Silks and satins put out the fire in the kitchen.
Meaning: Luxury goods cannot substitute for practical necessities; fine things won't feed your family or sustain basic survival.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
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