Frump to Fab - A Whole New World.

helensbiggestfan

Interesting about your Saturday jobs....I had a friend who worked  at M&S. She said they were spoilt rotten.  

My Saturday job was at a hair salon, owned by my darling Aunty S's son and his wife.  I was only 14 but I guess they just put  me down as family and got round any H&S rules that way. This was way back in 1965 so I guess rules were much looser then anyway.

 I loved it.  I really threw myself into it. My biggest perk was free hair cuts whenever I wanted.  In fact R used to use me as his model trying out all the new styles.  All the customers loved seeing me model his latest creations.  

I learned so much in that salon. I learned all about customer service and how to go above the call of duty to surprise and delight the customers.  It really paid off because I got more tips in a day than the somewhat sulky full time "improver" stylist got in a week.  She was really jealous but it was her own fault really. 😂. Silly girl.  

The other big difference between us when she wasn't busy she would sit reading magazines, when I wasn't busy I was sweeping the floor, tidying up, folding towels, polishing mirrors. (Even though they didn't really need it). My zeal didn't  go unnoticed or unremarked.  Customers notice these things and of course so did R and his wife.  So I got nice pay rises and bonuses too. She didn't but of course because of the kind of person she was she said I only got preferential treatment because I was "family".  

 It was great training for my future working life and a very important life lesson......work hard, get yourself noticed and you'll reap the rewards.😁.   I spent my new found riches on clothes, records and going to watch pop concerts. Happy days.  

thepurplepixie

At 15 I was saving for my first house so half went into the building society, I was 19 when we finally bought it.  I knew the staff at the building society well by then, customer service was different back then, and one day the doorbell went and it was the assistant manager from the building society who said he was driving past, recognised the address and wanted to see how we were getting on.   Imagine that now.  By 21 I had two children and was the proud owner of our second house, a 4 bed semi detached Edwardian semi.  They weren't fashionable then but of course they are now.  It seems to odd now, another life.  I look at 21 year olds and they seem so young, I was working, busy with children and keeping house.  My husband was working long hours so he wouldn't see the children for days at a time.

savingfortomorrow

I agree with Marks and spensers; the food is too processed and expensive. I could get half a weeks worth of groceries in lidl for the cost of a meal deal. I prefer to make stuff from fresh. It is easier to save money that way . 

Honestly, I only go into m and s because the toilets are convenient. I last bought some skirts a few years ago and they did not last. I had a coat that the treads pulled something awful. It was terrible in the end. I got a navy dress last year and maybe wore it 5 times and the colour faded. It was definitely not worth the money. 

As a company, they have ignored their wider potential customer base, focusing on the demographic of the over 80-year-old nursing home residents. There is an ageless market of well made simple basics. There is no shop that makes really good timeless black fine knit jumpers, classic t that wash well without paying a fortune. They could have gone down the J-crew route or Uniqlo route. What I find strange is that they knew that the business was failing for the long term. The directors choose to focus on the present, not the future. 

helensbiggestfan

Pixie.....I think previous generations did grow up quickly. At least those from my socio economic background did. We didn't have much choice, not if you wanted to make something of yourself.  Tertiary education was not an option. It was leave school at 15 and get the best paying job you could find, pay your share into the family coffers and if you had any sense start saving for a deposit.  

My late husbands grandmothers generation got started even earlier. She left school at 11 to work in service.  Seems incredible to modern sensibilities but it was just the way it was then. Not quite sure of the actual dates but given her son was born in 1925 when  she was in her 20s I would think it would be somewhere around 1910.?  

How the world has changed. And in such a relatively short time.  

I got lucky.  I really landed on my feet with my first full time job.....a trainee at British Rail (as it was then). I had no paper qualifications but they took me on. I guess they must have seen something in me because they put me on their fast track training programme.  They paid for day release two days a week.  Every time you passed an exam you got a pay rise.  2/6d a week for each exam you passed.  Quite a lot of money then. Needless to say I worked hard!! -  sitting every exam I could, passing each and every one.  I was soon earning quite a lot of money for a teenage girl.   I met my first husband when I was 16. He was an engineer and although we didn't know it then he destined for great things.  We saved half of his wages and all of mine (After I had paid my board to my parents) for our first house.  For two years the only items of clothing I bought were tights.    We hardly went out and spent virtually nothing. It was hard going but it was worth it. 

Like you I was 19 when I married and moved into my first home. However, I didn't have children with my first husband. He was a good man but not the right man. We divorced when I was 25 and that was when I bought my first house in my own name. I finally had my first child when I was 33.  I felt quite a geriatric compared with all the other young mums on the maternity ward.  😂

helensbiggestfan

One of my favourite films is "Educating Rita". It really resonates with me because there are so many parallels with the characters story and my own. 

 I too finally got round to going to university as a mature student, when I was 40.  Although in my case it was with my (second) husbands full support and encouragement.  

thepurplepixie

LL well I was a more geriatric mum than you as well as a very young one with my eldest being 20 when youngest was born so he is closer in age to me than his sibling.  I often say I was a mum at 18 and still had a dependant child, at uni, when I was 60, his graduation was actually a few weeks after my 61st birthday.  Didn't leave long to save up for my old age not to mention that by then I was doing much of the childcare for eldest's kids after his marriage fell apart, at one point the children were placed with me by Social Services due to actions of my DIL.  Also being husband's carer for nearly 30 years.  I have to say it has been a busy life.  My granny, who had a very hard life, used to say she'd have a nervous breakdown if only she had time, I know what she meant and just thank God for the strength to do it all.  I could have made life easier but I have no regrets.

I also did day release for 4 years, God bless good employers.

Wednesday2000

This talk triggered a memory. I remember one of my aunts worked at M&S and I went there with my Gran to pick her up one day and my aunt was having her hair "done" in the salon upstairs. My aunt was the youngest and only 13 years older than me so I must have only been 3 or 4 at the time.

maman

I read an interesting article today about how the beauty business has done in lockdown. Overall drop in sales of course but particularly of make up as people aren't going out much. What has been selling is skin care products like serums and moisturisers. On the make up side, people seem to not be buying lipstick especially as it's pointless behind a mask but are making their eyes up. This is unlike usual recessions or similar when a lipstick would be a cheap pick me up. 😊
Meant to ask pixie , what was that shampoo you recommended and where did you get it? 🤔

thepurplepixie

It was Nioxin, they do several types according to your hair i.e. one for coloured hair that I use, they also do two strengths.  It has made a big difference to my hair, I tried Philip Kingsley before which made some difference but I think the Nioxin is either more effective or just suits my hair.  The Philip Kingsley improved my hair line, I could quickly see little hairs growing but it didn't make much difference to the thickness of my hair.  I think I got it from Looks Fantastic.  There are various products but I just use the 3, a shampoo, a conditioner and a sort of mousse you put on after washing.   It is fairly expensive but if you try it and like it then it is worth buying the litre bottles as they last for ages, you need quite a small amount I find but I have got short hair.

Interesting about the make up, I must admit I've more or less given up with it lately but I do need mascara as I have pale eye lashes, they are quite long but unfortunately you can't see them without mascara so not much use really.  I have thought of having them dyed but not sure if I feel comfortable about dye so close to my eyes.

I'm getting my hair cut and coloured next week, it seems to have grown fast this summer so I will be relieved to get it cut.

savingfortomorrow

Initially at the start of the pandemic sales of the foundation were strong but as the level of mask-wearing increased less so. 
I only use a lip balm like 8 hour lip balm or citaplast lip balm. The eyes are like a drag queen on steroids, I go all out. Its the only thing you see. Too plain with a mask I have a resting !!!!!! face with no smile. It is very hard to interact- it is hard for deaf and hearing-impaired people. I have decent enough hearing but lip reading made a lot of things clearer. It is making people really get over the mumbling. 

I worked some terrible jobs from a super young age, I worked hours and so hard as a kid but it makes you harder and more determined.  If I didn't work so much I would not have seen as much or been able to meet amazing people. 

Currently no lockdown here, the cases are rising a lot near me and I'm avoiding shopping locally if possible. All the restrictions are tightened. It is a strange time. The gyms and pools are still open and I'm really trying to keep active. Every kg lowers my obesity risk. 

Has anyone ever tried the blow dry sprays? do they work or do they make the hair heavy?