2026 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Baileys_Babe

Lovely dress @Laura_Elsewhere

Thanks @Nelliegrace and @Cherryfudge for recommending the books and museum

daisy_1571

joyous dress Laura xxx

maryb

Now that I have sent back the jacket that didn't fit I have used exactly 66 coupons. If Marks are doing their cord jeans this autumn in colours I actually like I will have to go black market for a couple of pairs. Or maybe not. Last year it wasn't just that the colours were awful for someone with winter colouring, the quality was really poor.

I find with Uniqlo and Marks you get a couple of years of declining quality then quite a big price hike and a temporary return to slightly better quality - though never quite as good as it was. I really regret losing weight from that point of view but even though I tried to take in my old cord jeans they didn't sit right because I would have needed to shorten the rise and that involves a complete remake job

Cherryfudge

Great dress @Laura_Elsewhere - so summery! Now a matching yellow cardigan and you'd have an autumn outfit from it as well. But it's lovely as it is.

@PipneyJane , I'm thinking it's a gas mask case, just not one of the Mick3y Moose ones.

@maryb , I'm a fan of cord jeans for cold weather and have three pairs, none of which is a good fit. This is ridiculous!

On a different note, my 4 y.o granddaughter is a big fan of 'Princess' dresses and one of her favourites had a small rip in the net overlay. I've been offering to mend it for ages and she remembered today, so I stitched it closed but of course the stitches showed in the net, so I covered them with three little glittery star buttons. It was lovely to have her examine it and say 'Grandma, this is awesome!' but even better the way her face lit up when I said she could learn to sew. 😊

Laura_Elsewhere

@Cherryfudge - I have a sunflower-yellow fine-wool jumper that I plan to wear with it, if we have cooler weather that's still sunny, and I have a grass-green little cardigan which I have already worn several times. I never expected grass-green to work so well with the blue-background fabric! I had assumed I'd need a midnight or navy blue, but nope, the grass-green looks like the two were made to wear together! :)

My next frock is planned to be for spring, and a bit of autumn- it's a fine wool with about 10% silk, and it's a lovely soft drape, very lightweight. I shall line the bodice, but I shall make it so I can wear my brushed-cotton full-length petticoat under it, so it's useful for a range of weather. It's a plaid, I suppose, basically in several shades of warm brown and fawn, but with wide stripes in each direction in sage-green, soft-blue and pale-pink :)

maryb

Found a new with tags pair of M&S cord jeans on Vinted in a colour described as grape. I think I remember that colour from a few years ago when the quality was still good. £11.07 including all the extra costs and no coupons

Result!

I looked for a dark green pair but they only had one in long length. I'm debating. Easy enough to shorten

ETA musing on here helped me make my mind up. I went for it

MrsCD

Lovely dress Laura.....sunflowers…And Pockets!!!!

Well done maryb. It's hard to find clothes to fit.

thriftmonster

Oooh the wool silk mix sounds lovely @Laura_Elsewhere

I have to confess to having booked a train to Dewsbury tomorrow for the Fabworks 30th birthday celebrations. I'm not even thinking about coupons 🤪

maryb

I have a dress I made in a duck egg blue linen and silk mix and it is the best most comfortable and most useful thing in my summer wardrobe. Linen usually looks like a wrung out dishrag on me within five minutes but this DOES NOT CREASE! but it's as cool as linen and has a slight sheen to it which looks lovely in sunshine.

I sent off my Barbour to be cleaned and rewaxed yesterday. Ouch to the price! I think now that it will be five years old by next autumn I will rewax it myself. And a further ouch at the cost to send it off when I got to the Post Office - £4.42. I said to the chap I want the cheapest method that tells me it has been delivered and he grinned. It's all so confusing. I don't know why Barbour dont do what a lot of other mail order companies do which is to let you pay for postage through their website and give you a QR code which they can scan at the counter. The chap had to type the address in manually for the tracking which made it take longer than necessary

Wittery rant over. I do like the sutainability of a Barbour - my old one from before I lost weight lasted over 20 years and I actually rather like the patches Barbour sewed on. Plus it feels less like being wrapped in plastic than a down anorak. But it's not warm enough to wear as an everyday jacket in winter. Pondering a duffel coat

PipneyJane

@maryb if you‘re after a warmer winter jacket, take another look a the Barbour range. I have a “Mooring Jacket” from them, which is hooded, warm and waterproof. Even better, it doesn’t need waxing. I’ve used it constantly for about 20 years.

@thriftmonster I am so jealous! Have a lovely time.

I am spending today with a school friend, who is visiting the UK for a week. We’re meeting for lunch then off to the Proms tonight. She’s a prime example of “whatever life throws at you, make the best of it”, having worked her way from office admin to Board Member.

• Pip