White items of clothing are a basic in everybody’s wardrobe. Unfortunately they don’t stay optically white for as long as we’d  like. While Tilex, bleach and oxy-clean can certainly stretch their useful life, it’s imperative that you check the state of your whites each season. Below is a loose guideline of how long you can expect white items to last before you demote them to the camping, home-crafts or gardening pile:

• White denim items – up to 5 years because quality denim wears well.
• White slacks, skirts, dresses and jackets – up to 3 years if you dry-clean them accordingly. These items loose their optical luster quicker than white denim.
• Men’s undergarment-T’s and ladies’ camisoles – up to 2 years. Under-arm discoloration, pillage and grey tinges start appearing after about a year, but you can stretch their longevity because they’re undergarments.
• Socks, bras and undies – up to 2 years.
• White collared shirts – 1 to 2 years depending on how often you wear them. Collared shirts need to stay pristine.
• Outerwear T’s – up to 18 months. They loose their appeal as soon as they go grey and yellow.

This isn’t an exact science. White items that are laundered and worn less frequently stay looking magically white for longer. Remember to replace your whites when they start to look dodgy – white whites look best.

The start of a new season and the end of an old one calls for a little extra organization. It’s a good idea to get niggly wardrobe tasks out of the way so that you can shop in your closet for Spring and Summer. Below is a checklist that I’ve found useful:

• Take coats and knitwear to the cleaners so that they are ready to wear next season.
• Pack away ski and snow gear.
• Unpack warmer weather clothes if you store them to conserve closet space in Winter.
• Take shoes and boots to be re-soled and cleaned if necessary.
• Take clothing that needs to be altered to a tailor.
• Make sure that you are wearing the correct bra. The size of our bust changes due to weight loss/gain, age and breast feeding, and it’s imperative to keep up with these changes. 60% of all women are in the wrong bra size so make sure that you aren’t one of them.
• Check white clothes for yellow armpit stains and irremovable spots. If tilex won’t remove them, pass them along.
• Scrutinize your Spring and Summer clothing. The aim is to have a fluid wardrobe that’s brimming with flattering, wearable possibilities. If this is not the case, do some closet clean up.
• Get a pedicure. Sandals will be coming out for Spring and those feet need to look the part.

Have fun adding this season’s luster to existing favourites. You’ll be sure to strike up a bargain in the two months of Summer shopping that are left.

With Spring only a month away, it’s time to prune those closets again before you add the sparkle of the new season. Re-evaluate each piece and be ruthless. Don’t forget about your sock, underwear, work-out and accessory drawers. You should love everything in your closet.

What can you do with the clothing and accessories that you don’t love?

• Take them to a consignment store. This is an option if your items are in pristine condition. You won’t get much for most items, but it’ll buy you and a friend a cup of tea.
• Sell them on E-bay. You need to be Internet-savvy and prepared to ship your goods to their new owner, but if your items are branded you might recoup a reasonable fraction of the original price.
• Have a clothing swap party with your friends. If that sounds like too much effort, give your friends a gift that you know they’ll love more than you did.
• Donate them to a charity or non-profit. Options include The Salvation Army, Good Will and Dress for Success. You’ll be able to claim a tax deduction and feel doubly good knowing that someone else who literally had nothing to wear will have a new outfit.

Get cracking with your closet-clean out. The sooner you pass those items along, the sooner you’ll get to replace them with goodies that update your look and make you feel fab.

We at Youlookfab would like to wish you a very happy and stylish 2007!

Instead of making a list of highly unattainable New Year’s resolutions, try popping down a few really easy ones that you can get done quickly. Here are a few ideas:

• Sorting out your sock drawer
• Tidying up your jewelry box
• Washing the laces of your sneakers
• Brushing the lint off your black coat
• Sewing on a button
• Polishing a few sad pairs of shoes

A lot can be accomplished in 10 minutes and the satisfaction is guaranteed.

It’s important for the largest part of your wardrobe and seasonal fashion budget to reflect the dominant seasons where you live.

Examples from the three corners of the USA: 

• Hot Florida – Spring/Summer collections will dominate
• Cool Seattle – Autumn/Winter collections will dominate
• Extreme New York – you’ll spread your budget equally over both collections since it can get as hot as it can cold.

This year I made the mistake of going overboard on the great sleeveless styles that were so popular in the summer collections. Living in cool Seattle, I ended up wearing them once or twice before they were banished to the back of my wardrobe. And if you live in a predominantly warm climate – an assortment of coats is futile despite how much you love to wear them.

Of course, if you are a frequent traveler this will also affect your budget allocation. Do a quick assessment of your wardrobe – does it reflect your climatic demands? Are you allocating your budget effectively?

Your bags need to be accessible and protected from damage. Shoving them into the bottom of your cupboard not only makes you forget what you have, but damages the bags. Tucking them away in hard-to-reach-places is tidy, yet impractical. On the other hand, bags are bulky and you are probably running out of accessible closet space as it is.

I ran into this problem recently but managed to find a good solution. I ordered a “handbag rack” from ImprovementsCatalog.com. The rack hooks over the top of a door. It also has a hook at the bottom that is attached to a piece of elastic so that your bags are kept in place as you open and close the door. The rack can hold up to 8 bags of just about any size and will cost $9.99. It is orderly, out of sight, accessible and visible. My handbags and I are happy.

Some fashions from recent seasons will still work this Autumn, but others won’t. Here’s my opinion on what stays in the wardrobe and what goes into storage. 

Keep in your wardrobe:

• Military jackets and coats 
• Victorian and vintage blouses
• Preppy looks
• Long flat boots
• Metallic accessories (belts, bags and shoes, especially if they have gold hardware)
• Animal prints (either in clothing or accessories)
• Boot leg pants and jeans (don’t think that you can’t wear them just because “skinny” is in)
• Black pieces (I do not encourage a wardrobe full of black clothing, but black is the “it” colour this season. If ever you looked stylish in black – it would be over the next 6 months. Be mindful of the fact that not everyone looks good in black – the colour has to suit you.)

Store to (perhaps) wear another day:

• Cowboy boots (unless you are a Texan)
• Folkloric dresses
• Ponchos (unless you are pregnant, and then without any form of fringe)
• Bohemian and gypsy tops (which includes tie dye)
• Front tie shrugs (unless they have kimono sleeves and are in a very loose home spun knit)
• Shorter length knitted tops, knitwear and shirts  (unless you are able to layer newer longer lengths underneath them, they’ll look dated)
• Embellished jeans

Stay tuned on how to create updated looks for autumn with what you already have in your wardrobe. All you’ll need to do is add the new seasons’ luster to those existing favourites! 

Zip-lock bags are a marvelous invention. I have a few alternative uses for them that you might find useful for your closet:

• Store clothing receipts - customers in America are given a mind blowing amount of latitude when it comes to returning and exchanging items. It’s therefore a good idea to keep your recent clothing receipts in a safe place – like in a big zip-lock bag in one of your dresser drawers.
• Store spare buttons – our clothing often comes with spare buttons that are not sewn into labels, but in plastic sachets that are attached to the price tag instead. Keeping these is important. Prevent losing these spare buttons by popping them into a zip-lock bag every time you purchase something new.
• Store to keep things dust free - the top shelf of a walk-in-wardrobe often gets dusty. It’s on this shelf that we tend to store items that we use infrequently like ski goggles and ski gloves. They won’t get dusty if you seal them in a zip-lock bag.

Keeping your closet space accessible and organized is a wonderful feeling – make sure that those cupboards are culled before you start buying your updates for the new season.

Hopefully you’ve managed to do a thorough closet cleanup and gotten as far as the first part of closet organization. All that remains is to give your closet a system. Regardless of the space you have available, the guidelines below should help you get organized:

• Clothes, shoes and accessories only – try not to clutter your closet with all sorts of other items. The aim is to create a concise and efficient dressing area so that you can shop in your own closet every morning.
• Hanging space – assign each item of clothing to its correct hanger and group your hangers by category (e.g. group all shirts together, then all knitted tops together, and so on)
  • Dresses,  jackets, blouses, shirts should be hung on a simple wooden or thick plastic hanger
  • Skirts should be hung on clip hangers
  • Suits, pants, slacks, jeans and shorts should be hung on suit hangers
  • Fancy knitted tops and knitwear should be hung on padded hangers
  • Heavy coats and jackets are best hung on shaped hangers
• Shelving – fold and stack knitted tops, t-shirts, pullovers and sweatshirts into separate piles.
• Underwear, camisoles, socks and tights –fold and section each category into drawers using drawer dividers.
• Sleepwear – fold and place into a separate drawer or area in your walk in wardrobe.
• Sports gear – work out clothes, ski clothes, cycling togs, soccer kit or any other type of sports gear needs to be folded and kept in a separate drawer or shelf. These items should not be worn as everyday clothing unless you are actually engaging in the sport. If you keep them close to the rest of your clothing, you’ll be tempted to wear them day to day and that’s not stylish.
• Belts and long necklaces – hanging them on a tie rack makes them easy to access. Alternatively, hammering a small nail into a cupboard door for each separate accessory will also do the trick.
• Handbags – if you do not have a separate cupboard for your bags - placing them on shelves will also work. Messenger bags are best hung on hooks, while dainty evening bags and clutches are best filed side by side or stacked in a drawer.
• Shoes – shoes need to be stored either on shoe racks or in canvas shoe files. If you do not have room to keep your shoes in your closet underneath your hanging space, then in the coat closet close to the front door is also a good idea.
• Scarves, hats, gloves and shawls – fold and stack these into boxes or baskets in your closet. If you have a large assortment, then group each category into its own separate box. These items are very seasonal and proper storage will keep them free from dust and moths.
• Jewelry – everyone has their own personal storage vessel for their jewelry. Whatever you select needs to be easy to access and kept dust free. There is little point in storing everyday jewelry far away from your clothes – you’ll forget all about them when it comes to dressing.  Keep your accessory boxes organized – if your jewelry is tangled, you won’t wear it.

You will still be able to use the above closet system if you share a wardrobe with someone else. For the ultra regimented, consider sorting your clothes not only by category, but by colour – it not only makes your closet look even more inviting – but it makes it even simpler when putting together your look for the day.

With a little organization, even those of us with modest closets will be able to experience some of the benefits of a very fancy, custom California Closet like the one above.

Having done your closet cleanup, it is now time for some re-organization. You should have been left with 4 piles of clothes:

• A pile to donate – consider donating to non-profit organizations like Dress for Success or the Salvation Army. Pass clothing that is the incorrect size or colour to family and friends who you feel might benefit.
• A pile to have altered – get these items off to a tailor quickly.
• A pile to store away – all outdated designer and vintage pieces should be kept because fashion repeats itself. You might not be able to wear them now, but you will again at some point. Store away items like your wedding dress, and other sentimental garments that you can’t bear to part with but cannot wear. Box them to protect them from moths.
• A pile to keep – these are the “cherries” that made it into your new, regimented closet system.

The first step to creating a happy, efficient and comfortable personal dressing environment is to arrange the appropriate storage space and invest in the correct storage aids. Most of us are not blessed with lavish walk in wardrobes and have to make do with the cupboards we have. Not to worry – there are storage solutions for everything! The most important aspect to create in your closet is visibility – you cannot shop in your closet if you cannot see and access things easily. This goes for underwear, socks, shoes, belts, hats, scarves, gloves and handbags as well.

Before we can slot our wardrobe into a system, we’ll need the right tools:

• Hanging space
• Different types of hangers
• Shelving space
• Drawers and drawer dividers
• Shoe racks or shoe files
• A belt rack, necklace rack
• Transparent boxes
• Jewelry storage vessels (a very personal choice)
• A full length mirror

The above items are inexpensive to buy and can make the world of difference to your daily dressing ritual. Once you have the correct supplies, you’ll be able to follow a simple system. Stay tuned for how an efficient clothing system can positively influence the way you dress!

Hangers (30 for $17) and shoe rack ($24.99) from Target.

Drawer dividers ($14.99 a pair) and tie, belt, cap, or necklace rack ($19.99) from Bed Bath & Beyond.