Earlier in the week, my friend Christy from posted on Facebook this image of a beautiful coat hand made by her grandmother, and the touching story behind it:

 

This coat was handmade (without a sewing machine) by my Oma (Dutch grandmother) during the Second World War. She was courting my grandfather (a British soldier), he had to return to the UK for a time and he asked her if there was something he could bring her on his return, she asked him for a woollen blanket so that she might make herself a coat as she didn’t have one at the time. This was during one of the harshest winters Holland had ever seen (the country was on its knees and the rural Dutch were practically existing on tulip bulbs) The coat must have been very important to her as she kept it her whole life and now my father has given it to me. It’s so timeless and chic, not just something for warmth; style was very important to my Oma and it comes across in this beautiful heirloom.

(Thanks Christy for permission to repost this)

It made me think about how differently we value clothing now in this disposable age – where I live (studentsville) I regularly see bins overflowing with discarded clothes – a new dress for each night out, bought cheaply, then discarded. So sad. Imagine instead my friend’s grandma, needing a coat so badly, finally getting the material, then lovingly hand-making the coat of her dreams and it lasting a lifetime (and beyond, handing it down through the generations).

The story also made me think of the lessons about dressing well I learnt from my mum and auntie (the two main adult females in my life growing up, then and now). Here are a few of them:

 

Care from the start:

It was clear to me growing up that attention to detail and fabric care went hand in hand with good quality. My mum would judge a shop on whether the clothing purchased was then wrapped with tissue paper between the folds or not by the sales assistant. These were the days before high street chains of course, and you certainly don’t get the same level of care now, apart from in boutiques, but this lesson is still a reminder to look after the fabric of your clothes from the moment of purchase – no scrunching into bags or drawers. Hang up or fold in drawer immediately when you get your purchase home, and take care to follow the washing instructions.

From my mum and auntie I had exact guidelines as how to hang different items on the washing line (socks by their toes, jumpers folded over and pegged under the armholes, tops pegged on the bottom seam etc.). And don’t get me started on the ironing rules! But the bottom line is, know how your clothes are made, and what care they require, and treat them accordingly.

 

Make sure those stripes meet:

I remember saving up for clothes for my Daisy doll – a set made up of a striped top, denim blue trousers, and red shoes and handbag, if I remember correctly. I was delighted when I got them home, but my auntie pointed out how badly made they were, because the stripes did not meet/line up exactly across the side seams (and she then lovingly hand-sewed all my dolls clothes, and she was more fashionable than anything Mary Quant could have come up with!)

I now check all clothing with stripes or a pattern – my auntie was right, having mis-aligned patterns makes any item look cheap, while even a cheaper item of clothing will look more expensive if the patterns match across the seams.

 

The devil is in the detail:

These two little things will make all the difference in making your clothes look expensive/good quality:

• Lining – a lined skirt or dress will hang better, and the lining protects the outer fabric, and stops it clinging to you, or riding round. I recently made a bad purchase of an unlined skirt, and by the time I got to work it had ridden up to be little more than a belt around my waist, with the back at the front (and I didn’t realise till I passed the reflective glass of the building I work in!). Never again – lining all the way!

• Hook and eyes – having a dress with a zip up the back that ends at the top without an hook and eye just feels wrong. Without, your zip can gape a little at the top, but with a hook and eye it leaves a neat and tidy finish (plus you know that if you develop a faulty zip your dress will not fall off due to being secured at the top!

 

I’ve found much more comprehensive advice on how to tell if a garment is well in a post by Recovering Shopholic, which is well worth checking out, but I consider the advice given to me by my mum and auntie as the basics. Follow them and you can’t go wrong – your clothes will thank you, and you will always look well dressed. I’m sure Christy’s grandma will have followed these rules too.

What about you? Are there any rules you follow when shopping for clothes? Or ones that have been handed down through the generations? Would love to hear in the comments below.