• Yip, here it is folks, you need to hand wash anything with even slightly delicate or fine fabric or anything you really want to last. Even on a delicate wash things lose their shape and fade faster washed in the machine. For more expensive items this will ensure they keep their resale value if you decide to sell them later on.
• If the thought of hand washing fills you with dread, try throwing them in after you’ve had a bath with your favourite bath salts or soap then 2 quick rinses and you’re done and your clothes will retain a nice scent.
• Downgrade!  If you have an item that has lost it’s shine but you still love make it work for you in another area of your lifestyle.  Your go to classy cashmere jumper not looking so classy after years of wearing it to work?  Wear it around home for cosy nights on the couch.  Your favourite night out jeans lost their mojo?  Wear them to walk the dog - he won’t notice.

Apologies for the long list but I hope you find some of these ideas and examples useful - this blog is a bit off topic for me but I think it’s really important not to have a “throw away” attitude when it comes to fashion.  Even if you’re tired of something, if you’ve looked after it someone else may get some wear out of it through a charity shop or if you on sell it.

Look out for my next blog at Easter - with Autumn in the air I'm thinking of doing "How to layer"
but I'm open to suggestions in the comments or by email.

Follow me on social media for ideas, inspiration and fun with fashion and style or - call me to book a free half hour assessment to see how we can make your clothes work for you.

​"Fashion is the voice we use to declare ourselves to the world" - Dawnn Karen - Fashion Psychologist

Here we are at the beginning of another month and, more pertinently to this blog, the end of #freshlooksfeb where I and a few of my colleages wore something different every day for the month of February. - (Except jammies day at the weekend but that's a given).

Why?
I wanted to see if by re organising your wardrobe, (see January blog the-simple-way-to-organise-your-wardrobe-so-youll-start-wearing-all-your-clothes-all-the-time.html), you would view your clothes in a different way and therefore wear more of them,  more of the time.

How'd it go?
The first two weeks were pretty much business as usual for me as I'm lucky enough to have a lot of clothes because: 

• They are my passion, they make my life better, and I love variety and compartmentalising for the different areas of my life.
• I am a very savvy shopper and get a lot of bang for my buck by utilising sales, Trade Me,         Designer Wardrobe, and Fashion Lane, where you can type in anything you're looking for and it brings up the cheapest place to get it online.
• I love op shopping (not for everyone I know but if it is check out my November blog on doing it the savvy way) - https://stylesavvychic.weebly.com/stylesavvy-wellington/how-to-op-shop-for-clothes-the-savvy-way
• I look after all my clothes whether they're from the High Street, an Op Shop or something Ive invested in - they deserve the same care.
• I know what suits me so don't tend to waste money buying things I won't wear. (If you need help with this part, call me for a free 1/2 hour assessment).                                                                                          

Back to fresh looks feb,  as I said the first fortnight was a doddle and I wore pretty much what I would have worn anyway but after that it got a bit trickier and this is where the organised wardrobe came into play.

You would assume that as a stylist who specialises in creating new outfits for my clients from their existing wardrobe it would have been easy to take my own advice, but once the novelty wore off I found I'm as likely as the next person to go with the tried and true or grab the nearest thing, (especially on Monday mornings).

However - I couldn't let the team down and so made the effort and was surprised and delighted with
some of the things I found and some ideas I had about wearing things in a new way.

​​For example:

• A mint green top I bought about 10 years ago and dressed up with mint green platforms to wear to a fashion show at Government House, (no less), and had a lot of complements on I might add.
• A silver slip dress that I normally wear at weekends - add a blazer and heels and it's tidy enough for work, swap to a denim jacket for going out that night.
• A black and white paisley sundress I bought in Santorini years ago and had forgotten about.​

​​​
​Conclusion:
By reorganising my wardrobe, (January Blog), and committing to wear something different from it every day, I really did give it a new lease of life and enjoyed the fresh looks and combinations I was able to achieve without spending a cent. 
It was a great way to weed out anything that wasn't working, if I couldn't bring myself to wear it, (even after a lot of thought around what it would work with), it needed to go - usually it was either uncomfortable, didn't suit my personal style or just didn't make me feel good - which is In my opinion the whole purpose of clothes, (apart from the obvious).

As I mentioned previously,I am lucky enough to have a lot of clothes and the things that don't date among them I have kept for years because I believe all clothes should be treated equal and looked after with the utmost care so, my next blog will be: 

​"How to look after your clothes to make them last".

Meantime check out my archives or follow me on social media for fashion and style fun, tips, ideas  and (I hope) inspiration.