The following is an exerpt from the Daily Telegraph. Finally, I am chic!!

Hard times force a return to old-fashioned virtues

IT’S called “thrift chic” – and it could be the trend that saves your family’s budget. Old-fashioned values – prudence, frugality, moderation and temperance – are the cornerstones of a back-to-the-future way of shopping.

Social analyst David Chalke says a resurgence in the number of people looking to save money by honing their domestic skills is a direct response to the economic crisis. DIY goods and services are benefiting as consumers make use of skills they had acquired, then forgotten. “It’s this whole notion of prestige from being frugal – there’s almost been a backlash against the materialism of the 1990s,” Mr Chalke said. “You find all these old Protestant virtues coming together. “People are saying: ‘I really don’t need to spend $500 on a frock – I can go down to the Salvos, buy a little black dress, run it through the sewing machine and be terribly proud to tell my friends it cost me only $50.’

” Business was “booming” in the shoe-repair industry and TAFE courses and sewing classes were in high demand, Mr Chalke said. “You’ve also got a lot of baby-boomer women, who already have the skills, returning to those older values of industriousness, thriftiness and productivity,” he said. Even those who struggle to achieve results on their own are looking at other options in a bid to cut costs. Joanna Lichi, manager of Sydney tailoring service Sew Special, said there had been a change in the type of garments brought in for alteration. “More people are bringing good-quality, old-season clothes to be fixed, instead of buying new ones,” she said.

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Gotta be worth checking out….

Thanks for all of the lovely comments about friends in our give-away here. We love hearing from you – although our stats tell us your reading, nothing makes us feel more warm and fuzzy than a comment. Keep ‘em coming!

Anyhoo, on with the anouncement: Congratulations Marie for your lovely comment,

“My granddaughter Bonnie and I love to have garden pinics”

Obviously, combining friends and gardens – you had to be the winner! We have Natalie’s “Friends from the Garden” pattern for you. Call in to the shop, or let us know your snail mail address. Congrats!

**A quick shout-out to Kylie and Rach – sorry for delay, your surprises coming soon!

As a Mum, this is an issue close to my heart. I have struggled with my own body image for years, and am very concious of not passing this on to my own daughter (or son). But our kids are surrounded by perfection, as in altered and unrealistic images. A national advisory group has been set up to adress this issue.

I know, this sounds a bit lame, but it’s an acknowledgement of the issue if nothing else. It’s goal is to make the fashion/mag industry more accountable and transparent as to altering images etc. Interesting stuff, more on it here. 

I think we should make sure all the young girls (and boys) in our lives see the Dove Ad.

Gettin’ off my soap box now. But would be interested to hear other peoples views.