How to Successfully Shop Your Closet

As part of achieving budget friendly style, you must become an expert at shopping your own closet. The more you are able to effectively create new looks from pieces that you already own, the less you will have to spend on buying new pieces to transform your look.

Green With Envy by lesliemccain featuring a swarovski crystal bracelet

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How to Protect Your Fashion Investment With Care Part 1

Style on a budget is a combination of creating fashion forward looks without breaking the bank. Once you have scored that all important good deal, you must then follow certain steps as a means of extending the life of your wardrobe. The following is the first in a two part series on how to protect your wardrobe investment.

Storage

Storing your garments properly is an essential part of extending the life of your garment. If you are storing your clothes for a season or longer, then ensure they are stored in a place that is free of moths, moisture or sunlight, all of which will damage your wardrobe. 

Creative New Uses For Clear Nail Polish
Shiny clear nail polish isn’t just for solidifying a great manicure anymore. You can actually use your nail polish to extend the life of your garments. When you first get a new top, seal the buttonhole with clear nail polish in order to avoid losing a button to a snagged thread. You can also use clear nail polish to seal the ends of your shoelaces in order to avoid deterioration.

Extend the Life of Your Handbag
Moisture mean death to a leather handbag, so it is important to store your handbag properly when it is not in use. Store your handbag in a dry location and then stuff it with newspaper and leave it unzipped in order to absorb moisture and retain shape. 

Extend the Life of Your Shoes
Shoes are another large wardrobe investment. In fact, I have two closets devoted entirely to my shoe collection. It is important that you care properly for such a large investment. Use spray starch on fabric shoes in order to avoid having dirt sink into the fabric and stain the shoe and breakdown the fabric.  If you find that your shoes have become wet with sweat or moisture, sprinkle the inside of the shoe with salt to absorb moisture and eliminate odor.

Caring for Patent Leather
Whether it is your shoes or your handbag that is patent leather, either way proper care is essential to extending the life of your purchase. Use vinegar in combination with a soft cloth as a method to return the shine to your patent leather.

Creating A Flattering Wardrobe

In the latest edition our Fashion Friday Challenge we tackle the touchy subject of creating a flattering wardrobe.  The first point that we need to get out of the way is that no matter what your shape or size is, you can still create a flattering wardrobe. Part of your wardrobe journey has to involve embracing who you are. No one is perfect, so your own appeal first centers around knowing that you are who you are for a reason. Embrace that and that confidence will automatically translate into fashion forward style.  Once you embrace who you are, the next steps to creating a flattering wardrobe revolves around several key style selections.  In previous posts we tackled the styles and colors that are must haves. Today we will tackle the specific pieces and characteristics that create a flattering wardrobe.

Creating a Great Fit by lesliemccain featuring a navy jacket

Everyone Has A Favorite

We may not all admit it but we all do it. Everyone has that one favorite thing in their closet that they just can not live without.  Some people base their choice of favorite on sentimental value. Some people base it on the great bargain that they found. Still others base their love on the way they look in an outfit. Bottom line everybody does it, and I am no different.

I did a survey a few months back on what was the one item that people just could not live without. The responses ranged from one end of the spectrum to the other, but everyone had an answer. Even the men got in on the action giving a shout out to their favorite brand of tennis shoe or favorite team shirt. The most interesting part of the survey to me was not what they chose but why they chose it. We all have a love of fashion, but we are drawn to our likes and dislikes for very different reasons. Those reasons are part of what makes up our overall style and makes us unique.

The favorite piece I own in my closet is a black leather jacket. I got it fifteen years ago as a Christmas present. It was the first Christmas I spent with my now husband. We had only been dating for about six months and I was not expecting much. That morning, I woke up and there it was under the tree, wrapped in a big box with a bright red bow. I was stunned. I was even more surprised when I found out the lengths he had gone to ensure that it was the perfect fit.  He enlisted the help of a friend who was the same size I was and spent the entire afternoon roaming from store to store to find the perfect jacket. He was looking for the right color, the right style and most of all the right sleeve length. I am not even 5 feet tall, so buying off the rack and getting a perfect fit is not always an option.  Mind you, this is a man who times my visits to the mall down to the second when he is ready to go. The lengths he went to to ensure that I had the perfect Christmas morning warmed my heart. I knew then and there he was a keeper, and every winter when I pull the jacket out of the closet, I am reminded that I was right.

The moral of the story is simple. Embrace what makes you you and shout it to the world in your style. Find a way to relive those treasured moments through the clothes you pull out of your closet, and give yourself a reason to smile daily. I do.