This green outfit was in the window of Jarrolds. Would you pay £118 if one leg of the trousers was a couple of inches shorter than the other? We looked at it very carefully, and that does appear to be the case.
We walked to past a charity shop which has "designer clothes". They were selling a "distressed look" designer garment. A man's cardigan with damage to the ribbing - only £120, new price usually £580-£680.
I looked at Pigs' Ears in the supermarket, and considered attempting to make some silk purses from them.
In other news, our MP us stepping back from his role as a Government Minister, in order to take other jobs in order to make ends meet. He is getting very little sympathy from his constituents.
He earns £118K per annum!
Perhaps he should take some lessons in budgeting from the ordinary Norfolk people he is supposed to be representing.
Maybe if one had one leg a little shorter than the other, those trousers would be a very good buy? You and I might not buy those expensive items, but, I suppose other people might? Once, a long time ago, I went shopping with one of my cousins and she bought a dress for $120 and I thought that was very extravagant. I remember saying so to my mother, who pointed out to me that while I wouldn't spend that much on a dress, I wouldn't think twice about spending $120 on books (back when I used to buy books). As my mother said, we are willing to pay for what we consider to be important to us. By the way, my current budget for clothing and shoes is $10/month ($120/year).
ReplyDeleteYes, I guess we all pay for the things we consider important. As a student, I bought books rather than clothes. If I pay a lot for a garment, I expect to wear it for years!
DeleteI might not buy the designer cardigan, but there may well be someone who wants it, in which case the person who donated it has done a very generous thing, considering they could have sold it, and the charity's making money for their cause, which is good. And there are surely less expensive options in the charity shop for those who can't stretch to £120. Each to their own!
DeleteThank you Liz - yes the person who donated it WAS generous [these things probably sell well 2nd hand on ebay] And inside the charity shop there were cheaper garments [some lovely ones in my size, but I resisted them]
DeletePoor old MPs, having to have two homes so they can attend all those late night votes in the House, all that travel back and forwards to London. All the staff they have to employ to do all the work while they are stuck in meetings. Such a hard life!! No wonder his 118K doesn't go far!! (I'm being VERY sarcastic here just in case readers take me seriously!)
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget that some of those items are claimed back on parliamentary expenses, and do not come out of their own pocket. I remember a lovely interview years ago (in Good Housekeeping magazine I think) when author P D James was made a Dame. She was asked how often she'd go and sit in the House Of Lords. "Oh I don't know" she said. The interviewer said" it's £64 a day" and dear PDJ replied "then I shan't be able to afford to go very often" and was surprised to be told "No, that's what THEY pay YOU for expenses!" (now they can claim up £323 daily expenses) Come the election, I think GF is going to get short shrift if he comes round here canvassing for votes!
DeleteThe reason the MP has stood down from £118K salary shows why governments have such difficulty understanding the cost of living crisis and why many, many children and older people are living in poverty. It makes my blood boil! Catriona
ReplyDeleteHave a cuppa, and let your blood cool down! But yes, I agree
DeleteI could manage on that salary! I guess 100% of readers would say much the same. What a disgrace the man is. As to clothes, I'm happy to pay as much as I can afford for something that is really attractive....but, it's got to last. I'm still wearing 20 + year old jackets and coats, and I do look after my clothes.
ReplyDeleteShopping wisely and well is a good policy - and classic styles do not go out of date as quickly as "fashion" pieces. I shall wear my [inherited] Burberry raincoat until my daughter inherits it, I hope!
DeleteOh my high fashion! Not my cup of tea. And I won't get started on what I think of MPs. Our local MP was a good grass roots MP until last year when he became the head of the transport committee and has since taken the party line and whereas we often saw him out and about town, and he really represented the local people, now we never see him. I'm still sticking with buying no new clothes hope I can keep it up. Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteWell done on the less-clothes-shopping-resolution
DeleteI tend to buy the best I can afford but wear them for a long time and I have a winter/summer wardrobe making sure everything is put away clean and repaired. As for MP's who can't manage on their gi-normous salaries, how on earth do they think the rest of us cope. Xx
ReplyDeleteIt concerns me that they seem SO out of touch. I suspect that some are so ignorant of how families in poverty are managing, if told these mothers cannot afford bread, they'd reply "let them eat cake"
DeleteI love looking at the truly ridiculous, completely unwearable, fashion items in the Sunday supplements and marvelling at how much some people are willing to pay for stuff that, to me, looks like it wouldn't sell for pennies at a jumble sale. I know it is purely to court publicity, but I really feel for the models dressed up in flip-flops, a day-glo tutu and a jumper 5 sizes too big with an unravelling edge!
ReplyDeleteSometimes the outfits seem so ugly to me, and I worry the models risk broken ankles as they strut in vertiginous heels
DeleteI have seen some of my grandchildren wearing jeans with rips in them.......it's the fashion???? Must say I am pleased I am not a follower of fashion!!
ReplyDeleteI have been given ripped jeans - but mine have been beautifully mended now
DeleteThose so called fashion items made me laugh, as did the pigs ears reference 😂
ReplyDeleteAgree 💯 with your observations.
Alison in Wales x
🤣🤣🤣
DeleteI'm still in training for cleaning up my vocabulary for Lent (and thereafter, I hope) so I shall forbear to comment!
ReplyDelete😜
DeleteGeorge Freeman, before entering Parliament, worked in the field of 'Biomedical venture capital', whatever that may be. His salary then was probably far, far higher than the 'meagre' £118,000 p.a. that he receives as an M.P.
ReplyDeleteHe seriously needs a lesson in reality!
In this house, the designer 'distressed' cardigan would have either been tidied up with a single row of crochet along the edge, or, more likely been consigned to the bin! I may even have unpicked it to use the yarn again, but there's no way any member of my family would be allowed out wearing such a tatty looking garment, it doesn't even look fit to be a 'gardening cardie'! X
I think you have to be extremely youthful, tall, slim and confident , to carry off the 'distressed' look. If you are older, shorter, and less slim, you run the risk of looking like Compo from "last of the summer wine"
ReplyDelete🤣
DeleteI didn't comment on this yesterday as I went down a rabbit hole of looking at what current mortgage interest rates are and suddenly having a panic about how much extra interest I am likely to have to pay as of next December when our 1.6% interest rate ends and it looks like I might have to be paying the same amount as Mr Freeman with less than half his salary (almost 2/3 ) less i guess with triple interest. With the £500 or so train fares I pay every half term to get to school, it's going to be very tight but I guess I'll have to wait and see.
DeleteCan't imagine how it is for those on lower incomes than mine. Seems impossible!
I cannot imagine how lower income families are managing. I watched the clip of Keir & Rishi on PMQs, and I really didn't understand the PMs response about "help available". I looked it up online, and still struggle to see how it really helps in the long term (loans to be paid back with interest are a millstone) I continue to support local food banks...
DeleteI’ve never voted for George but have emailed him from time to time on various issues and have spoken to him directly about our local Foodbank. Until recently I usually had thoughtful replies and I regarded him as one of the decent one nation Tories. Now he just seems to regurgitate stuff written by Conservative Central Office and have little understanding of families living on the edge of poverty, unable to afford expensive school uniforms or basic dental checks given that Norfolk has almost no NHS dentistry left and dental emergencies are clogging up our A +E departments. His ex wife is a lawyer, his current wife a successful theatre director , I’m sure on his ministerial salary he could have easily afforded a flat in London, a house in Norfolk and the private school fees for his 2 children.
ReplyDeleteAnn Johnston
Thank you Ann. You are a long term resident of his constituency, and I know you've engaged with GF in the past. I didn't realise that about his wives (perhaps #1, the lawyer, engineered herself a very good alimony deal, which won't have helped his budgeting?!) It is good to read of his previous thoughtfulness - sad that he seems more focused on his own issues now.
DeleteI do ‘splurge’ on well made and comfortable shoes, boots and coats and then wear them for many, many years, so the cost per wear is probably less than it would be if I bought cheap and threw away. I know I’m lucky enough to be able to do this. All my other clothes (with the exception of underwear) comes from thrift and discount stores.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of how out of touch your MP is it makes my blood boil.
Perhaps you and Catriona above could form a support group for "those whose blood is boiling"
DeleteThat is too funny, the odd trouser legs. As for the cardigan, I just don't understand this business of "distressing" clothes. They are quite capable of wearing out on their own without paying a fortune for someone to make a mess of them! As for your MP, I hope he can find a job or two in fast food cafes. I'm sure he would realize then how the working poor struggle to survive.
ReplyDeleteNot sure he has the skillset required to flip burgers, and say"have a nice day! "
DeleteMy clothes tend to have a distressed look, but that's mostly because I'm too lazy to iron them!! Love FD xx
ReplyDelete🤣🤣🤣
DeleteAlan hates the fashion for ripped, frayed and holey jeans, every time he sees someone wearing them he says' aww we should give them some money to buy a nice new pair of pants, they are obviously in dire straights'.
ReplyDeletePerhaps he should ask if they are related to any impoverished Tory MPs
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