Leather Jacket Similar | Black Knit Top | Leopard Cardigan Similar | Agolde Jeans | Ming Ray Handbag | Oscar Tiye Shoes (Similar here and here)
Despite my love for clothes and styling, I have to confess that I do believe there is one thing less than perfect about fashion… Many of us have wasted good clothing far more than we need to. As we follow new trends and continue to buy more, we’re contributing to the worsening conditions of our environment. When I think long and hard about it, it can become really overwhelming. You guys know I have been making hard efforts to shop more consciously and sustainably this year. One of the things I’ve been doing is taking extra care of my clothes to extend their life and wearability. If sustainability is one of your initiatives too – or if you just want to wear your clothes more, here are some tips to make your clothes last longer:…
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Buy less but buy better
First things first, I strongly suggest investing in high-quality pieces that won’t fade and unravel within 10 wears. Initially, you have to fork out the cost, but ultimately, you won’t be buying as much and can reduce your fashion footprint. One of the places I think we can all buy better and less is denim. I love brands like Agolde and M.i.h. Plus, the fit is usually 10x better!
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Launder right
Follow the instructions on the label
Be sure to wash your clothing in accordance with its wash instructions. Certain fabrics should not be machine dried, and generally, washing clothes in hot water puts a lot of stress on fabrics. Whenever you can, use cold water and air dry. One of the ways I like to wash my jeans is flipping them inside out, cold water, and then hang dry until the they’re 90% dry. I’ll then toss them in the dryer quickly to freshen them up.
Oftentimes, I’ll hand wash my delicates – or throw in the laundry on the delicate cycle and then avoid drying them altogether.
Wash less
Laundry, in general, should be done a little less. I’m not saying you should be walking around in dirty clothes – but try becoming more mindful about when something really needs to be washed. You don’t have to wash your clothes after every single wear. Knits, for example, should be washed as little as possible. Same with jeans. The more you wash something, the more wear and tear it’s exposed to.
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Another thing you might be overdoing is soap and/or bleach. You can get stains out with a Tide Pen – or better, baking soda and vinegar – instead of dousing the garment in bleach.
My last tip regarding laundry applies to sweaters. When I was younger, I always felt like knits would be the first to fall apart and then I discovered sweater combs and stones! Both are convenient tools to remove pilling and renew the finish of sweaters naturally. They work to restore the look of knits and sweaters so you don’t have to toss them out so early on!
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Repair
Sometimes we feel like we need to get rid of clothes because they’ve torn, been damaged somehow, or stopped fitting correctly.
However, often times they can be repaired. We can all do our part by learning how to repair our clothes. Simple sewing skills for re-fastening buttons and mending small holes are easy for almost anybody to pick up on. If it seems like too big of an issue that you can’t handle on your own, it is totally worth it to take your clothes to a tailor. Tailors are also experts at altering clothing in the case of fluctuations of weight or body shape, etc.
Be aware of snags and holes as they start to form so that you can take care of them before they get worse!
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Share your clothes care tips with me in the comments!
