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| @Lovedbylizzi |
Some of what I’m about to tell you may seem pretty obvious, but you’ll be surprised at the questions I get asked or reasons given to me as to why someone will not purchase an item, that I can clearly see they are loving! All of this could be done away with if you followed my basic rules below.
My advice is simply to make getting ready in the mornings or for an occasion easy, to get value for money out of your purchases by ensuring your items are working hard for you, but most importantly if there is something you truly wish to own or a new style you wish to adopt, to try to make this happen for you.
1. Great a seamstress (in fact get more than one!)
I have three to four people with various sewing skills, that I can ask to help me with a garment. Sometimes once they explain what needs doing I can actually do it myself and other times they sort it for me – you will be surprised too just how quickly they can turn it around. So start asking family and friends if they know how to sew, and if none (and I would be very surprised about this – sewing people don’t talk sewing, so it’s a hidden talent that they keep to themselves) then pay someone, shoe repairers generally have a contact.
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| Image from Pixabay |
In the last couple of weeks alone, I’ve had pockets taken out of my mustard trousers, and poppers put on maxi dresses – I would never let a potential “alteration” stop me from buying something to then explore if it’s possible to make it fit.
Don’t forget it’s only since the 1960’s we’ve been doing “off-the-rail” before that everything was tailor-made, and so really only about 80% of your garment is probably fitting you correctly at this moment.
2. Invest in a full length mirror
It’s a pet hate of mine if I stay somewhere and there is no full length mirror – what is that about? You need to see what you look like, from HEAD to TOE and then from BEHIND! I’ve been in hotel rooms where sometimes I have to stand on the bed or something to get an idea of what the bottom half is like and then create a picture in my head of what the top half and bottom half look like combined.
I own four full length mirrors and so if you don’t have one, please please please, invest.
3. Hang it together before putting it all on
I don’t have time in the mornings to put on lots of outfits (I occasionally have ‘a bit of a do’ every now and then) and I hate planning my outfits the week before, I like to wear clothes depending on how I feel that morning.
But I like to mix things up, and not wear it the same every time – and I’ve found using a hook to hang clothes whilst selecting other items like jewellery, scarves and bags, makes it all happen a lot easier.
In my current wardrobe I’ve had fitted (no nails option) a double hook (I got this from Homebase from their bathroom section) inside the wardrobe door. It’s high enough for me to hang my longest maxi’s so that I can take a step back and see how the outfit is building – you’ll be surprised how critical you can become when you look at things from this perspective – and therefore once you’ve got it all on, you are confident that you’ve picked a great outfit.
4. Remove labels from underneath your shoes
I frequently see well-dressed women walking along with the retailer’s price sticker still underneath their shoes – if you think people can’t see it, you’re wrong. When people walk behind you, you can see the soles of their shoes, especially walking up the stairs. I find the best way to remove the sticky dew, is to use a tiny amount of nail varnish remover with some cotton wool to clear it up – be very careful to not touch the material of the shoe. Or try popping into your local Timpsons and see if they have something to remove it.
5. Time to play
When you get new items or if you simply want to shop your own wardrobe, you need time to play. I highly recommend you do this at the start of each season, that way you don’t get to the end of summer, for example, and you’ve suddenly found an item in your wardobe or you’ve worked out a new way to wear a garment.
I think there is a myth that by doing this you waste hours, I completely disagree. You probably waste 10-20 mins each time you are getting ready because you don’t know how you wardrobe works together, if you tot this all up it’s a lot of time wasted. By investing some time every month to see what you have, what potentially you need – you save yourself time and money AND you’ll be more confident in what you are wearing, because you know it works as the test has already been completed!
If you want any further advice about your wardrobe management then get in touch via Social Media or by emailing me.
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To see more of my OOTD and what I get up to in-between blogging, follow me on Instagram @Lovedbylizzi. I also try to get my words out in less than 140 characters on Twitter (it’s a hard task!) – and then a great way to keep up to date with my blog is to follow on Facebook. See you there! x
