Winter clothing
The more of this credit crunch recession nonsense I read, the more I despair. Take this for example…
Winter is nearly upon us and with the cold weather comes the expense of buying new clothes to keep ourselves warm and those energy bills down.
There are several ways in which you can reduce the cost of your winter wardrobe, starting with only buying what you really need, and setting yourself a strict budget. Once this is done, a good place to start your clothes bargain hunt is by using online discount sites.
How about Mr Free Markets Reduce Your Winter Wardrobe Bill To Zero Plan? Just wear the clothes that you wore last winter. Numpties!
Now I fully appreciate that if you have, as we do, fast growing nippers, then last winters clothes simply won’t fit your children. Well in that case, launder the clothes that are too small & pass them on to a friend who has younger children. If you have sensible friends with older children, they will be doing the same for you.
Maybe it’s the pikey in me, but if a garment that I own doesn’t last at least 10 years, I want my bl**dy money back. I see no reason whatsoever to have to buy “this seasons great new look”. If you are stupid enough to be taken in by the advertisements, then you deserve to completely blow through your credit limit. If the increasingly bovine populous can’t work that out for themselves, the penury them awaits is completely justified.
Comments
I'm happy if something lasts 3 or 4 years, what with the climbing over barbed wire fences, pushing through bush lawyer, gorse and brambles, skidding down steep rocky banks, and all the other hazards of farming and hunting life :D
10 years means you do your hunting from the cab of a landie, not chasing frothing aggro wild piggies through the forst with a knife :D
Posted by: Rhys | October 28, 2008 1:32 AM
Bah! that will teach me not to check my spelling! should be forest not forst!
Posted by: Rhys | October 28, 2008 1:34 AM
Rhys, you mean you actually WORK in your clothes?
Levi's. The best, bar none.
A sweater, a tee shirt, wool socks and trainers (sneakers here). Boots only if it snows.
A heavy coat in January. I have had mine for 15 years.
It is my good wool Sunday-go-to-meeting coat. Still as gorgeous as ever.
A car coat. I have had mine for 12 years.
I knit the family socks and sweaters. No need for 'haute couture,' I design what I need and make it myself. I am no Slave to Fasion.
We already pass the outgrown clothes along and are grateful recipients to gently worn clothing.
But our lads are six feet tall, each.
If it isn't the clothing, it is the provender.
Posted by: Cricket | October 28, 2008 5:44 AM
Rhys, you are rather throwing down the gauntlet there old chap. Lets start with for example, your common or garden Barbour shooting jacket. It is pretty indestructible but when it does get torn, patch it up. The same goes for waterproofing. Once the water starts leaking in, buy a tin of re-proofing wax & get it sorted. The same goes for tweed breeks, leggings etc. Even when your leather cartridge bag falls apart … take it down to the saddlers. They will be able to patch it up for you.
However I am slightly off point here, what I rile against (in this instance) is throw away society. The clothes that you wore last winter as just fine this winter. If you need “this seasons must have look” you really need more perspective in your life
Posted by: Mr Free Market | October 28, 2008 7:55 AM
I have to agree with Mr FM about Barbours - I borrowed one from my father in 1980 and although it does need a bit of sewing round the pockets and the lining is somewhat ragged, it is still perfectly adequate for shooting, walking the dogs and keeping the rain off. I did try to return it to him and borrow a newer one a few years ago, but curiously enough, he seemed reluctant to see the benefits of the proposed swap...
The only reason I throw things away is when they cannot be mended anymore. Whish is why I still have a pair of my fathers shoes that he had made in 1962, the year of my birth.
Posted by: Nick | October 28, 2008 9:34 AM
I'm with Nick and Mr. FM on this issue. I don't mind spending a little extra, as long as said extra means that I get to keep it for the rest of my life.
I still have a skinning knife purchased in 1972. Because of near-criminal abuse and neglect on my part, the sheath fell apart (literally un-mendable) in about 1995, and I was forced to replace it. Needless to say, the replacement is lousy, and nothing like the old one.
Let that be an object lesson to others.
Posted by: Kim du Toit | October 28, 2008 3:14 PM
Kim: Call Ted Blocker, and ask him for a quote to make a proper replacement.
http://www.tedblockerholsters.com/index.php
http://www.blockerranch.com/
He's one of the few folks making custom police holsters left, and does everything else from tack to falconry gloves ... he should be able to make you an adequate replacement.
Posted by: Kristopher | October 28, 2008 5:04 PM
No Barbours here in NZ, about the closest we have would be a good oldfashoned woollen Swandri, I went and counted, I have 3 (three) items of clothing older than 10 years still in use, one is a 1944 RAF/RNZAF lancaster crewmans woollen overcoat that belonged to my Greatuncle prior to his plane going down with all hands, an old ex-military raincoat made before all this goretex craze, heavy rubberised nylon, and a pair of old army surplus John Bull boots.
Notice a common thread here? they're all military issue gear! If they can stand up to the rigours of military life, they're certainly able to manage civvy street :D
Posted by: Rhys | October 29, 2008 2:56 AM