Keeping things for best, I’ve turned into my mother! ?

Last winter I decided that I was not going to save clothes for best, but have the pleasure of wearing them all the time. I cleared my wardrobe and began. Then came sheltered lockdown and I gradually slid into wearing the most comfortable of the clothes saved, and realised that actually I am still saving clothes for best. Must try harder!

My mother used to buy expensive clothes for me to wear to church on Sundays. Such a waste because I grew out of them fairly quickly.

I have the most comfortable pair of everyday trousers but I had a look at myself the last time I wore them- there were more holes than a sieve and the top was well over 20 years old but has seen better days now.

I have cardigans hanging in my wardrobe- for best. That will change tomorrow.

We grew up using the inherited linen, china, glassware and silver, with the very best brought out for visitors. I was always wary of breaking or scratching things.

I've deliberately gone the opposite way, going for basic stoneware and cheap plates - and never made a fuss about breakages when the kids were here.

Still, I remember the strange items we took for granted, like cruet sets, special mustard and egg spoons, silver egg cups!

I don't keep 'best' clothes for special occasions. I like to wear them in and get used to them instead. It cheers me up to drift about in a beautiful dress - for no particular reason.

I recently discovered that my mother has kept all the clothes I bought her as gifts over the year and never worn them - they are apparently 'too nice' for everyday wear and she rarely goes out anywhere so she has never worn them. I asked her why she didn't just take them back and exchange them for something she wanted but she doesn't like to do that. So she has hundreds of pounds worth of moth eaten (probably) jumpers, skirts and blouses sitting in a cupboard

A dinner service (it can't go into the microwave) but it used to get more airings before lockdown. Crystal glasses (they can't go into the dishwasher), but generally, no, I use things.

My MIL kept things for best so I inherited a lot of brand new towels which we use, a great pile of collectable tea towels (actually I don't use those but would if I ran out!).

DH's aunt had some lovely things and I remember DS, then about 3, admiring her china when we went round for tea; he said "That's very smart, Aunty" . She said "I think if you've got it, you should use it".

That was my mum too. Such a waste. ?
When she was in a long term geriatric unit, I had to buy a whole new wardrobe for. She was transformed the first time I went to see her after being transferred from hospital.
The staff had done her hair ( hadn't been to a hairdresser in years) and she was wearing the new clothes, I had bought.
She lost so much weight, the nice, unworn clothes in the drawer were useless!

I never keep anything for best. Why have it if you do not use it.

I have just folded and put away a beautiful ribbon lace bedspread, hand made by a lady for her marriage bed, which she then considered too good to use. It is over 100 years old and I have used it as a bedspread on our bed, then the visiters bed for nearly 40 years. It is now very fragile, the cotton fabric is rotting in places and the lace is a bit ragged where it has split and been repaired, very inexpertly by me.

I love it and visiters always admire it. It was once beautiful, it now has remains of its former beauty, but it has had 40 years of careful use and admiration.

I have a canteen of cutlery which my father bought my mother decades ago. I use it on Christmas Day, and that’s it! I had to buy a new container a few years ago as the weird spongy lining had disintegrated.

If my nan felt really under the weather, she would put on her best nightie, just in case, and tried to lie straight.
We always joked that she must have been quite cross when she woke up.

What a lot of pleasure you and other's have had from that bedspread Monica. Much better to have enjoyed it rather than keeping it pristine in a drawer. I am going to take a leaf out of your book from now on. Also Hetty58's. I prefer dresses to trousers so I am going to put on one of my favourite floaty ones tomorrow ...just because I can.

I’m not too bad with clothes, although with lockdown I’m hardly going out and wearing basics, but always nice perfume I’ve a lovely royal creamware dinner service - totally impractical as it’s very fine China and has latticed edges. A huge Arthur Price canteen of cutlery is only used at Christmas now. A glass of wine in the garden was always in cheap Paris goblets bought for the purpose, but now the children say they don’t want our crystal, I intend to use that next year and if it gets broken, so be it.

About 2 years ago I began giving “good things” to people I knew admired them or would love having them. Some are expensive, others not so much. I love to see their expressions and usually have to explain I am not dying, but want these items used. It is such fun visiting them and seeing the things in use as I feel they should be. I do have some things put aside for family in my will, but love knowing they will not have the task of clearing house when I go is a gift for them.

Even for things he needs, DH “matures” things in his cupboard for at least 6 months before using them. The only exception are underwear and socks. ?
Me? I’m the opposite, impatient and try to wear stuff ASAP. No smellies though as I’m allergic to anything with perfum ?

MissAdventure ???

In my parents’ first home we only used the dining room on Christmas Day. In our next home they had a Breakfast room where we ate and yet again only used the dining room at Christmas.

My father was given a Viner’s cutlery set after 25 years with his business. I inherited this and used it annually and when I open the polished wooden box the smell is evocative of happy family celebrations with my parents. Sadly I haven’t used it for about 10 years as you can’t put the cutlery in the dishwasher.

Thank you Mary for starting this thread full of memories.

This thread resonates very much, but our parents generation lived through the war and rationing, they didn’t have much, so things were ‘kept for best’.

As a child of the 50’s, this was instilled into me too. I don’t buy many clothes, lots of the things I wear are years old.

Lockdown has seen me use up various soaps, body lotions, hand creams that have resided in the bottom of the wardrobe for years, I will soon have to go out and actually buy some.

MissAdventure, hilarious post.

I use everything, nothing ever stored away for best, don't see the point.
Only things ever boxed up are the C....... decorations, they see the light for 12 days once a year.

I think that there is a difference between thigs 'saved' and things just used occasionally.

Like others I have a beautiful Wedgwood dinner service and silver plate set of cutlery. When we married it was used a lot, Sunday lunch and when we had visitors around for a meal.

We do things differently now: entertaining is more casual and, even before COVID dinner parties are well in the past. But, as others have said, it comes into use at Christmas, but for the whole of the Christmas period, not just Christmas day. We have a dining hall, rather than a seperate room and once the table is opened out and decked for Christmas, the good china and cutlery is part of the decking, so to speak

I was having 'sort ot' under the stairs ast week. I have a Royal Albert teaset and some other old bone china tea sets. Beautiful cut glass tumblers and wine glasses. We never use any of them. I sent pics to my daughter and to my delight she loves and wants some of the bone china. She wants to 'feel' the glassware!! lol I am so happy and she is very welcome to it all. Show anything like this to DD or GD you may be surprised. Vintage things are always appreciated by someone.

MissA that made me laugh.

Your mother and my mother both.

My Mum died exactly 40 years ago next week. I had just moved her into sheltered accommodation and had partly finished unpacking for her. Among the clothes I found wrapped in tissue paper was at least a dozen new soft woollen jumpers. She always wore her oldest clothes and kept these and many other clothing items for best.

It's a habit I picked up, but have tried hard ( with a lot of nagging from my daughter) to break.

I went back the next day to finish the unpacking and found my mother dead in bed. That should have been enough to make me live for today, but it wasn't. I'm 70 next year so now is the time to get a grip and use nice things now !

Best is for now, enjoy all the loveliest things you have now. And if you have put away presents that you don't really like then gift them to friends or charities and brighten someone else's day. Never put off until tomorrow, enjoy and have fun today x

After my grandmother died I went to her house where her 2 (slightly) younger sisters were sorting through her things. All the Christmas and birthday presents I had ever bought her were untouched in her bedroom. A pile of jumpers, vest, cardigans, scarves, gloves and nightwear etc. Even a cushion I had embroidered for her at school with the colours chosen to match her sitting room! The sisters wanted me to take everything for myself and were very surprised when I refused. My grandmother was 89 and I was under 30 at the time!

I have a ‘kept for best’ dinner service. The problem is, I don’t really like it any more so when we need new plates and stuff I go out and buy them.

So often I receive a lovely bar of soap as an extra with birthday or Christmas presents so I have used lockdown to start working my way through them all. Cleared out loads of clothes and try and rotate, luckily nobody buys me clothes as a present. albertina very similar thing happened with my mum but she was in her sheltered accommodation for a while, loads of unworn everything and bars of soap and 'smells' I did keep telling everyone she only used Lifebuoy!