2023 Fashion on the Ration Challenge

PipneyJane

flamingo747 said:

Wow, just 3 new items?! That's a lot of skanky pants I feel guilty about flying again this year. So far I did Nuremburg return this summer, will be Paris in Oct. The only other time I've flown in my life was Dublin in 2019. Maybe it's not too bad, 6 short flights in 40 years

I bought a v-inted bra, the same ones I wanted from a-sda, so chance to see how it goes. The postage is a pain though, the bra itself was £1, total cost £4.14 😕 they're only £6 new. At least its no coupons though

We won't hold the flights against you. 

I don't know from where you'll be travelling but if you haven't already booked your flights, consider Eurostar to Paris.  Yes, I know, Brexit has made Eurostar a far less feasible option.  Pre-Brexit, it'd take about the same amount of time to trek into London and get the train to Paris, than it does to go to Heathrow, spend an hour going through security, then another 40 minutes taxi-ing around the airport before take-off, and then flying to Paris and going through immigration. 

Now, sadly, it probably costs twice as much to go via Eurostar and takes just as long to get through Security/Immigration.  I know they've cancelled a lot of trains and no longer stop in Ashford, because we're outside the Borders and have to be processed as such, and the stations weren't built for that.

- Pip


ETA:  Also @flamingo747, if you're going to Paris, I can recommend several restaurants, a yarn shop and a chain of boutiques for good quality ladies wear...  Seriously, you will need to book now but if you can, have lunch at the restaurant in the Eifel Tower.  It's worth every penny AND you get priority access, so don't have to queue with the other tourists.

Laura_Elsewhere

flamingo747 said:

Wow, just 3 new items?! That's a lot of skanky pants

Not really - the idea is to stop buying pants that are paper-thin rubbish fabric, badly-sewn, and last only a few months before you put your thumb through the side... which is very much how this group started, really  

Of course, what would help is if the manufacturers gave us the bloomin' choice of buying knicks that would last!!! I mean, yes, you can buy really good-quality knickers but they tend towards being twenty quid a pair, er, I think not...! 

Same with bras - a good bra used to last years, esp if you followed advice and didn't wear the same one each day; have two and alternate them, hanging yesterday's up to air. And never machine-wash them - actually that is something we consumers can change, machine-washing things that will last three times as long if we handwash them, or if we put them in a lingerie-bag and only do them on a cold-water rinse cycle, or 'delicates' or whatever won't bash them into early retirement! 

I knitted a cardigan last year with really rich, vivid colours, only realising afterwards that because I had hand-dyed the colours, I now don't dare wash it in case the glowing deep shades fade! So I've been experimenting with not washing it at all, despite wearing it a huge amount, including cycling up steep hills to and from swimming, and actually it's been fine... I've developed a few tricks, such as hanging it up inside-out to air when I come in after cycling, and using a hair-elastic to bunch the waist and cuff ribbing together while it airs, which returns the stretched ribbing to its snug, neat shape just as well as washing ever did! 

Laura_Elsewhere

Oooh, an interesting article on the features of how clothes used to be made, and how those features affected how long the clothes lasted and how well they fitted... 

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/sep/19/garment-quality-not-the-same-why-closet-clinic

flamingo747

Pip, it's a treat from my SIL, we will be going with her and my three nieces. My BIL passed away aged 36 3 years ago  and SIL has never taken the girls abroad, so it'll be nice to be there to support her and for my son to be with his cousins.  None of the four kids have flown before and my ds is plane obsessed,  so it's part of the holiday.  We're actually going to Disneyland, but I think we'll do Eiffel Tower as a day trip 

Laura I think as well we are so used to fast fashion that we don't buy to last, and we don't appreciate the cost in the way people once did. Now a dress is for one party, not years then remaking for kids clothes. I am definitely guilty of bra abuse!

PipneyJane

flamingo747 said:

Pip, it's a treat from my SIL, we will be going with her and my three nieces. My BIL passed away aged 36 3 years ago  and SIL has never taken the girls abroad, so it'll be nice to be there to support her and for my son to be with his cousins.  None of the four kids have flown before and my ds is plane obsessed,  so it's part of the holiday.  We're actually going to Disneyland, but I think we'll do Eiffel Tower as a day trip 

Laura I think as well we are so used to fast fashion that we don't buy to last, and we don't appreciate the cost in the way people once did. Now a dress is for one party, not years then remaking for kids clothes. I am definitely guilty of bra abuse!

Have a lovely, lovely time @flamingo747.  One thought:  tell the airline in advance that your son is plane obsessed.  Although he won't be allowed in the cockpit now - nobody is since 9-11 - they may still prepare a little treat for him.
 
ETA: I hope you make good memories on this trip, lots of fun and giggles.  Something positive to hold onto when the bad days strike.

Laura_Elsewhere said:

Oooh, an interesting article on the features of how clothes used to be made, and how those features affected how long the clothes lasted and how well they fitted... 

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/sep/19/garment-quality-not-the-same-why-closet-clinic

@Laura_Elsewhere perfect timing by the Grauniad.  Do you think they've been listening to us?

- Pip

flamingo747

Laura_Elsewhere said:

Oooh, an interesting article on the features of how clothes used to be made, and how those features affected how long the clothes lasted and how well they fitted... 

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/sep/19/garment-quality-not-the-same-why-closet-clinic

That is very interesting. I think as well it shows a change in our general lives. Women now don't generally have the dressmaking/knitting skills even of our mothers. As an example, I am just turning 40, I can handsew, and do basic sewing machine stuff, but using a pattern or making something from scratch is out of my range. Knitting and crochet is very poor too. My best friend can't even hand sew and would have to chuck away trousers if the button came off! My mum however can dressmake and has just knitted a cardi. My generation grew up with our mums working too, often full time, and we didn't learn these things that they learnt from their mums. Between the changing world of work for women, and the availability of off-the-rack cheap clothing, the skills haven't passed on. If I had a daughter, I could teach her barely anything.

Laura_Elsewhere

@flamingo747 - but to be fair, the vast majority of women wouldn't have made their own clothes for most of the 20th century. They just owned far fewer clothes, which lasted years. 

I suppose that's why the 66 coupons worked during the war - it was normal to buy a skirt and jacket, and expect them to last you 10 years, even if you had to have them made larger or smaller. Your blouses might last you 5 or 8 years, your knickers 5  or ten years depending on the style snd fabric... stockings might last several years each, depending on type and material... shoes might last 15 years... 
And that's all WITHOUT considering mending and darning and reinforcing! 

So you might only buy a few new pieces each year, but you didn't NEED to keep on buying replacements. 

Records of ordinary women from the mid-20th century often describe only one wool skirt and one lighter one, a skirt-suit for Sunday best (later to be demoted to the everyday wool skirt), a few blouses and a few jumpers and cardigans, two or three pairs of shoes, one winter coat and a raincoat perhaps, and a couple of hats... and if you look at the size of 1930s 'single' wardrobes, as in furniture, you can see how little they needed to store. 

I'd hate that - I love having all the choice and colour... but I do think we have to start trying to buy new clothing that will last longer than before... 

Cherryfudge

I have a story to tell and you have my permission to laugh. 😊 We have come on a week away and discovered when we got here that neither of us had put my case in the car! 

I had some other luggage so a few items of clothing, activities and makeup have come with me, but not medication or most of my clothes.

Medication was sorted this morning but cost a bit (Scottish pharmacies have to charge for English prescriptions even when those prescriptions are free in England). Clothing was a bit of an adventure: the town has two charity shops and one was closed, but in the other I got two tee shirts, a pair of jeans, a merino wool cardigan, pjs and a wrap. The washables have been through the machine and dryer so I once again have something to wear! The merino cardigan was probably not a good buy as the style isn’t me at all but… it’s 100% merino, was I supposed to leave it there? My excuse is that it will be warm in winter and is a nice, cheerful colour.

I thought I’d be sleeping in a tee shirt but then I saw the pyjamas which looked and felt like new. I’ve washed them anyway. In a couple of days we are going near some of the bigger shops so I can restock on undies and socks - your discussion (above) is relevant, but in the meantime I’ll be washing things overnight.

It’s been quite fun for me as an excuse to splurge a bit and (so far) not spend coupons, but it’s made me think how so many people do have to get by with just what they’re wearing.

PollyWollyDoodle

Wow that’s quite a challenge, @Cherryfudge - I think I’d have had a few choice words to say when you first found out!  Well done on your finds. 

Thanks for that article @Laura_Elsewhere, very interesting. I’m often astonished at the poor finish on RTW clothes. I make some of my own clothes and things like French seams or Hong Kong finishes are very fiddly but they make a big difference to the finished item.  

Cherryfudge

PollyWollyDoodle said:

Wow that’s quite a challenge, @Cherryfudge - I think I’d have had a few choice words to say when you first found out!  Well done on your finds. 

The thing is, it was more my fault than DH’s. He thought I’d put everything on the living room floor, and I checked it was clear before we left…

New pyjamas are nice, though 😊

Tomorrow I need to see if anywhere is selling a size 5 metal crochet hook, as I’m getting near to needing one. The charity shop I asked had only knitting needles.