Since I have been preparing about 600 pieces for my “Sale Of The Century”, I’ve reflected on a few things which are worth sharing.
Washing
- Lots of these clothes washed up well and when taken off the line, didn’t need ironing.
(TIP: When choosing something, be aware of the material. I personally avoid linen as I do not like how most linens crease so easily and once washed take some ironing. Some other materials have more “give” in them too, which if you have more of a curvy body would be better.)
Although I advocate reading the care label, there is a lot of leeway. I had so many clothes that if one or two things got damaged/ruined it wouldn’t have been the end of the world – and they weren’t MY precious clothes. I did have a couple of interesting “mishaps”, and learned about using a Colour Catcher product – brilliant invention). Materials that wash well and don’t need much (if any) ironing are great pieces if you travel.
Range of colours
- Out of 600 pieces, there were all colours, except only 2 purple items and one silver, no grey. What range of colours do you have? TIP: If you hang everything in colour sequence, you can see.
- One of the things that is difficult to determine, is the range of a certain colour that suits you, for example purple. There are many shades of purple that would work in a “season”, but it can be difficult for clients to know which purples they could wear that are flattering. Some of the shades are difficult to determine for someone who has been trained like me, so I know how difficult it is for clients. This is why I have a free Facebook Group, where queries like this can be aired. If you would like to know more about that, please contact me.
Plain or patterned materials?
- How much plain, how much patterned? The advantages and disadvantages of plain v patterned will be the subject of my next blog. So, I invite you to just take a look at what you have in your wardrobe. If you have mostly plain or mostly patterned items, have you got room for more of the other? Why do you have less or more of one over the other – have you ever thought about it?
Separates are more versatile than dresses
- Separates are more versatile than dresses, eg if you get a mark, you may only need to wash one piece, not a whole dress (this will save detergent, space in the washing machine, water, and be less to hang up, dry and iron).
- You can use each piece more by mixing and matching separates.
- There may be less requirement for a belt too, with separates.
Belts
- Keeping belts separately – it appears my mum wasn’t the only one to do that – my sister confessed to that too. Yes, I keep my leather belts hung up together, separate from my clothes because they weren’t part of those clothes, but if the belts are cloth and can only be used with that item because the material matches (ie they were sold together), why not keep it on the hanger for that garment (if not in the belt loops), whether you want to use it or not?
Safety pins
My mum was still teaching me things after she’d gone! Lots of her clothes had safety pins on them. She obviously thought it would be handy to keep them there. She used to use them to keep her napkin in place when it became more difficult to bend down and pick it up if it fell off her lap. Unfortunately I wasn’t looking for those before putting things in for wash – I was just looking to extract paper hankies from pockets! The pins survived the wash with no problem, thankfully. Anyway, I decided to keep a couple of safety pins in my handbag. Well, why not I thought – they’re lightweight, and you never know when you might need one. Having never had them in my bag for years, suddenly now I have them I can find uses. Who knew!
If you would like more of these such tips, why not book your 30 minute personal appointment with me and we can talk about anything to do with clothes, make-up and accessories that you like. Plus also, your £10 for this will go to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. And if you want to pick up any bargains from these 600 pieces on offer, the amazingly reasonable prices will also top up the Air Ambulance coffers. Recycling, supporting charity, grabbing a bargain and having my impartial professional input along the way: what’s not to love?
Contact me on 07469 246722 to book your appointment in May. I can’t wait to meet you!
Fiona
