How many times can you wear your knitwear items (pullovers, cardigans and sweaters) before you need to launder them? I have found that unless you’ve spilled, traveled, traipsed in muck, or perspired heavily, 4-5 times works well. Lighter coloured knitwear will need to be washed more frequently; while patterned styles survive a little longer. My cream cardigan needs to be washed every second time I wear it, but my cheetah printed one lasts a good deal longer.

This wear-to-wash ratio can be applied to any type of yarn, including cashmere, silk-blends, wool, viscose blends, acrylic and polyester. Pilling is unfortunately inevitable and can happen after one wear! Excessive laundering of knitwear can sometimes create pillage when inferior yarn was used.

Keep an eye on the entire family’s knitwear and make sure that it gets the proper attention. Appropriate wash care balances keeping knitwear items looking pristine with maximizing their useful lifetime.

Stacey and Clinton, hosts of the American version of “What Not to Wear“, are adamant when it comes to polyester. They maintain that it’s a big “no no” and that you should rather stick to luscious natural fibers. I beg to differ.

There is a time and a place for polyester. It’s true that polyester is not the best choice if you’re after cool and breathable clothing for scorching summer temperatures (100% cotton and linen items are better choices). However, you can’t go wrong with clothing that’s made of polyester and blended with rayon, wool, viscose or spandex.  It’s the polyester component in a garment that will give it its pristine drape and often crease-free finish. Natural fibers do not possess this incredibly appealing attribute.

You’ll need to be discerning when it comes to polyester. Sometimes clothing that’s made entirely of polyester can look ghastly and feel flammable, but then there are polyesters that look and feel fabulous. Ann Taylor offers impeccably tailored suits and blouses made of 100% polyester every season.

I’m thankful for Polyester. It keeps the price of clothing affordable and the wash care easy.

I am frequently asked how many times you can wear a pair of jeans before popping them in the wash. I have found that unless you’ve spilled, traveled, traipsed in the mud, or perspired heavily in them, three times works well. Any longer tends to alter the original fit of the jeans (they stretch and grow); and any shorter is wasteful. Denim will fade every time you wash it, so you should only do so when necessary. This was also the advice I received from a denim manufacturer when I worked in the fashion industry as a buyer.

To walk in style is not enough – we have to walk in comfort. The easiest way to make a winter boot, shoe, non-athletic sneaker or dressy heel comfortable is with some form of insole, heel cup or orthotic.

These marvelous inventions can cost you anything from $3 at your local drug store, to around $50 if you have them custom made. I’ve found both ultra cheap air foam insoles and pricier gel versions just as effective – your fussy feet will quickly let you know which they prefer.

Check out specialty stores (e.g. Dr. Scholls  and SuperFeet), drugstores and footwear stores. You might be surprised at the range of solutions available to you. Ball of foot cushions, massaging gel heel cups, diabetic insoles, tri-comfort orthotics and dress-fit high heel insoles are to name but a few.

Personalized fit insoles (SuperFeet) and dress-fit insoles for high heel shoes (Nordstrom).

Insoles that target the ball of the foot and the heel (Dr. Scholls).

Good bras are expensive. Maintaining their shape is important if they are to keep fitting you as perfectly as the day that you bought them. Unfortunately, popping them into the washer and dryer with the rest of your laundry will ruin them over time.

Hand-washing is one solution, but there is an easier way: Before putting your bras in the wash, pop them into a small, nylon mesh bag. Add your bagged bras to the rest of your laundry and wash normally. If your machine allows you to wash delicately, then that’s an added bonus. Once your load is finished, take the bras out and hang them to dry on a hanger in your cupboard or laundry area.

With a bit of extra effort, you’ll save your fabulously fitting bra – which will save you time and money in the long run.

Nylon mesh bags from Bed, Bath and Beyond and Linens ‘n Things.

Caring for your shoes will not only preserve them, but will contribute to your overall “polish“. Different types of shoes require different types of care. Over the years, I’ve learnt a few tricks:

• Tidy storage – putting shoes away neatly in your closet helps to maintain them. It’s when we fling them into a cupboard or forget about them outside that they suffer.
• Leather – leather shoes are best waterproofed with a waxed leather protector and then polished from time to time. If you can’t find polish to match your shoe colour, opt for colourless shoe shine – this will also do the trick.
• Suede – suede shoes are the most difficult to maintain. No matter what they tell you when you buy them, they will never look the same again despite what you do to them.  However, prevention is better then cure. Start off by spraying suede shoes with a suede protector. If they get scuffed after that, try rubbing the mark out with an eraser, or brushing it off with a relatively hard bristle brush. Never wear suede shoes in the rain – you will ruin them.
• Canvas and vinyl – sneakers are easier to clean than you might expect. Wash the laces like you would launder your clothes. There are a variety of athletic shoe shampoos on the market these days that work really well. I’ve also found that scrubbing with washing detergent and a dishwashing brush works wonders too.
• Metallic and patent – metallic and patent shoes will unfortunately not clean well. Soapy water works if the dirt is removable. Colourless shoe shine will work up to a point on metallic leather, but not as well as you would have hoped. I have been disappointed with gold sandals that I have not been able to maintain. However, it does take a lot for then to get scuffed in the first place.
• Boots – long boots need to be kept upright. If you can’t find proper upright supporters, then rolled up newspaper secured with a few rubber bands will work just as well at a fraction of the price.
• Odour – “tissue sheets” (scented tissue sheets that you pop into the dryer with your washing for extra sweet smelling laundry) will help eliminate shoes with unsavoury odours. Scrunch a scented sheet or two up and pop them into your shoes when you’re not wearing them. I recently received this tip from a friend – thank you Joey for sharing!
• Share the wear – you need to have enough shoes in your closet to “share their wear”. The more we wear our shoes, the shabbier they become. This is especially a point to consider for gents and elderly people who often do not have enough shoes.    

If you give your shoes the attention that they deserve, there is no doubt that they will look nicer for longer.

Suede and leather care products from Kiwi (available at HealingTouch.com).

Identifying the perfect pair of jeans is never easy, but eventually we find that fabulously fitting pair and we are elated! However, as we wear them for a couple of days we are often horrified to find that that they no longer fit – they have grown at least a size from our thighs upwards. We are left with a pair of ill-fitting denims that makes us look bigger than we are. What can we do about this?

 As always, prevention is better than cure:

• Go down a size – your jeans should be snug, looking almost too tight when you buy them. Wear them for a couple of hours and you’ll find that they’ll start to grow – this time into that perfect fit.
• Hang dry instead of tumble drying – tumble dryers have unfavourable effects on denim that has as little as 1% stretch. The heat first causes the lycra to contract (which is why our jeans feel tight after we’ve washed them), and then subsequently to lose its elasticity completely (causing them to “grow”). If you have tumbled-dried your jeans, their fit will never be the same again.

I have always been mindful of buying my clothes too small, but I have learnt to make my jeans the exception. Buy them tight and ignore the washing instruction if it permits tumble drying.

My experience with Tilex yesterday is well worth a blog posting. A few days ago, I wore a bright red t-shirt which turned out to be far from colour-fast. By the end of the day, it had stained the top half of my body. After 2 showers and futile attempts with nail polish remover – I was still pink. I proceeded to wear a white collared shirt the next day, only to find that by lunchtime, my crisp white shirt was also pink! My shirt had absorbed the remainder of red dye from my body. I popped the white shirt into the wash with loads of detergent and “triple action” stain remover - but this was useless. I then thought of using Tilex (mildew remover for the bathroom). Not knowing how the fabric would react, I was prepared to take the risk seeing as my shirt was ruined already. I sprayed Tilex over the pink stains, left it for an hour and popped it back into the wash. This was brilliant- my shirt is now whiter then when I purchased it!

NOTE: I’m not recommending this practice (and neither are the Tilex people). If you do consider the use of Tilex, be mindful of the fabric composition you will be affecting. It won’t work for a 100% natural fibre. The results are good for white polyester cotton spandex combinations. I have also found it effective at removing yellow armpit soiling caused by deodorant.

Do not risk your designer wear – but have a bash if you feel that you have nothing left to lose.

Tumble dryers are a marvelous invention, but unfortunately they tend to ruin our clothes. Our clothes shrink, loose shape and start to look worn long before they should. Clothing is relatively expensive and in order for us to look sharp and polished, it needs to remain looking pristine. Boxer shorts, undies, socks and pajamas are basically the only items that are going to survive a life of harsh tumble dry heat I’m afraid.

So what are the alternatives?

• Invest in a collapsible garment rack (Target and Storables offer super options) and hang shirts, blouses, tops, pants and jeans on it to dry
• Invest in wire shelving and lay your t-shirts and hand washed knitwear flat onto it to dry shaping them where necessary
• Men’s shirts, smart dresses, suits and jackets will need to be dry-cleaned 

Once dry, you’ll have the choice of either ironing your clothing; or popping them into the dryer for a quick 7 minutes to get rid of creases that remain. The trick with the latter is that you’ll need to fold the garments immediately after taking them out of the dryer in order to prevent them from creasing again.

It certainly is going to take more effort caring for your clothes in this way – but the end result will be worth it. Have a bash at forming this new habit of drying your clothes and enjoy the fact that your clothing is the same length and colour as it was the day you first bought it. Trust me – your clothing will stay looking fab!

Garment rack from Target