2025 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

kiwisavings

Gorgeous finds @Nelliegrace, amazing to find utility marked handkerchiefs still - definitely a testament to high quality materials.
 Are you thinking of going to a 1940's weekend Big Band Show this year? Sounds like a great opportunity to dress up 

alicef

I was thinking about your cotton handkerchiefs, @Nelliegrace .   There are some lovely quilted hot water bottle cover patterns on the web, (Merchant & Mills had a free one that I downloaded at some point).  Stitching the hankies together would give enough material.  Or project bags/shoe bags, perhaps.  I use up a lot of my toile calico remnants this way.

I think your brooches are gorgeous - occasionally I treat myself to a little vintage marcasite brooch from eb@y.

PipneyJane

Afternoon All

Cup of tea?  Cake?  It’s dark, overcast and raining this afternoon.  If you’re watching the rugby league on the telly, Wembley should get much darker shortly.

I’ve had a “well D’uh!” moment.  Did anyone notice that I’d charged myself double the coupon cost for the yarn I bought last month?  I only realised when I was comparing the June 1941 to July 1941 coupon costs.  400g of yarn costs 8 coupons, not the 16 I’d charged myself.

Went into the belly of the Beast today: Westfield at Shepherd’s Bush.  You will be pleased with me, though.  I didn’t even browse the shop windows, just did what I had to do and headed home.  Why was I there?  Well, I purchased a new sports bra this week from the Bravissimo website.  (It’s a white D+Max Shockadsorb.).  The bra was delivered on Wednesday.  Although it was my regular bra size (32F), I found it far too tight to do up - at least 2 inches too small.  Phoned Bravissimo’s Westfield shop yesterday to ensure they had a 34E and a 36DD in stock, in white, and went there this morning to try them both on and exchange the 32F.  Chose the 34E, which was tight, but did up - just - and the cups fitted perfectly.  No bounce.  The 36DD wasn’t tight enough.  

(In case you’ve never known this, when your underbust measurement goes up - e.g. from 36 inches to 38 inches - to keep the same sized cup, you have to select the previous letter of the alphabet, so a 36D wearer would need a 38C.)

That brings my total spend to 23.5 coupons, leaving 42.5 coupons for the rest of the year.

- Pip

Nelliegrace

It is raining cats and dogs here. Tea and bara brith went down well, @PipneyJane. I have been rereading Growing Up, published in 1943, by Angela Thirkell, lots of scenes are set on the railway in wartime, meeting and saying farewell. 

I think we will have to miss the Severn Valley Railway WW2 commemoration events this year, @kiwisavings, it will be very busy. 
There has been damage to the railway embankment near Bridgnorth so trains cannot get there until the line is repaired. Travel can be very frustrating. We will look forward to a day out on the trains when it is quieter. 

I shall sort out a bundle of spare hankies for the Red Cross parcels, @alicef, a friend fills shoeboxes for the Christmas appeal. 

weenancyinAmerica

I have a tablecloth made out of handkerchiefs. I used to use it for my tea parties. 

kiwisavings

Glad to hear that your wool took less coupons than you thought @PipneyJane.

I was looking at Clare Bradley's Instagram the other day - Clare won the Great British Sewing Bee in 2020 and she has been following the 1941 clothes rationing for 8 years. She has posted her yearly coupon spend as she runs her coupon year from April to April. She had spent 43.5  coupons on fabric for a Victorian costume - this makes my 22 knitting wool coupon spend feel a little more justified. We are definitely in winter now down here in NZ, so I had better get my knitting needles moving.   

PipneyJane

kiwisavings said:

Glad to hear that your wool took less coupons than you thought @PipneyJane.

I was looking at Clare Bradley's Instagram the other day - Clare won the Great British Sewing Bee in 2020 and she has been following the 1941 clothes rationing for 8 years. She has posted her yearly coupon spend as she runs her coupon year from April to April. She had spent 43.5  coupons on fabric for a Victorian costume - this makes my 22 knitting wool coupon spend feel a little more justified. We are definitely in winter now down here in NZ, so I had better get my knitting needles moving.   

Thank you @k@kiwisavings .

When you think of the volume of fabric in a mid/late Victorian dress, 43.5 coupons is a steal! However, that’s definitely a middle class/upper class outfit. Our view is skewed by the portraits and photographs that survive.  The majority of women probably didn’t wear huge skirts, etc.  As well as costing more than several week’s wages, those outfits would have been totally impractical for working in a factory or on a farm.  

April to April makes sense, since that’s the British tax year and a lot of businesses operate with a 31st March year end for staff benefits.  (I believe the end of March was the end of the Roman tax year, too.  The British tax year ends on 5th April, which is a hangover from changing to the Gregorian calendar in 1752, moving the end of the tax year from 25th March to 5th April.)

Keep warm.

- Pip

Nelliegrace

I bought a bundle of vintage handkerchiefs for £3.84. It is exciting to unpack them and try to discover their history. Most are unused.

1 Mabel Lucie Attwell hankies, in Rayon, a popular design in the 50s and 60s. My sister loved those, but hers were cotton and faded with frequent washing. 
2 The white rayon handkerchief is marked CC41, a find for my collection.
3 Striped and coloured ladies’ handkerchiefs became popular when firms were forbidden to waste effort and thread to make embroidered and lace trimmed ones. Fine stripes are very 40s on Utility tablecloths and handkerchiefs. These in cotton lawn, with good hems were Utility quality, probably by Osman.
4 These are Rayon with a fine sheen on the fabric. 
5 I have seen similar patterns for sale as 1930s Rayon. (It was called Artificial Silk originally.)
6 I have laundered these to be sure, they are Rayon, 1950s by the design. The colours are vibrant with a slight sheen. When ironed the fold lines stay crisp. The package has is labelled 6 Ladies Handkerchiefs, and they are Rayon too, which explains why nobody was desperate enough to use them.
7 Nylon, Swiss tourist stuff, appliqué and hand embroidery, best described as pretty useless as a handkerchief. The label says, “Nylon.Wash and shake, Dry in seconds. Fresh as a daisy. No need to iron. Cotton decoration. Made in Switzerland.”
   The lace edged white handkerchief is nylon too. The folds are not crisp. 




From my collection.



https://www.lookandlearn.com/blog/14337/how-synthetic-fabric-helped-the-war-effort-in-1939-45/

https://www.tuppencehapenny.com/blog/fabric-of-time-rayon-part-2

Nelliegrace

The weather seems to be about to warm up. After about nine months in slacks and corduroy work trousers, it might be pleasant to wear a one of my old skirts or a dress. Elastic comes to mind, it does not last forever. 
I have bought essential underwear, 5 pairs of other undergarments 15 coupons. It seems a lot of coupons for six ounces of thin cotton fabric and five yards of knicker elastic. A warm coat or lined mackintosh uses fewer coupons. I understand why basic sewing skills were a necessity. 

Coupons used,

3  for a bathing costume.
2  for 2 pairs of ankle socks.
15 for 5 pairs of ladies other undergarments. Reduced to 10 coupons, with thanks to @PipneyJane.
Total 15 coupons. 

kiwisavings

Hi @Nelliegrace,

I was wondering if you could get away with 2 coupons per pair of underwear as per the "Assumptions for the Challenge" on page one of the Fashion on the Ration Forum.