Many of my clients express an interest in orange, but are unsure of how to wear the colour. They are particularly concerned about mixing orange with black, or with black and white, because of the colour’s association with Halloween. This is understandable, especially in the US where Halloween is a huge event. 

The first thing I say to my clients when this question comes up is mix orange with blue. Ink blue, cobalt, denim blue, chambray and light blue work particularly well with burnt orange, Dutch orange, tangerine and peach as shown below. Wear orange either on the top or bottom and slot in your blue. I’ve shown this palette with solids, but it works equally well with patterns. 

Light coloured footwear and handbag are my favourite way to complement this palette. Think shades of white, blush, mushroom tones, metallics and light snakeskin patterns. Earthy tones like cognac and leopard print will also work, as will cooler shades like slate and charcoal grey. 

Is wearing orange with black a big no-no for you because of Halloween? Would replacing the black with blue solve the problem?

I’m enjoying the look of wide trousers so I recently added two pairs to my wardrobe. As a result I had too many pairs of wide hemmed pants. I can’t wear wide legs too often in Seattle because the hems get wet in the rain. Tapered legs are a lot more practical, so I decided to taper the hems of two pairs of old bootcut jeans to restore the balance of hem widths in my wardrobe. 

After pinning both pairs of bootcut jeans to the newly desired tapered silhouette, I took them over to Chung, the lady who does all my alterations and who owns Madison Cleaners down the road from our house in Seattle. I adore feisty and exuberant Chung. She barely speaks English, but we totally understand each other. Her broad smile lights up the room and you can’t help but be completely captivated when she beams those pearly white teeth.

Chung and I almost always have a spirited “discussion” about the measurements of a planned alteration, because we both have strong opinions. In this case, I wanted my hems to taper to a half circumference of six inches, while Chung wanted them to taper to seven inches. We debated this for a while, our voices getting louder and louder, with both of us doing a lot of gesticulation. As always, we reached a compromise. Chung suggested we taper at six and half inches and I agreed. 

The results were great. Chung, who was a seamstress for 25 years in Korea, does a killer job. In six years of alterations there was only one time when I wasn’t completely happy with the results. And I find her prices very reasonable. This time she charged me $24 to taper two pairs of jeans.

Finding someone like Chung makes alterations so much easier. After all, they help you to achieve that all important perfect fit. If you don’t already have a go-to person, then ask around. By now, most of my clients and many of my friends have Chung do their alterations. As Phoebe says: “She’s the best!”

It was clear from the responses to last week’s post on closet editing  that the process can be overwhelming, confusing and time consuming. Although I’m an advocate for getting the edit done in one go, that’s not always possible. Time is limited, plus you lose interest and stamina along the way. 

Chin up! Here are three ways to speed things up and maintain motivation throughout the process: 

1. Elicit the help of a buddy: Set aside a good amount of time and ask a friend or family member to help out with the heavy lifting. Provide snacks, pull up your sleeves, turn up the music and get down to business. Two pairs of hands lighten the load and a second set of eyes is always helpful. In return, offer the same assistance when it’s time to edit their closet. 
2. Post questions on a fashion forum: If you’re unsure whether an item should stay or go, post it on a forum for fast feedback. Soliciting this sort of feedback can save you the time that would have been spent agonizing over small decisions. People do this on the YLF forum all the time.
3. Hire a professional: Fashion stylists, wardrobe consultants and image consultants clean out and review closets for a living. This way costs a lot more money, but you are assured of an efficient process, completion in a short amount of time, and a flexible action plan for the style that you aspire to.

If the only way to edit your closet is on your own, try and get as much as you can done in one session. If that’s not an option, break it up over several sessions over no more than a week. The momentum is important because you must think about how your wardrobe functions as a whole. How the tops relate to the bottoms, how accessories and footwear complement your outfits, and how the colours work with each other. Editing your entire closet over a long period of time is not as effective because it’s harder to think about it as a whole and in capsules. Your thought processes are interrupted and it’s trickier to pick up from where you left off. 

When I edit closets with clients, the joint effort usually takes about five hours. Sometimes it takes less time, and sometimes it takes up to nine hours. It’s hard work and we are tired at the end of it. But we have fun and the end result is rewarding. 

You are on Team Solo Shop if you prefer to shop alone. You are on Team Group Shop if you prefer to shop with someone else or in a group of people. 

I am sitting this one out because I can’t pick a team. I love to shop alone because I’m extra focused and fast. I soak up more detail about the items and stores and usually have a productive session. But I also love to shop with my clients, with friends, with YLF’ers at a gathering, with my sister-in-law Keri and with Greg. I used to love shopping with my late Mum. I love the laughter and chit chat that unfolds when you shop with someone else. I love sharing my finds with others along the way. I love helping others find fab stuff. I love to shop, period. 

Over to you. Are you Team Solo Shop or Team Group Shop? Tell us why and no batting for both teams, but you are welcome to join me on the bench.