Another area they were asked to conserve in was their dress. From the above pattern book page: This year above all others waste must be avoided and women must devote more than usual care and thought to the proper selection of patterns so that no material will be wasted. The dress you make and never wear is the really expensive one. Why experiment when Pictorial Review Patterns guarantee perfect fit, advance styles, the chic you so much admire in French gowns, and the saving of from one half to one whole yard of material.
Slimmer skirts, narrower sleeves, false pockets, all ways to conserve fabric and money during a trying time. Making your own clothing rather than buying off the rack. Making over dresses from the previous season. Dyeing a white dress pink one year, burgundy the next, anything to stretch the budget.
These practices stood these woman in good stead a decade or so later when the stock market and US economy crashed.
Are you creative about conserving? Are you a coupon user, a saver, a budgeter and planner?
I'm a coupon cutter-forgetter. I mean to use them and leave them at home. Ugh! But I do have a budget and I plan out our meals, check pantries to see what I do or do not have and then make my list accordingly. Before that I had at least five full bottles of cinnamon. What's up with that?
ReplyDeleteI loved their clothing. Ah, sigh.
We are sisters of the soul. I clip coupons, and leave them, not at home, but in my PURSE! How dumb is that? Cut them out, plan to use them, remember to take them, then get home and find them cluttering up my purse. *facepalm*
DeleteCoupons? Budget? Not the way a Little Princess rolls. (-;
ReplyDeleteWhich is why Himself handles the food shopping budget.
Necessity is the mother of budgeting around here. If I can just remember to use the coupons...
DeleteI love the concept of being frugal, truly I do. I reality? If my kids, husband, even the dogs, want something, I try my hardest to find it. Not that we're an anything-we-see-is-everthing-we-get family, by any means. But when I put my Walmart list or grocery list together, yes, brand name ice cream and doggie treats find their way on it.
ReplyDeleteTruth to tell, I'm an impulse buyer supereme. Shhh, my husband continues to turn the other cheek when I come home with a bargain we didn't really need...
My husband has come to accept with grace the "Guess how much money I saved you today..." start to a conversation. He now forbears to mention that I'd have saved more if I hadn't bought the silly thing in the first place. :D He's such a good man.
DeleteOH wow, I need to work on conserving, couponing, all of that. Too much of the time, I'm just in a hurry. So if I happened to cut out a good coupon, I forget about it when I'm actually at the store. I tend to budget on the fly. Um, yeah, not so good. I should probably marry an accountant!
ReplyDeleteOr a fairly well-to-do totally-ripped football player. :)
DeleteI was amazing at couponing last year. But it actually takes quite a bit of time, time that I no longer have. We saved a ton of money by using it for non-edibles.
ReplyDeleteGood reminder to make things stretch!
You're right! Couponing takes time and planning. When those get in short supply, I go for convenient and quick and easy.
DeleteYep, definitely a coupon cutter and a money saver here. I've been known to by ramen because it's cheaper than Campbell's chicken noodle. How pathetic is that?
ReplyDeleteBut when it comes to Christmas presents, I'm not nearly as concerned about the price. Within limits, of course, but I'll always spend the extra ten bucks to get the gift that will really hit the nail for that particular person. I'm more focused on the person receiving the gift at that point.
Good job on the coupon cutting and money saving! :D You are your daddy's girl!
DeleteAnd yay for rockin' Christmas presents. :D