, you didn't have the job of trying to pack everything' ... :rotfl:

monnagran

Dead jealous of the ankle boots, they sound lovely.
I'd be content just to have ankles. Sadly one of the things my lovely father bequeath to me was his tree-trunk legs.
Hence they are covered at all times. Trousers of all sorts most of the time and a long skirt for high days and holidays.

Having not spent any coupons last year, I've not spent any this year so far.

If I lose another couple of stones (miracles do happen) I will have to buy a lot of new clothes. I hope the local CSs can cope.

I love hearing your stories of making do and mending. It's balm to my soul. Keep it up.

thriftwizard

I think shoe shapes have altered as shoe manufacture has moved to parts of the world where people have narrower slimmer feet, compared to old-fashioned British plates of meat!

I had that very discussion with DD2 yesterday! I used to take a 5½ wide fitting (though with narrow heels) and nearly always have to go to a 7 now. (Though I did have twins, 26 years ago, and was told then that your feet & your ribcage will never quite go back to their original size & shape.) I also remember that a lot more of the manufacturers & shops had a choice of width fittings than nowadays, and most shoes did actually last at least a year or so, and could be mended, even if they cost a bit more comparatively. The Offspring think I'm making it up...

Much the same with general clothing sizes; I have two knee-length jersey skirts that fit me well. One's a 12, the other an 18. Baffling...

CAFCGirl

Speedy healing (from all aspects), love, light and wellness to you and yours Laura_ElsewhereI
What a terrible thing to endure for that young man!