Easy Styling Secrets

I carry a small wheelie suitcase with me to each wardrobe sorting appointment and have to reassure the client that I'm not moving in, just bringing some kit with me to help their appointment go more smoothly. I thought I'd share what I use to help clients style and look after their clothes - I've been doing The Wardrobe Angel job for nearly 4 years now and these bad boys have stood the test of wardrobe time:

1. M&S Stain Remover Wipes - my Mum bought me these as a joke one Christmas. Well Cathy Roper the joke is on you: these wipes are immense at stain removal and a must if you look after young kids who wipe snot/food/paint on you as you attempt to leave for work. Buy them in the food section by the tills, 2 packets for £1.50.

2. A Bic razor - some knitwear bobbles. Even Brora cashmere has been known to bobble. A jumper will be more prone to bobbling the more fabrics that are included in it: say Cotton, Wool, Acrylic and Viscose. This is because as more fabrics are added to the mix the fabrics begin to lose their original properties thus weakening them and Hello Bobbles! A quick shave with a razor will remove the bobbles and relieve your jumper of its scruffy state. If the jumper in question isn't that bobbled try a velcro roller to remove fluff instead; it's a bit more gentle.

3. Bulldog clips - if you are thinking of getting a garment shortened or taken in but it is a delicate fabric like silk (and a pin mark will show through) or a really heavy fabric like gaberdine (so a pin won't stay in it) then clipping the fabric with a bulldog clip holds the fabric in place. You can also use hair grips if you don't have pins - they won't mark your garment either.

4. Scissors - there's nowt worse than those pesky loose threads and labels ruining the look of garments. I always cut the labels out of sheer garments.

5. Masking tape and sellotape - great for removing fluff and bits from clothing if you don't have a clothes brush to hand.

6. Ecover spray and a cloth - when cleaning out a wardrobe the last thing I want to do is damage clothes with a bleach spray. This is a gentle formula with no parabens which I have successfully cleaned the shelves, rails and corners of many-a-wardrobe.

7. Labels - a useful tool for labelling clothes that need to be altered, dry-cleaned or washed so that the client doesn't have to remember what all those clothes piled up on the chair are for after I've left the building. They are also great for labelling an outfit to give you a jolt of inspiration in a morning.

8. Spare buttons - I take a bag of these with me in case buttons need replacing or changing. I also take thread and heel replacements for shoes. What a well prepared Girl Guide I am!!

9. Bin Bags - an essential for any wardrobe clear out. The most I've ever removed from a client's wardrobe was 18 bin bags. A good day for the charity shop!

10. Calibri Anti-moth - All cashmere needs protecting with this stuff; it's an odd smelling insurance policy against moths!

11. Dylon Dye - if a client wears a lot of black clothing this stuff is essential. Black can wash out at varying degrees so you can end up with a grey/black top and black trousers which can cheapen your look. Cheaper than buying new clothes, I often recommend Dylon Dye instead.

12. And then there's my contacts. A client emailed today saying

"I have some amazing Citizens of Humanity flares, but they are too long. Is there a shop/way/person who can take them up without losing the flare?"

I sent her to The Denim Doctor in Manchester. Click here to see the website. Michael has repaired all of my jeans and turned a pair of heavily flared Diesel jeans into boyfriend jeans for me a couple of years ago. As jeans go, he is beyond talented at fixing, re-styling and patching up.

13. And finally a recommendation I leave with clients - to carry some extra jewellery, spray deodorant and foot spray with them. I have a make-up bag under the front seat of my car with all of the above packed away in it. Extra jewellery because sometimes you just need a little more ooomph, spray deodorant and foot spray to keep everything peachy fresh. A must with summer just around the corner!

Til next time...x

How to feel #sexy on Valentines Day

With Clintons proclaiming love through cards, florists through roses and M&S hammering their £20 meal deal, you can't ignore Valentines Day sitting on our doorsteps waiting to be invited in for a glass of bubbly and a fistful of chocolates.

How do I feel sexy? I always take a bit more time moisturising after a bath and really enjoy putting on my make-up. I get all my clothes out in advance, thinking about how I want to feel in my clothes, thinking about how they are going to fit over my body. I won't rush out and buy a new outfit just for the occasion but I will have kept something in reserve, something Rich hasn't seen me in before, whether it is a new necklace, a dress or a jacket from a previous shopping trip, so he sees me in a new light that night.

And when he compliments me, I really take it in. 

Compliments are a gift, they have the power to brighten your day. I used to squirm in the face of a compliment. Now I say "thank you."

Staying in on Valentines? I always look to fabrics to see me through. I love the feeling of a silk dressing gown - thoroughly elegant in a way that a towelling one will never be. I love the feeling of freshly ironed, crisp white bed linen as well;a bit of a farce but I love ironing so I win either way!.If we aren't going out for dinner, we'll stay in and cook something super tasty. We exchange cards but we don't really do gifts; I'd much rather Rich make me a brew! That to me is romance!

For me Valentines Day isn't about grand gestures, it is about amplifying what is already there, taking a little extra time to get ready and relishing the experience of being with Rich, even if we are just sitting on the sofa with a brew!

Summer BBQ Outfit

I am a proper creative thinker - I live and think in colour, pattern and texture. I remember doing an exercise as a management trainee at M&S once where we were asked to picture the numbers 1-10 and describe then in detail. I pictured number 5 as pink and fluffy. One of the other graduate trainees was all "whaaaat?". It was then I realised how my mind worked: I'm certainly not about 'the numbers' and 'the logic.'

The outfit (above) which I wore for a family BBQ in London - it was in my mind about a week before. The Topshop top is sleeveless (awesome in the heat) and the trousers from Urban Outfitters, even though they crease like a b****** are really lightweight and have pockets which I love - somewhere to put your hands if you are feeling awkward. The block heeled sandals were an inspired Nine West sale choice at the end of last summer and they go with pretty much everything in my summer wardrobe.

Here's why I love it:

• There is a slight pink tinge in the embellishment of the top which pulls it through to the trousers. 
• The bag is textured and stands out against the silky texture of the trousers. 
• Speaking of textures, each piece has a different texture so there is lots for the eye to take in and look at.
• The top surrenders the waist and I wore the trousers on my hips so lots of room for BBQ food.
• The shoes aren't 'matchy matchy' so they create a great focal piece

Work Wardrobe Masterclass

I had a client last week who was shifting gears in her career and needed her wardrobe to reflect a certain level of wealth. However, the wealth of the people she would be interacting with wasn't reflected in her new wage packet - whatever we bought on her Personal Shop had to earn its place in her wardrobe. BIG TIME. I love a challenge like this because it means taking items that the client already owns and combining them with new items to make them work harder. I call this service a Half & Half - half wardrobe clearing and sorting so I know what we have in the wardrobe to work with, then hitting the shops to fill the gaps.

Here are 3 of the items we purchased - an Autograph top and necklace  from Marks & Spencer and the Adrianne Dress from Whistles.

The Autograph top is trans-seasonal and hugely versatile: my client can wear it with jeans at the weekend and with 7/8 trousers for work. The print doesn't tie it specifically to one season and the construction makes it look a lot more expensive than it is.

The Adrianne dress is £95 - not cheap - but this dress will double up as a summer dress out of work worn with flats, and works under a jacket for work as well. For my client I teamed it with a pair of block heels so she could run around all day but still get the benefit from a heel. I am a huge fan of Whistles. During my first year of self-employment as The Wardrobe Angel I had part-time job there and fell for the brand. Known as a "bridge brand" (a brand which sits between High Street and Designer brands - think top end High Street. Another example is Reiss), Whistles may seem expensive but their clothes last and last. Plus they have a high re-sale value on eBay! Get thee to Whistles!

Behold the 2013 M&S AW13 campaign shot by Annie Leibovitz. They brought out the big guns didn't they? So who have we got here: Helen Mirren, Ellie Goulding, Katie Piper, Grace Coddingon (the flame haired beauty), Tracy Emin, Karen Elson, Nicola Adams. It's like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy except Actress, Singer, Artist, Boxer - and a gold medallist to boot.

Well, what can I say? I love it.

I frequent M&S to buy my pants (not my bras - Bravissimo all the way) but rarely do I venture there for clothes. I pass through the racks and routinely feel....uninspired. The worry that comes with the "best stuff" on offer is that everyone will be wearing it because the "best stuff" is so few and far between. But glancing my eyes over the shots for the latest campaign, not only have M&S nailed the new season looks (leather, pink, tartan) they have showcased them on women of all ages making them instantly accessible and wearable.

What will left to be seen is if M&S have got their supply chain right and bought enough of the "best stuff" in the first place or whether just the larger stores will be serviced with the gems leaving the dregs for the smaller stores thus pissing women off who have been fashion-penalised due to their geographical location. But then again, there's always online (click here for M&S website)

With a supplement in the September issue of Vogue, M&S have upped their fashion credentials and with the canny mid August press sweep they are leaps and bounds ahead of other retailers in the AW13 new season rush to secure consumer spending power.

Job well done M&S, job well done. Now Karen Elson - hand me those leather leggings.

Pork Pie Lovin'...

I love a pork pie. When I moved back from Dubai (pretty much a pork free zone - you had to walk through a special door in the supermarket to retrieve any pork products; it felt very naughty) just over 4 years ago I ate a Sainsbury's Melton Mowbray pork pie each day for lunch for 6 months.

No kidding.

And I did the leg work that summer - Asda, M&S, Tesco - I tried them all. Tesco pork pies were far too salty, M&S were insipid, Asda although now much improved, were just rank. So Sainsbury's it was and is still the best. Until I tried Best Pork Pie from Bradley's Bakery. I had met Gillian, the co-owner with husband mark, at a networking event when I first started The Wardrobe Angel but never tried one of her delish pies. Roll on two years I spent a morning at the mothership: Bradley's Bakery (click here for their website).

Bradley's Bakery is a family run business which has been going since 1960 which is a staggering 53 years. Mark's Mum was the original maiden of the pies and Mark took over the business in 1990, "It's all I have ever done since I was 12. I turned down an apprenticeship at British Aerospace to work in the shop and have never wanted to do anything else. I love my job." The pies are all handmade, hand filled and baked on the premises.

The shop employs 9 members of staff: 5 shop staff, 3 bakers and a shop assistant plus Mark and Gill. To keep the business fresh they have branched out into Good Luck pies, birthday pies and even Pork Pie wedding cakes. YUM.

On an average Saturday they sell 300 pies ...300 pies!!!! 

This works out at 1,500 pies in a week! 

 

Pork Pie AND Pork with Bury Black Pudding. Awesome. 

We wanted to have an outdoor picnic but the alas the Great British Weather was raining...so an indoor picnic it was!