25 Tips Every Sartorialist Should Know
We sartorialists and fashionistas should help one another keep our fashion IQ's tip-top. Many of these tips and tricks may come as no surprise to you but, a handful of them may just save your most precious garments or breathe some new life into your wardrobe.
Use white wine to remove red wine stains.
If you don’t have time to try on jeans in the store, try the Neck Method: Determine your size by placing the waistline of the jeans around the diameter of your neck. If the waistline of the jeans comfortably meets at the back of your neck, then the jeans will fit. You might get some odd looks, but it works like a charm.
Break in stiff shoes by slipping them on with thick socks and blasting your feet with a hot hairdryer. Warning: Things might get a little toasty.
To play it safe, combine a neutral - like flax, with something bolder - like yellow. But think twice about pairing intense hues with black, which can look dated. For something more modern, try two colours that are beside each other on the color wheel, such as coral and orange.
Cashmere is best washed by hand. To dry your favourite cashmere sweaters use a salad spinner to release excess water in seconds.
To achieve a perfectly effortless cuffed sleeve, keep the top button or gauntlet buttoned while you roll.
To stop angora or mohair from shedding, fold the garment, place it into a zip-lock bag and freeze it for at least three hours.
Wondering about the quality of your cashmere? Gently stretch the body of the garment to see if it snaps back. A lower-quality cashmere will not.
Never put a garment on immediately after ironing. This can actually cause new wrinkles to form. Instead, let it sit for five minutes to set the press.
Caring for fur: Brush the fur with a hairbrush and steam it for added bounce and shine.
Add a 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar to the final rinse cycle while doing laundry to maintain the wash of your favourite pair of dark jeans.
To remove watermarks from leather shoes, add a few drops of vinegar to a bowl of cold water and scrub the stains with a soft bristle brush until they disappear. Let them dry overnight.
V-neck sweaters and shirts give the illusion of a longer torso.
Combining colours and patterns in a way that looks fashion forward takes practice, but there are some basic tricks to getting it right. You can wear two prints that repeat the same colors or mix a large-scale pattern with a smaller one. What's even easier is to use the second motif as an accent.
To determine if pearls are real, lightly rub them over your teeth. Fake pearls will be perfectly smooth, and real ones will feel slightly textured or gritty.
Spray shirts prone to sweat stains with lemon juice before washing them. The natural acid dissolves the alkaline sweat reside that could cause yellow discoloration.
Heat can bent your glasses frames, so always keep them in a hard case and never wear them on your head on a hot day.
Never dry a wet shoe with heat. Let it dry naturally in open air. Heat will dry out leather and the lifespan of the shoe will be cut in half.
When it doubt, choose the smaller denim size, since jeans stretch with wear.
To prevent clothing from wrinkling in a suitcase, fold clothing in plastic dry cleaning bags.
For a soft but formfitting t-shirt search for 95% cotton and 5% Lycra spandex. For jeans to hold their shape, 2% Lycra is advised.
Make a list before you go shopping: Not of what you want to buy, but of the 10 favourite items in your closet. This will help you focus on pieces that complement and mix well with what you own.
De-fuzz a sweater with a pumice stone.
Restore the shine of patent leather with Windex glass cleaner.
Don't be a slave to fashion trends. Keep to your signature style and experiment with trends that you think will suit you!
Please do share any fashion tricks you might have up your sequined sleeves.