Sew and Save

I found a most inspiring small book published in Britain in 1941: 'Sew and Save' by Joanna Chase. It's a manual to assist women getting themselves and their families through war and crisis in decent clothes. The way she describes how to handle clothes when new, how to maintain them and  how to take special care; we can learn a lot from it in these days. In 1941 clothes were on coupons and money was poor. Nobody had too many clothes; however sustainability was not an issue back then. We in our times are struggling with our consciousness regarding the circumstances in the clothing industry, poor quality of cheap clothes an an ongoing fashion merry-go-round of 2 collections each year. In those days you had clothes that were produced in your own country, of good quality and were relatively expensive to buy. So taking care was important. Reading the book made me think how useful the descriptions and ideas are for us now. So here's the first:

TO PLAN YOUR WARDROBE
Every woman wants to be well dressed. At any time, but especially in war-time and now that clothes are rationed, this is a matter of planning rather than of plenty. So find five minutes to sit down with a piece of paper and pencil and plan your wardrobe carefully to fit in with the money you have to spend and the type of life you lead. Go over your existing clothes and make a list of what is still wearable, what will have to be replaced, and your next necessary and important 'buys'.
When you've done that decide on a colour scheme and stick to it, otherwise you'll find you have odd frocks that don't match your overcoat, or a sweater without a matching skirt, and not enough coupons to remedy these difficulties.