A bad shift is better than none.

To the modern reader this might seem to have something to do with promotion at work but "shift" here refers to a shirt. It is another proverb encouraging people to make the most of something even if it is less than perfect. Similar to "half a loaf is better than none", it reminds us that today in the developed world we can take things like clothing for granted unlike our not-too-distant ancestors who found it a struggle to afford a decent "shift".