2021 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Wraithlady

PollyWollyDoodle said:

I seem to remember an experiment where the fabulous Ruth Goodman experimented with wearing traditional clothes. 

I have a feeling it was one of the Tudor era programmes - she didn't bathe/shower, but washed hands & face and the remainder wiped over with a rough cloth on a daily basis (as per the manuals of the time). She said she didn't smell particularly, and her skin had never been so healthy

PipneyJane

PollyWollyDoodle said:

I seem to remember an experiment where the fabulous Ruth Goodman experimented with wearing traditional clothes. Actually it might have been the chap who was working on the Victorian Farm programme, and they came to that conclusion @Laura_Elsewhere. Wearing natural fabrics they didn’t develop BO, despite doing physical work and washing less often. As you’ll know, Ruth does not just do things for a day for the TV programmes, she lives the part for weeks at a time.  

 

I think it was Tales from The Green Valley, the very first program that Ruth did.  IIRC, it was an experiment that they fully lived, even down to sleeping on straw-stuffed mattresses in the barn for months.  I only caught one episode when it was first broadcast, where they were re-stuffing the mattresses with fresh straw and bug-deterrent herbs.  Ruth talked about bed bugs and which herbs worked best at repelling them.  She compared insect bites with the other girl who was working on the farm.

- Pip (I am a BIG Ruth fan.)

Laura_Elsewhere

Another Ruth Goodman fan here too! And I know people who've worked with her and apparently she really *does* know that much, and she really *does* wear her knowledge that lightly and not "put on side" or show off or be big-headed or any of the things people so often do when they've had a bit of fame...  just a really pleasant person, nice to work with and really knows her stuff... 

PipneyJane

Stupid question time:  is washing soda good for stain removal?  If so, what is the best ratio of washing soda to water and how long should you soak it?  Also, for which types of stain is it best?

(See.  I told you it was a stupid question.)

skogar said:

Definitely advantages in wearing natural fabric. Synthetic walking tops are very light for doing long distance walks but on the continent in hot weather soon smell truly dreadful and washing facilities in the higher alpine huts can be very limited due to the limited amount available and can be cold water only. Merino wool tops are highly prized for their low smell properties!

@skogar.  You can definitely smell my synthetic running top a mile off, within an hour of me doing my run.  It does keep me dry and doesn't get soaked in sweat - the manufacturer's selling points - but OMG it stinks after a run.  (I wash my running gear weekly at 40c.  Virtually the only wash I do at temperature.)

- Pip

PipneyJane

Laura_Elsewhere said:

Another Ruth Goodman fan here too! And I know people who've worked with her and apparently she really *does* know that much, and she really *does* wear her knowledge that lightly and not "put on side" or show off or be big-headed or any of the things people so often do when they've had a bit of fame...  just a really pleasant person, nice to work with and really knows her stuff... 

Her books are very informative, too.  Have you read "How to be a Victorian" @Laura_Elsewhere?  It could only have been written by someone who'd lived the experience.  (I think she did one on how to be a Tudor, too. I must add it to my birthday list.)

- Pip

Laura_Elsewhere

Washing soda is good for getting stains out - this Dri-Pak is the suff I've relied on for years and years, and the website gives the quantities for mild, medium and strong solutions... https://www.dri-pak.co.uk/cleaning-products/soda-crystals/

I haven't read any of Ruth's books - I'm not the target audience! I generally find either books of that kind annoy the heck out of me, or they have info I already knew from the various living-history and textile-history research groups... 

Coo, I'm doubling the time I've been putting into crocheting a 1918 band to go round the top of a pure-linen camisole, and straps to go with it, so I have a layer of pure linen to wear under pure-cotton blouses - at present I'm stuck wearing vest-tops which all have some synthetic in and in this muggy weather I have a liquid spine in minutes, yeurgh... 

MrsCD

Another spend to declare...a pair of sandals in the Clarks' sale so 5 coupons, I think. I could only see boots, slippers and shoes on page 1, so I assume sandals would be the same.

Liverpool_Anne

@Laura_Elsewhere, thanks for the information about soda crystals, I will be scouring the shelves at Mr T's over the weekend as well as a possible trip to b+q for a bucket
Take care everyone

PipneyJane

Liverpool_Anne said:

@Laura_Elsewhere, thanks for the information about soda crystals, I will be scouring the shelves at Mr T's over the weekend as well as a possible trip to b+q for a bucket
Take care everyone

@Liverpool_Anne, I bought mine from Boots.  Couldn’t find it anywhere at MrT’s or Sainsbugs.  At Boots was with that other impossible-to-find substance, ammonia, in the laundry/cleaning aids aisle.  (Admittedly, this was a large Boots store.)

- Pip

PipneyJane

I have a spend to declare.  We were at the cricket yesterday, at the Oval, and a girl 6 seats away was wrapped up in one the Surrey County Cricket Club 175th Anniversary Scarves that I’ve been eyeing up on their website for months. It’s printed grey on a white background, with the gasometer pride of place.  (The photo on the website does not do it justice.  I’ll take a better one once it arrives.  They only had England/Sri Lanka stuff in the match-day shop.)

2 coupons spent, which takes me down to 33.

- Pip