2022 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

retiredinfrance

Thanks for the welcome, Pipney-Jane.
Cherryfudge -  what I like about Charity Shop purchases is the old hunter-gatherer feeling and the thrill of finding the unexpected. However, I have had to learn that a mispurchase  is cash wasted and I am a cannier buyer now in that I ask myself several questions before I buy. A classic garment, lovely fabric, eg knobbly tweed a  la Chanel, silk, all have a siren call for me. I have long given up buying to remake - I used to  do a lot of that in my teenage and student years, especially with furnishing fabric, aided and abetted by my Mum who dreamt of being a dress designer, but her Presbyterian Dad thought that was akin to going on the streets.I'm now an avid declutterer and have been trying to wear out,weed ou and buy more mindfully. I also hate man-made fabrics. I am increasingly finding that a quality garment is more likely to be affordable second-hand and I like to be as sustainable as I can. All this is very war-time....
I am fortunate here in that there is plenty of affordable stock available locally - or should I say , unfortunate!
Anyway, this year I hope Rationing will help me have fewer, better items.
Keep safe everyone.   

retiredinfrance

TwibbleDee.
I love this book. I, too am a fast reader, but I aim to savour each chapter. I am currently relating my experience of peat digging as a former resident in Northern Ireland with Commoner's Rights to a peat moss, ( not used), and the continuing widespread use of oak as a fuel here in rural France to  what Ruth writes. Coal has never had much of a look-in here. Keep safe everyone.

Laura_Elsewhere

Oh goodness I have spent all of today thus far (mid-afternoon now) hauling *everything* off the shelves in the bedroom and going through it - aaargh!!!!!

I've lived here over 7 years and the shelves just sort of filled up gradually when I moved in, without any real planning. Over the years I've emptied and moved certain categories of things but it's my entire wardrobe bar hanging space for skirts in the cupboard, all the tops, cardis, jumpers, socks, bras, knickers, leggings, pyjamas, nighties, you name it, it's on there AND all my hair-clips and ties, pretty silk and chiffon scarves, vests and vest-tops and camisoles, shawls I rarely wear, slippers, plimsoles and sandals, etc... oh and skincare and haircare...

I now have a box of hand-cream and foot-cream to use up, and also in there are face-care things that have been open over a year so I won't use them on my face but they'll be fine for arms and legs and feet... I have a clear bedside with this Xmas/birthday's face-things - My Intended buys me about a fifth of Neal's Yard as he's become mildly fixated on "she likes their stuff! anything with roses!" - as my Younger Niece works in a shop that sells Dr Hauschka, my skin does very nicely.... only a lot of it got buried last year and wasn't used... 
I've managed to sort out the undies that still have labels tied on them - I have a friend who is conveniently a few sizes smaller than me with similar style so I can pass on unworn or VGC things to her and it is less difficult for me than giving things to a charity shop. But i have thousands of pairs of old knickers and millions of ankle-socks and at least two billion old tatty vest-tops...

I have So. Much. Stuff. 

and an awful lot of it I rarely or never wear... 

Waa-a-a-a-a-ahhh!!!!

RicardaRacoon

I love to read about the oldest clothes and other old things. A few years ago there was a tread on here about the oldest household appliance and someone said that she had no old appliances but she had an old christmas tree fairy called Doris and it made me laugh so much.

My oldest clothing item still in use are two dresses from 2011. And up until about two years ago I had a cardigan that I remember buying in 2005.

And then there is my "Tracht" A Tracht is the Swiss version of an Austrian Dirndl, a dress inspired by traditional garnments. Each part of the country has their own version and often there are working day, Sunday and holiday versions, variing in material and decoration, from simple cotton frocks to bodices with embroidery, silk aprons and rich silver juwellery or massive hats.

In 2011 I fulfilled my childhood dream of having a Tracht and bought one second hand. I don't know exactly how old it is but after someone told me that the pattern of the dress is rather old and unusual I like to think it is from the 1940s, which would also explain why it looks as if someone had economised on the fabric.

It is my most expensive and most elegant dress but I only wear it once a year for our national holiday, there simply is no other occassion to wear it... Woman who sing in jodelling choirs usually wear Tracht and in a way it is a shame I can't sing good enough to join a choir....

RicardaRacoon

I'm working my way backwards through the tread and saw some new faces by the fire; welcome!

RE Bugets: I have a budget for clothes that I set at the beginning of the year depending on the number of clothes I think I will have to buy. There is usually a year or two where I don't need much and then a year where loads of things need replacing. Buying good quality garnments has priority over sticking to budget at all costs. So if I have almost used up my budget and still need something I rather go over budget a bit than buying a cheaper alternative to stay in budget but know the quality will not be good.

Knitting yarn either comes from the clothes budget from my "Pocket money" buget with which I buy things like books, flowers, candles, stationery etc. The odd ball of yarn I buy without knowing what I will knit with comes from the pocket money budget, yarn bought for a garnemnt from the clothes budget.

And yes, I do have a spreadsheet with double accounting....

I have slightly lost it in 2021 when it comes to shopping, so besides the Fashion on the ration challenge I will also have to keep an eye on my spending from the pocket money account so I have set myself some rules. There are certain things I won't buy at all (candles and stationery for example) and some that I can only buy once they have been on the wishlist for a month. My luxery this year will be fresh flowers.

diminua

It's really interesting hearing about other people's clothes budgets as I've realised I don't set a budget for clothes at all. It's lumped in with my discretionary spend (what's left of my wages after bills, food, savings and pension are taken out) along with books, days out and itunes downloads. 

The oldest item of clothing I have is my (and later my brother and several cousins) baptismal gown from the 70s, which I took home after my mother died. That would be from 1973. The oldest item I'm still wearing is an aran cardigan my grandmother gave me in 1992, which was already second hand but in great condition after she'd cleaned it. It's a little tighter than it used to be, but that's me, not the cardigan. 

Cherryfudge

Laura_Elsewhere said:

I've managed to sort out the undies that still have labels tied on them - I have a friend who is conveniently a few sizes smaller than me with similar style so I can pass on unworn or VGC things to her and it is less difficult for me than giving things to a charity shop. But i have thousands of pairs of old knickers and millions of ankle-socks and at least two billion old tatty vest-tops...

I have So. Much. Stuff. 

and an awful lot of it I rarely or never wear... 

Waa-a-a-a-a-ahhh!!!!

You really have my sympathy. I think I've told this tale before so feel free to ignore but some years ago I decided not to buy more underwear or socks till I'd worn some out. By the end of the year I'd not quite kept my resolution in that I'd bought a small amount. However, the things I had were hardly worn out at all, as sheer numbers meant that nothing got all that much wear.

Some later I tried going 'Kon Marie' on them (it doesn't work for me on a larger scale but it did for the sock drawer). I threw out some ghastly yellow socks that I hated wearing and ditched others that had been mended too much. After that I only had realistic things left and now I pick up and replace from the front of the drawer so a few items have actually worn out from being used often.

It does take ages, though. Giving unworn items to your friend is a big step in the right direction. So is the realisation that a comfortable piece of sockery or well-fitting knickers are going to be forgotten once you put them on so it's worth no more thought so long as they fit well and aren't in holes.

The other big realisation that came to me through this exercise was that I tended to treat myself at a certain very cheap clothing retailer who tend to line the queues for the desks with cheap and cheerful socks. And what happens to those socks? People are up close and able to touch and they can't just walk past at speed so they end up buying because the socks are only a couple of pounds. The socks are often multi-packs so the ones on the front are the prettiest. Does the plain pair in the middle ever get worn? How long are the nicest ones used before they go into holes or simply decluttered because they were cheap and are in the way? I expect a lot of that tempting eye candy on the way to the checkouts is just going to landfill, I really do. What a waste.

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all
@Laura_Elsewhere, I know that feeling. When I had to empty and wash my wardrobe after the moth attack I found loads of things I hadn't worn in ages but I am slowly sorting them out into : it still fits and I like it so I will keep it, or it doesn't fit or I don't like it anymore so it will have to go. I do have a few things that don't fit but I like the fabric and am contemplating if there is anything I can do with it. If you need encouragement come and join the 2022 decluttering thread
@Cherryfudge I am doing the same thing, sorted my knickers and socks and unless I need a particular colour I am working on wearing them out but as you say it takes a while , saves on coupons though when you realise how many you have so really don't need any more. When they are dead I use them as dusters etc. Hopefully by the time they get binned they will be very little left of them to go to landfill.
When I think about my Mum who lived through rationing she used 3 pairs of knickers throughout the year, she did change them daily, they were hand washed when she took them off and rotated through them. I have so many I can barely fit them in the draw. Mum did have more but they stayed in the packet until a pair wore out. I guess if you grow up with hardly any clothes you learn to look after them and make do. I am sure we all have too many clothes and too much stuff until we do something about it
Take care everyone

florianatwobob

Sock and knickers rotation reminds me of a friend of mine. She was having significant building work done and had a lot of her house put into storage so she rationed herself to 7 pairs of socks and 7 pairs of knickers, one for each day of the week. When a pair wore out and only the was she allowed a ‘new’ pair from her backlog. 

It’s been 3/4 years and she’s still working through her stores. . 

keepcalmandcraft

Hi Everyone, I'd like join again this year.  I had a gap in the summer last year and never quite caught up on the thread!
I'll start with 66 and no carry over.  Looking forward to being a part of this group again.