Fashion: Clothing, How To Care For It And Why It Matters

Clothing is so important!! Most people don’t think of clothing as a tool. They just think of it as a necessity and then a luxury, but the truth is clothing can take a woman from boardroom to bedroom - or the other way around — and the clothing can make or break the success in both places!

If a woman doesn’t feel comfortable in her skin, forget it! Nothing else that day will work out. But that’s not all she has to feel comfortable in. If a woman doesn’t feel comfortable in her clothes, forget it again! She will not be able to express herself completely — whether it’s at work, at a PTA meeting or at a romantic dinner for two. Taking care of clothing is essential to feeling good in it.

If a woman is wearing a great wool sweater to a meeting, but is worried about moth holes, she’s not going to do her best conveying or even listening at the meeting. A part of her brain is going to be focused on those moth holes. Can they be seen? Are there more? What color is my lingerie, and is it showing through?

Here are some tips for caring for winter clothing:

1. Change out your closet. With each season, put away clothes you will not be using for that season, and bring out the seasonal items you own. This change out does a couple of things. It allows you to take inventory of what you have and what you need or what you no longer need. It also allows you to assess the condition of your clothing.

2. Make friends with your dry cleaner. Take care of any stains and rips early. Don’t wait. The longer a stain sets, the harder it will be to remove. Same with a pull or tear in a knit item of clothing.

3. Carefully put away clothing. Put the bikinis and the white linen trousers away with such care that when you take them out in June — or if you pull them out for a beach vacation in January — they will be in excellent condition. Use airtight plastic to store items. Label and organize what you’re putting away so you know where it is, and what you have in your containers.

4. Do not wash your suede or leather clothing. Dry cleaners will take care of these items for you. Do not do it yourself. If you can’t dry clean suede and leather clothing, don’t buy it. It needs special care. Same goes for silk.

5. Faux fur can be washed — BUT only when it is attached to washable fabrics. Many times faux fur is sewn onto suede, a material that should NOT be washed. If your faux fur is attached to suede or leather, send it to the dry cleaner. It’s more expensive, but you’ll get lots more wear out of it than if you try to DIY clean it.