To realise I like old lady things

[AiryFairyMum]

I bought some Yardley perfume for my grandmother and haven't been able to give it to her due to lockdown. I really like it and am going to buy some for me.
Also, I've started looking at those pointy cross-your hearty bras and thinking they look comfy and I quite like the shape, without having to cope with underwires (which I hate).
I'm 37, not 73. Are there any other old lady things I might like please?

First by Van Cleef and Arpels is my mother; Shalimar my grandmother
Anita Brookner

@Chouradanilova

Pears soap, comfy shoes, knitting, Youth Dew and Mitsouko scent, an absorbing novel, my Lorna Hill Wells books, Ovaltine and a walk around an antiques centre or antiques fair followed by a cup of tea, a slice of cake and a nice sit down.

Mitsouko is lovely.

Oh I have Chanel soap that my gran buys me every Christmas - she got my favourite, Coco Mademoiselle, last year. I am currently crocheting a cardigan and finished a shawl recently. I did have a tea leaf strainer ball that DH bought me, but it was in my locker at work and while I was on bereavement leave after DH died, we had new lockers and the stuff out of mine disappeared

• midsummer murders

-proper loose leaf Yorkshire Tea -cake of any sort -cream tea -cardigans with everything

• a visit to a proper play or to listen to symphony orchestra

-radio 4

• hot buttered toast

-merino wool vests in winter

• real vintage coats from the 50’s and 60’s - have had several since my 20’s😁

-woollen tights in winter -big knickers - late convert but it is winter here and I just bought a pair merino ones - heaven.

@SymbollocksInteractionism

I love my electric blanket. I also love a proper granny blouse, I have a lovely one I picked up in a charity shop complete with pin tucks. I wear it with a brooch

Do you wear the brooch over the (done up) top button?

In which case you are my granny! (looking good for 132 )

@AndNoneForGretchenWieners Really sorry to hear about your DH and his gift.

Woodhill No just out in the centre - it has changed a lot. When I used to go there, they still had Woolworths! It had a stand in the centre - the shoping bit where Marks is .Not that exact spot but in that part of the centre if you know what I mean. It was like a stall on its own. I haven't seen it since

Massive knickers. Bought when pregnant and never went back to anything else. I loves my pillowcases

Talc - ordered some along with my shopping order, expecting to use it on the kids (kid's was out of stock) and kept it for myself. I can't remember the name of it but reminds me of old ladies.

Does Pears soap count as old lady-esque? I've also recently ordered a bottle of Pears body wash and that's lush too.

Next time I go to a National Trust property or garden centre and I see a woman in pearls/cardigan/tweed etc I'm going to be wondering of she's one of you lot! My secret mumsnet granny tribe friends!

Forgot Ringtons tea!

Maybe the mumsnet scarf needs to change to mumsnet pearls

I forgot poodles.And Jane Austen.

Ahh I love poodles and Jane Austen too! Emma is my favourite (novel, not poodle).

@death

Yes definitely changed, I used to love Woolworths and Owen Owen did have lovely china, now sports direct

Never heard of Ringtons tea and the delivery man! Tell me more?

ringtons
We have a ringtons man in a van who is very very good at persuading me to buy biscuits unfortunately

Always coral/red lipstick, proper 50s style
Cross stitch
Calligraphy
Cat tatornaments
Non-wired bras
Elasticated waistbands
Classic FM
Feeding and talking to the little birdies
Saying to my OH that it's turned out nice again, but I don't listen to George Formby

Ironed white cotton bedding. I spray it with lavender water.

Also, a string bag makes a fantastic salad spinner - just line with kitchen towel, pop the washed leaves inside, step outside the back door and whirl above your head.

Polished shoes. I have an old biscuit tin that holds tins of shoe polish, dusters and brushes.

mog, well I never!

This thread is like a warm, cosy cuddle so reassuring and loving. It reminds me of my grandmother who I never properly appreciated when she was alive but I have so many memories of her and her funny, lovely ways.

I'm embracing my inner old lady with pride off the back of this thread and I'm going to let her shine.

DP, bless him, is obviously turning into a little old man as he likes the same sort of things as I do as has come home with a load of things that feature on lists here -

Growing roses
Growing veg
Feeding the birds (he goes out for birdseed once a week and in winter, he came home with two packs of beef suet 'One for dumplings and one for the birds')
Homemade jam
Lemon curd
Scones
Clotted cream
Homemade fruit cake
Cherry Madeira
Battenberg
Eccles Cakes (for him, I'm not keen)
Fig Rolls
Garibaldis
Crumpets
Toasted teacakes
Car sweets
Toffees in different flavours
Crackers and cheese
Gin
Sloe Gin/Damson Gin/Gage Gin with bitter lemon
Pears soap/Coal Tar - Pears isn't the same, but having Psoriasis means we still get access to proper coal tar bath stuff.
Rosewater
Lavender
A quilt under the base sheet for extra cushioning over the memory foam topper
Proper sheets
Blankets over the settee. And cats taking up most of the room on the blankets.
Homemade ham (as in get a gammon joint, season and flavour it, then keep little blocks in the freezer to bring out and defrost for sandwiches with pickle and cucumber as and when)
Cooking from scratch. Especially breads - with things like poppy seeds.
Cornishware
He fancies a footstool/pouffe so he can put his feet up after work. After the way he reacted to being given trunks rather than cotton boxers at Christmas, I think I can say he likes comfy pants. He's not allowed to go any more old Man than that, though.
Soft socks.
Proper Sunday Dinner
Tea in a teapot and china mug
Side plates for lunches and snacks
Bath Salts
Pond's Cold Cream - the best thing for getting make up off without leaving you feeling like you've been peeled. He uses something very similar to shave with when he isn't using his Philips shaver (which he asked for at Christmas)
Hats. Keep you from a sunburned scalp, heatstroke and protect your eyes.
His first response if I've actually put some makeup on is 'you look lovely'.
He likes the white stripe emerging from the top of my head. And because I am paler than I used to be, I've started using pale non glittery eyeshadow in pink tones and rather less eyeliner - he says 'It's very pretty'.
Vintage/Antique furniture in solid wood
Curtains - and on his request, nets for privacy (he put them up)
Tons of houseplants - especially spider plants, but he's suggested getting an Aspidistra.
Sweet peas
Sweet Williams
Pinks
Honeysuckle
He puts Gardeners' World on for me every Friday. And Springwatch when that was on.

He's just bought me a silk pillowcase to go on my S pillow and wants one of his own (says he doesn't need a silk pillowcase as he doesn't have enough hair for it, though).

His last suit was chosen because of the weave and weight of the fabric, not the cheapness. So it's a sort of tweed. And he has 'proper' shoes now, instead of fashionable ones. It goes well with the tweed caps he wears - to protect his head, thanks to going bald at 22 (and he said baseball caps and bandanas just looked stupid - without needing to be delicately told).

He grew up in the countryside/arse end of nowhere. I think these things give him a little bit of that even though we're not living there.

He sounds lovely 🌺

@intermittentparps
My Ringtons delivery man comes round in a little caddy van every other Wednesday.
He trots up the drive, wicker basket in hand and generally has exactly what I want in there because I have the same stuff each time. Their gold blend is amazing and the earl grey assails the nostrils every time you take the lid off the tin to make a brew.
He asks me how my DS is doing and tells me little anecdotes about his children 😂
The biscuits are gorgeous too but I try to avoid the temptation by not letting my eyes linger on the basket for too long. I generally buy more than I need as the thought of having to return to supermarket teas fills me with horror. They're lovely to gift and everyone comments on how nice the tea is when they come for a cuppa. I've turned into a tea snob!!

On another note, please can someone explain to me the joys of bar soaps? Ive never really got them. What happens when they lose their cute branding and they just look like a standard slab? Do you keep using them till they disappear or do you chuck them once they get to a sliver? And do you find yourself chasing them round a sink more often than not? I've seen some lovely looking french soaps on chateaudusavon that I'm tempted to buy but I'm not sure I'm going to use them!! I just like the idea of washing my hands with real soap scented with Provence lavender 😍

Thanks, Bananas. I can't say I'm not tempted

[quote BananasBananas]**@intermittentparps
My Ringtons delivery man comes round in a little caddy van every other Wednesday.
He trots up the drive, wicker basket in hand and generally has exactly what I want in there because I have the same stuff each time. Their gold blend is amazing and the earl grey assails the nostrils every time you take the lid off the tin to make a brew.
He asks me how my DS is doing and tells me little anecdotes about his children 😂
The biscuits are gorgeous too but I try to avoid the temptation by not letting my eyes linger on the basket for too long. I generally buy more than I need as the thought of having to return to supermarket teas fills me with horror. They're lovely to gift and everyone comments on how nice the tea is when they come for a cuppa. I've turned into a tea snob!!

On another note, please can someone explain to me the joys of bar soaps? Ive never really got them. What happens when they lose their cute branding and they just look like a standard slab? Do you keep using them till they disappear or do you chuck them once they get to a sliver? And do you find yourself chasing them round a sink more often than not? I've seen some lovely looking french soaps on chateaudusavon that I'm tempted to buy but I'm not sure I'm going to use them!! I just like the idea of washing my hands with real soap scented with Provence lavender 😍[/quote]
I think it's a tactile thing - when you have liquid soap, it's run the tap, thump the top, wash, rinse and dry, but with bar soap, you run the tap, pick up a bar that has often been designed to fit around your hands, you feel the soap start to soften, you get the sensation of the soap getting more diluted, you massage your hands slightly to get it all over as the scent gets stronger, you put the soap back on the dish, then massage your hands some more, rinse and then dry.

It makes you stop and take the time to do something, rather than a functional wash.

And yes, the scents in proper soap are very different - I think they're more complex/richer, as they aren't all diluted down into a bottle, especially when they use essential oils rather than synthetic scents and foaming agents.