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More Wardrobe Lessons

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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

Wardrobe lessons

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Not taking the easy route

I recently offered to clear my late mother’s clothes. It was a joyful experience, as I had time to remember her in some of the clothes that I had seen her wear, and to reflect on a long and fortunate life. She enjoyed shopping for new things and using them.

My sister suggested I spend less time sorting them all and just take them to charity shops to be done with it. Clothes mean more to me than items to wear. They represent that person – their choice of what to wear in terms of colour and style, likes and dislikes. They tell a story of that person. My mum had never asked me to colour-analyse her (she believed that she knew what suited her), and being a jolly person who loved colour, she certainly had a variety of plain and different patterns in what I would describe as “all seasons” colours.

Although I believe everyone is unique, and they need to find their clothes to represent their personality, I also believe in recycling. It’s like when you’re looking at something on-line and now a pop up appears telling you x number of people have viewed that in the last 10 minutes! Where we don’t often think to have our clothes bespoke or make our own any more (well, most people don’t as it is no longer time or cost-effective), we do need to buy off the shelf from the range on offer, and that is going to mean that similar people will be buying the same item, even though they may have different lifestyles or personalities.

Recycling must happen

Mum’s clothes need to be found new loving homes to continue their story. They are too lovely to not land in the right people’s hands. I intend to make that happen, and there will be more blogs and information about that in the near future, especially as lots of them are summer fabrics. I am currently washing and tending to them to prepare them for their new owners…

5 reflections on wardrobe sorting

I have learned a lot through reflecting on her wardrobe contents, and how I found everything, but it also reminded me of key aims for my clients, such as:

  • If you organise your wardrobe somehow, you will avoid unnecessary duplication.
  • If you are able to see everything you have, you will wear it, and not forget you have it.
  • Hangers are important. Getting the right hanger for the task is vital: consider the hanging space, garment material, and shape and size of hanger.
  • Buying pieces that are laundry-friendly for you is as important as the colour and style. (If you have to have things dry-cleaned or ironed, and this is too much effort, you will not bother and therefore not love and wear them.)
  • We are psychologically invested in our clothes, whether we realise that or not. Of course there are practicalities, like how much space we have for these items in our lives, but clothes are so much more than “items to wear”. When we understand how our choice of clothing and presentation represents us, and what messages we are delivering, we can enjoy being ourselves more and being confident that we are dressing how we should.

If you would like to learn what comes of this wardrobe-emptying exercise, keep tuned, or get in touch with me. It’s going to be awesome!

Lockdown Wardrobe Clear-out

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Lockdown Wardrobe Clear-out

You’ve had a “lockdown” wardrobe clear-out, and you’re itching to get rid of everything now you’ve decided what’s going. However, the charity shops are going to be swamped with everyone’s things, and they’re busy coping with a “new normal” whilst Covid-19 is still out there. So your clothes may well sit in a back office for quite a while before they make it to the charity shop floor and find their way to their new home and benefit the charity. Well, here’s an idea…

Outside the box thinking

Your Colour and Style Consultant, Fiona, who’s on a mission to unite ladies, cost-effectively, with the right things for their wardrobes, so they look and feel fabulous and dress without stress, has “thought outside the box”.

To further protect people from Covid-19, and save some of the items piling up at the Charity shops, yet allow people to get “new” items to wear, Fiona’s come up with the idea of an ON-LINE LADIES CLOTHES SWAP.

Fiona has run several clothes swaps in the last year (sometimes called “swishing”), and this is a brilliant way to cost effectively clear out and improve your wardrobe. It’s also great for the planet, to keep clothes in circulation for longer, and if you can gain something that is better for you – through Fiona’s knowledge and experience as the intermediary – what’s not to love? Plus, importantly, you’ll still be supporting a charity by buying your ticket. Every ticket will send £5 directly to the charity, which on this occasion is The Trussell Trust.

CLIENT win, PLANET win, CHARITY win.

The Trussell Trust

The Trussell Trust is a UK charity, providing essential household food and items (like loo rolls) for people who desperately need them. More and more people are turning to the Trussell Trust for these basics as they are losing their jobs in these uncertain times, and they need our help more than ever.

The Straight Clothes SWAP -– the guilt-free way to SHOP!

Unused clothes hung in a wardrobe are no good to anyone!

THURSDAY 9th JULY 2020, 7-8pm

This is when the on-line party will take place, but hopefully all the items will be allocated a likely home before the “party” gets underway. This is just a fun way to see who might be receiving your item/s and generally meet and chat to like-minded people.

As it will be the first on-line swap Fiona has undertaken, tickets are limited, and so are the items you can swap. There will be a maximum of THREE items, and she’s going to concentrate on LADIES SEPARATES for this swap, ie

 

TOPS               Jumpers, T-shirts, Blouses, Cardigans, and Jackets.

 

BOTTOMS       Trousers (not jeans) and skirts.

What to do

Here’s what to do if you fancy getting involved and seeing what you could get in return for your unwanted items.

Before 30th June:

  1. Choose up to 3 separates. (You can still join in with just one or two items.) (A two-piece suit would count as two items.)
  2. Check they are stain free, and in good condition (ie no thread pulls or broken zips). In other words, check they are in a condition you’d like to receive and wear them.
  3. Buy your ticket on Eventbrite: £1 per item plus £5 charity donation, plus Eventbrite fee (all under £10).
    https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ladies-clothes-on-line-swap-shop-tickets-109383635398
  4. Take a picture of your item/s (ideally wearing it/them if possible) and send them with sizing information to Fiona (fiona.yourcolourandstyle@gmail.com) when you’ve bought your ticket, and before the end of June.
  5. The aim is that for each item you offer to the SWAP, you get something better for you in return. However, this can’t be guaranteed (due to sizing etc). Fiona will do her best to ensure you don’t lose out though.

Thursday 9th July 2020, 7-8pm

  1. Join the online party with the link you are emailed if you can. You will meet others, who may be a good match for you to swap clothes with in the future, and you will see what item/s you have in return!

If you can’t make the online party, don’t worry, Fiona will have paired your items up with someone, so the swap can still happen.

After the online Swap Shop

  1. When you agree to give your item to someone, note their name, bag it (or parcel it up to post) and clearly label your bag with their name. If you have 3 items all going to different people, you will have to have 3 different labelled bags/parcels.

You can post your item directly to your recipient, or drop it off at the drop-off point on Saturday 11th July 10am – noon, or contact Fiona to organise the item/s to be forwarded on.

Enjoy wearing your new garments, and see how many compliments you receive.