2022 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

florianatwobob

@Laura_Elsewhere sorry if I’ve missed it, do you have your strawb jam recipe please? 

Wraithlady

Ooh! Strawberry jam!

Reminds me, I need to remember to get some more raspberry bushes as our died (I blame the war)

Actually came in for a bit of moral support - there's a very nice black velvet dress and velvet leggings in a sale on a website I frequent - and in my size, too!

I've put them in my shopping basket, but I don't really NEED them, they're just pretty and I'm feeling in the mood for a bit of a self-indulgence.

Help?

PollyWollyDoodle

Only you can decide! Sometimes it’s not just about practicality and covering our bodies, it’s about boosting our confidence and spirits. If it’s something you think you’ll wear a lot (and it sounds lovely!) then it will last a long time. 

Laura_Elsewhere

@florianatwobob, for the first time I went with recipes which recommend leaving the strawberries mixed with the sugar overnight - it's supposed to improve flavour and colour and set especially with strawberries and I have to say, it seems to have made a real improvement!
These give the general idea, although it certainly needed longer than Delia'a suggested 8 minutes, more like the 15-20 in other recipe...
https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/preserves/home-made-strawberry-preserve
https://www.waterhousefayre.co.uk/successfully-make-strawberry-jam/ 

Laura_Elsewhere

Wraithlady said:

Ooh! Strawberry jam!

Reminds me, I need to remember to get some more raspberry bushes as our died (I blame the war)

Actually came in for a bit of moral support - there's a very nice black velvet dress and velvet leggings in a sale on a website I frequent - and in my size, too!

I've put them in my shopping basket, but I don't really NEED them, they're just pretty and I'm feeling in the mood for a bit of a self-indulgence.

Help?

Well, I'm with @PollyWollyDoodle on this... 

There's a difference between buying *thoughtfully* and with a bit of planning and consideration and so on, and ending up only wearing beige sacks at all times  

Black velvet is incredibly useful, which is why it's such a classic - it will work year-round, summer or winter, and you can wear absolutely anything with it from a light lacy shawl in ivory or pretty pastel colours through to jewel-rich stoles in more velvet...  you can add lace, brooches, all kinds of things to make it look different, and people will remember the decoration and not the black velvet, so you can keep on wearing it for years without people giving you funny looks!  

So it will work twice as hard as any other dress. 

florianatwobob

Thanks @Laura_Elsewhere!

skogar

@Wraithlady - Well is it a good buy i.e.

Classic style that won't date?

Do you have occasions where you would wear it?

Does it fit your real life not your fantasy one?

Do you already have things it would go with?

Is it in a style that suits you?

When it arrives (if you order it) does it fit well and make you look fabulous?

Can you afford it?

Do you see it getting plenty of use?

Is it a versatile piece?

If it's yes to all the above then it's probably a good buy. If nos then it probably itsn't.

skogar

@Laura_Elsewhere - Your strawberry jam sounds lovely. I have only made it once and was surprised how nice it was. I make quite a bit of jam but usually with free fruit so the strawberry was made when I managed to get some cheap ones. I have a strawberry patch here and hope that eventually I will get sufficient strawberries to make some more but so far the number of strawberries has been much too low. However the raspberry canes are now multiplying so perhaps this year or next there just might be sufficient raspberries for some raspberry jam. I need to make some chutney with the rhubarb this year - finally the rhubarb is big enough for large scale harvesting. OH has already started the wine.

skogar

@PipneyJane - Good luck with the job applications. Fingers crossed.

Cherryfudge

skogar said:

Does it fit your real life not your fantasy one?

I wonder am I the only person who has had an imaginary wardrobe?! Skogar's point is a useful one for evaluating where those precious coupons go, but it reminded me that years ago when there was seriously no money (the year I bought a tee shirt and a pair of ballet flats and had no issues with weight gain but was very happy in a flat with a hole in the bathroom window...)

...in those days I did rather miss buying clothes so I invented some that I could pretend I was wearing. I remember the blue tiered skirt and a smocked dress but I'm not sure what else there was. I have enough imagination that I could 'wear' this wardrobe and know I looked good in it even if all others could see was the same stuff I always wore, and I'm fairly sure I walked taller because of it!

The other side of this is that now I have far too much because I'm not good at letting go and I know my Mum had a similar issue. She had so few clothes during the war that she had lots of pretty stuff ever after.