Tips from Greta Monahan from Rachel Ray Show

Whilst enjoying my Chinese New Year holiday in my hometown, I watched Rachel Ray show one fine morning. One of the segments was on fashion tips by Greta Monahan, she helped to organise a guest's wardrobe which was full of clothes and accessories and she faced 'I don't have anything to wear' problem.

First of all, Greta took all the clothes and accessories out from the wardrobe. Next, she used special tags to label different categories of clothes; top, bottom, etc. My favourite bit is how she differentiated normal clothes from special occasions clothes. She used the word 'WOW' for special clothes. What a coincidence! My sis and I have been using that word since last year when purchasing clothes. We buy only 'WOW' clothes. No point buying clothes without the WOW effect.

Another useful tip I picked up from the show is that to have at least five sets of 'ready-to-go 'clothes. What are 'ready-to-go' clothes? These are the fool proof sets - top and bottom paired with accessories. You can never go wrong with these. This saves time and lessen your headache when it comes to getting ready for work, for example. Just grab one of these set, put them on and you are ready to go to work.

I find the tips given are useful and relevant. Now, it is just a matter of time to clear and organise my wardrobe. I bet there maybe hidden treasures that need to be unearthed.

Wardrobe plan - part 2

Since you are aware of the benefits of having a wardrobe plan. What is the next step? Set a day, put away laptop and mobile phone and select a feel good CD to put you in the mood to rummaging and sorting out your wardrobe. Or perhaps you could reenact the scene from 'Sex and the City' where Carrie and her friends helping her deciding which of her clothes are to keep or to toss. Let the party begins...

Try on everything you own
By trying every clothes you possess, you know which one looks good on you and vice versa. Whilst doing this, make three piles of clothes - to keep, to toss and to repair

Make an inventory of clothes that you want to keep. Mine is attached. There is no particular format to use as the most important thing is that you know how your inventory system works.

Sort the clothes from 'to keep' pile into outfits, say which top goes which bottom. Make notes and if possible snap photos (thanks to digital camera, you can snap photos as many as you want). If you come across a bottom without a top or a dress needs a jacket, put the item aside. The missing items can be your new addition to your collection.

Work through the 'to toss' pile by analyzing and learning from these mistake purchases. Ask yourself , 'where did it go wrong?'. Was it an impulsive purchase? Not the right fit?

Send your 'to repair' to a tailor for fixing. This helps to salvage 'to repair' clothes especially your favourite pieces.

Going through your wardrobe and preparing the plan take a long time but once it is done, you face lesser problem of mixing and matching clothes and shopping for the right or needed items. Hence you save money and time.

Reference:
How to find your personal style and look fantastic every day! by Olivia Goldsmith & Amy Fine Collins

Wardrobe plan - Part 1

How many times have you staring hard at your wardrobe, scratching and cracking your head and most probably shrieked "I don't have anything to wear!". I guess almost everyone of us experience this at least once in our lifetime.

Putting your wardrobe together with the aid of wardrobe plan is just like navigating with a map. You know what you have in your wardrobe for you to put together your attire for the day or function.

Benefits of wardrobe plan:
Assist you make better use of clothes that you already own
Assist you decide what you need to add to your collection
Serves as a guideline for clothes and accessories that are suitable to you and your lifestyle

Wardrobe plan takes up loads of time and effort but once it is done, it makes your life easy - know what to mix and match with, know what to add and what to toss. And also save money by avoiding buying unnecessary clothes or accessories.