2024 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, 
@PipneyJane, thanks for the confirmation about the coupons for t shirts. I thought I had imagined it when I saw gem_gem's post .
I did see a thing on the internet about removing deodorant stains. Crushed asperin made into a paste and applied to the area then left for a while then washed as normal. I haven't tried it so I can't say if it works but might be worth a try on something that was going to the rag bag as a test. I think I would be careful with colours as well and maybe test on an area that won't be seen. If anyone tries it let us know what happens
Take care everyone

alicef

Help needed.

My M&S perfectly good cotton pants have greyed slightly compared to the new pack, which I'm loathed to open, as the aforementioned pants are fine but not brilliant white.

Should I try to reverse the off whiteness or breakout a dye pod? 

CapricornLass

I don't know what fabric you are treating, but  if you get really desperate:  you need a really bright sunny day and a bowl that you can stretch the stained bit over.  Boil a kettle, and pour the boiling water over the stain (the bowl is to protect your grass!)  Then leave it in the sun for several hours.

I've treated several stains like that which nothing else would shift, but it is very much a last ditch effort, so try other methods first.  If it doesn't work, then probably nothing will shift it.

I hope you have recovered now.

PipneyJane

alicef said:

Help needed.

My M&S perfectly good cotton pants have greyed slightly compared to the new pack, which I'm loathed to open, as the aforementioned pants are fine but not brilliant white.

Should I try to reverse the off whiteness or breakout a dye pod? 

Try soaking them in any of the “oxy” bleaches prior to washing (peroxide based bleach not chlorine based).  If possible, afterwards dry them in the sun, rotating regularly for even bleaching.

As a preventative measure, particularly when there isn’t enough washing to justify separating darks from lights, always add a colour catcher to your wash. (I cut mine into thirds.  I rarely use a whole one. A large box lasts us over 15 months.)

- Pip

Cherryfudge

Hi @navelorange1, I'm not in London but I do sympathise with the need to buy for teenage boys - they really are poorly catered for in our town as well.

I've asked on your behalf on this thread (about charity shop finds) which has some London members. I hope you get some useful information.

Sarahspangles

PipneyJane said:

Welcome @Sarahspangles.  Do come in, pull up a chair around the table and tell us all about yourself.  Cup of Tea?  Piece of cake?  It's Jam Crumblie, made with lemon curd.  (The recipe is at the start of the monthly grocery challenge.)  I see that you're a knitter and that you sew - what do you like to make?

You don't have to wait until the New Year to join the challenge.  If you can't remember/don't want to figure out what you've purchased since the start of the year, you're welcome to prorate your year's worth of coupons.  If you officially start on 1st May, you would have 44 coupons for the rest of the year.

Re the coupon cost of t-shirts, earlier this year, we agreed they are 4 coupons, not the 5 they'd been previously.  However, in my chemo-brain fog, I forgot to add a note to the first post.  That's been rectified. 

- Pip

Thank you for the welcome Pip/everyone. I just had an interesting daydream imagining a 1942 version of my family. OH is billeted near an aerodrome where he is building fighter planes, my war work is in the Ministry of Health, organising medical supplies, OH’s grown up son was drafted straight into the Royal Engineers, my daughter is a Land Girl and my son was pulled out of university to do something hush hush that we suspect might be MI.

But since it’s 2024, OH managed to retire a couple of years ago, so he no longer ‘works away’ (and that was his actual job!) and my NHS pandemic work can be handed over next Spring. For practice, I’m no longer working Mondays.

Due to w@rk, almost all my sewing has been necessities like curtains for unusually sized windows, so I have the kit but next to no stash. Lots of haberdashery though, from my grandmothers who sewed. I gave away my knitting needles and baby yarn stash to a local care home during the pandemic, but kept some DPNs and interesting yarns. I made some more complicated knits in my 40s when I was an invalid for a couple of years, but they’re all worn out now.

With an impending change of lifestyle my wardrobe is ready for a makeover  

Rosa_Damascena

Cherryfudge said:

Hi @navelorange1, I'm not in London but I do sympathise with the need to buy for teenage boys - they really are poorly catered for in our town as well.

I've asked on your behalf on this thread (about charity shop finds) which has some London members. I hope you get some useful information.

My recollection of this is zero. If this is ever a section distinct from menswear in general, it will be a small one!

florianatwobob

Im about 35 miles north of London and we have a few shops that the teenagers get into. One is a branch of our local hospice that has set up some specific branches catering to certain demographics e.g vintage, ‘fashion’, upcycling etc and this specific one focusing on ethical and sustainable fashion (you have to take your hat off to their marketing strategy). The others are small businesses with prices to match. 

Gem-gem

Thank you for the update on T-shirt coupons, being only 4 instead of 5 coupons. I don't know how I missed that post. So, minus three coupons from my spend gives me a new total of 36 coupons. 30 left. 😀

PipneyJane

navelorange1 said:

Hi, I don’t know if anyone has any advice as this might be too specific but do you know any charity shops in London that sell 13-16yo boy’s clothes? Most charity shops near me sell only women’s clothes and sometimes there is a small rack for men’s clothes at the back but it is usually full of shirts and suits for older men. I know you can buy secondhand clothes online but I’ve read too many hygiene horror stories/people hiding the true condition in photographs so prefer to see them in person before I buy. Thanks!

Edit: I also prefer for things to be tried on before bought as I’m on a very tight budget.

Hi @navelorange1

The only thing I can suggest re charity shops is to have a look at their websites (e.g. Oxfam) and see if you can get items delivered to a local store to “try before you buy”.  

Other thoughts:  does his school have a “swap shop”?  There may be more in it than just school uniforms.  Also, have you tried car boot sales?

Sadly, from my observation, boys tend to a) wear their clothes to death/holes develop, b) have fewer clothes than their sisters, and c) once their reach their adult size, keep their clothes forever.  (Probably the reasons why boys’ clothes never end up in charity shops.)

Please do let us know how you get on.

- Pip