2019 Fashion on the Ration Challenge

Laura_Elsewhere

CAFCGirl wrote: »

Has she considered riding boots? As in proper equestrian one rather than style.
My younger cousin tells me they're good for 'thick calves like horsey people have, not like those twig b••••••' after I commented on a pair of boots she wore to pub dinner being nice

Be aware that they're often really bad for walking any distance in! Fine for strolling around, and wearing occasionally, but if you walk a mile home from work or wear them a lot, you would expect to find sore feet and even knee problems, as they really are (or should be!) designed for riding and not walking...

I have an old pair, probably vintage by now, which I just keep on repairing, re-soling, re-heeling myself...so far, so good...!

CapricornLass

Hiya - just to let you know that I'm still around, and still reading! However, at the moment, I'm just not spending anything at all on clothes, partly because I don't really need anything, I've not seen anything I really liked, and nothing has passed the 'when would you wear it' test.

However, I'm still knitting. A hat and scarf set for my son's girlfriend for Christmas, and the beginning of a blanket to try and use up all these odd balls of DK that I have floating round the place!

CAFCGirl

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

Be aware that they're often really bad for walking any distance in! Fine for strolling around, and wearing occasionally, but if you walk a mile home from work or wear them a lot, you would expect to find sore feet and even knee problems, as they really are (or should be!) designed for riding and not walking...

I have an old pair, probably vintage by now, which I just keep on repairing, re-soling, re-heeling myself...so far, so good...!

That's good to know! Thankyou for sharing.
She's probably more fashion orientated than country walks :rotfl:

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

Just been catching up with the posts. I have been very impressed with everyone's restraint (and honesty). Just had a tot up of my tokens. I am in the process of making another longer sleeved top out of some chambray fabric. I have never sewn with chambray before but I am really enjoying working with it. I am now left with 56 tokens. I have spent the tokens used on fabric rather than fully made garments. I have purchased some second hand clothes since the start of this challenge but I have only been buying things I actually need. I am really enjoying this challenge and it is making me appreciate things more and really resist waste. I have even managed to influence my sister-in-law, who is a real hoarder, to declutter and finally let me take her stash of size 8 and size 10 clothes to the charity shops. She has finally accepted that she won't get into those clothes now. My brother is relieved as now they have a bit more room in the loft again which was starting to overflow.

PollyWollyDoodle

Just to add to the boots discussion: I haven't been able to wear boots since I was a teenager, I do have rather broad calves but it's interesting to read the point above about them being made in the Far East. And I thought it was just my fat legs ...

Anyway, a few years ago I discovered Duo Boots, who make boots in different calf widths. They are :eek: expensive but I found them life-changing! Because of the aforesaid fat legs and some unsightly varicose veins I don't like wearing skirts - for years I'd only worn quite long ones. Now my favourite 'smart' outfit is a shortish skirt, leggings and boots. I have really had my money's worth and when the current pair die I'll save up to replace them.

Laura_Elsewhere

I have finished re-lining my tweed jacket - Dad gave me it 6 or 7 years ago suggesting I could cut it up to use some of the fabric as it was "worn out" after 20 or so years of him wearing it daily for 8 months or so of the year.
I used curtains bought on eBay last year as "cotton" but after finding a lighter and doing a burn test I think possibly silk or maybe a silk-linen blend.

No coupons - cast-off jacket, second-hand curtains!

I unpicked the old torn shredded lining and ironed it, taking care not to stretch the pieces diagonally, and used those to cut new pieces, whcih I simply pinned into place, turned the edges under and lined up the squared-stripes, and hand-stitched into place.

PollyWollyDoodle

Oh wow Laura - that looks lovely. And how nice to wear something thatyour dad’s worn for years. I’d love that

CAFCGirl

Amazing work there Laura

diminua

The Jacket looks great Laura. Ready for the next 20 years now.

Laura_Elsewhere

Thankyou all! And yes, another couple of decades at least, I reckon

I think this thread/challenge has really helped me focus better on what clothing I actually *want* to wear. Like this jacket, which I've wanted to wear for years but the lining has been so shredded it was unwearable unless you were incredibly careful putting your arms into the sleeves! Now I have it back again, to wear over full skirts, its middle button done up to give me a lovely waist I don't actually have!

A million years ago, I worked in southern France for 3 months, arriving with only 15kg of luggage and that included a heavy old-style laptop - I think from memory I had one pair of trousers, one skirt, two shirts, two t-shirts, one pair of boots, one pair of sandshoes, five pairs of knickers and five pairs of ankle-socks! So I had to buy more clothes but had limited funds, so somehow I got the idea of going out and sitting at pavement cafes to people-watch, looking for people my kind of shape and seeing how I liked what they wore, and also looking for people whose appearance made me think, "wow, wish I looked like that" and trying to work out why I thought that... I ended up with several mental pictures of myself in different styles, and I bought the clothes to fit one or other of the mental pictures. Some clothes I liked but they didn't fit one of my mental pictures so I didn't buy them... I still wear most of those clothes, over a dozen years later!

I need to do that more again. I'm older and plumper now, and my colouring is changing, and my life has changed - but I think I should set about forming those mental images again to see myself, and focus on the clothes I really *want* to wear. And I should pass on things I don't want to wear, either to charity shops or textile-rag collections.



We'll get there!