Link Love: Clothing Care Part II

The Guardian continues to post handy tips for clothing care, clothing recycling, and how to buy more durable items:

Laying it on the line: how to air-dry your clothes in all weather conditions.”

From tatty to tidy: which worn-out clothes make the best cleaning rags?

How to buy socks that last: give the legs a stretch and look for reinforcement.

Fab Links from Our Members

Nuancedream loved Grace Jones in the 1980s, and she is still one of her style idols to this day. Japanese designer Issey Miyake, who passed away last week, was key to her look

A few weeks ago kkards recommended we have a look at Trinny Woodall’s video about how to dress the rainbow. That video focussed on all solids. Now there’s a follow-up video with all kinds of patterns. Kkards adds: “I’m not a pattern mixer but I love how she shows a pattern with a solid, and a pattern-on-pattern outfit. As always it’s incredible to see how deep and wide her closet goes.”

Mary Beth stepped into her Way-Back Machine, and took a deep dive into the Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2006 Ready-to-Wear collection: “I particularly love the Valmont-esque looks, and I want to incorporate some of these ideas into my fall dressing.”

Nikki enjoyed this article about the 9 top make-up trends for Fall 2022. Her favourite is ‘dewy + matte’.

ZoeyGirl directs us to this article about eight brides in one family who have worn a Marshall Field’s wedding gown purchased in 1950. She says: “I enjoyed reading about the trip to the big city department store, as well as the family sharing the dress. It is definitely a nostalgic slice of history!”

Vogue reports that ‘lime punch’ is the street style colour of the year. Runcarla adds: “Angie, Merwoman, and a few other Fabbers who love chartreuse are ahead of the curve it seems.”

Vildy came across this YouTube video with comments from more than 4,000 people who are raving about the versatility of a dress available at Walmart: “

One-Shoulder Dressing: Yay or Nay

One-shoulder silhouettes waft in and out of fashion. We see them every season, and especially in formal wear. The silhouette has more momentum some seasons than others, and is especially popular in Summer when it’s comfortable to wear clothing with less coverage. To my eye, one-shoulder dressing is iconically classic, and has been having its fashion moment for a while. The cut is most common in formal and casual dresses, but we’re seeing it come through in jumpsuits, blouses, knitted tops, T-shirts, sweatshirts, knitwear, activewear and swimwear.

Some one-shoulder styles are skimpier than others. Sometimes one shoulder and the arm are bare, and sometimes it’s just one shoulder. Sometimes the shoulder baring component is quite modest, and other times less so. Here are some examples.

One-shoulder dressing probably means you need to wear a strapless bra, which can be annoying, although one-shoulder bras do exist. You can also wear bra cups, bra tape, or go braless if you’re comfortable with those options.

I find one-shoulder dressing stunning. Big YAY. Shoulders are gorgeous and it’s compelling to see them accentuated and uncovered. The asymmetrical aspect is artistic and interesting. There is something unexpected and glam about the vibe, and of course alluring. I like all the iterations.

Despite loving the look, I don’t have any one-shouldered wardrobe items. I’m enamoured with the one-shoulder draped knitwear from Reiss that shows one shoulder but covers the rest of the torso and arms. One of the styles is called “Angie” so that might be a sign. I keep putting the orange and blue in a shopping cart, but chicken out because I fear feeling cold and can’t wear a camisole with the top. Maybe I need to order it and wear it when it’s warm, and finally commit to getting a new strapless bra. I also like one-shoulder swimwear, and will look into that next year when I embellish my beachwear capsule.

Over to you. What do you think of one-shoulder dressing. Would you wear the look, and if not, do you like it on others?

Disappointing Naadam Knitwear

In 2020, I spotlighted Naadam as a sustainably and ethically producing knitwear brand that is committed to making high-quality clothing designed to last so that consumers pass on fewer products and ultimately create less waste. Naadam prided itself on using long fibres when creating yarn to use for their knitwear, because it makes the cashmere stronger and minimizes pilling. It’s precisely when yarn fibres are short or broken that knitwear is most prone to pilling.

I haven’t personally bought from Naadam, but some of my clients did after my endorsement. I’ve since helped these clients edit and review their wardrobes, only to find that many of the Naadam items have pilled. And it’s some of the worst pilling I’ve seen on knitwear. Most items were beyond the trouble of de-pilling with special tools at home. Maybe there were a bunch of bad yarn batches and pandemic challenges with production. Regardless of the reason, this is disappointing.

These days, purchasing knitwear that doesn’t pill is a crapshoot. The best advice I can offer is to purchase 100% cotton knitwear, because that fibre content has the best track record so far. I hope you were luckier with the quality of your Naadam knitwear than my clients were. I hope that Naadam sorts out the quality issues because their story, business model, and goals are compelling.

Roundups

Simpler Items

This week's list of top picks list is about basic pieces.

Read More

Assorted Items

Items for Summer, both in and out of air conditioning.

Read More

Casual Summer Vibes

This week's top picks are good for a casual Summer vibe.

Read More

Summery Earth Tones

These items are for those who like to wear casual earth tones in warm and hot weather.

Read More

Hints of Spring

Some tried-and-tested winning items to refresh your style for Spring.

Read More

Dressier Items

An assortment of dressier top picks might be just what the doctor ordered.

Read More

Spotlight: Pom Pom London

Pom Pom London is a small British retailer that offers a few, very specific styles of handbag, and lots of straps and coin purses to go with them. The brand is passionate about creating fashion pieces that are simple, practical, fun, affordable, and lovely quality. The items are manufactured in China, but sourced and designed in the UK. My hairstylist and one of my clients swear by their Pom Pom London bags, so as a handbag lover I took a peek at the company and its offerings.

The company specializes in a few styles of sleek and streamlined crossbody bags in a range of fab colours. The Mayfair bag is smaller than the City bag, but the Mayfair bag has an outside compartment for your phone (it’s big enough to hold a large iPhone.) The Mayfair bag comes with a pom-pom and the City bag comes with a tassel. The Knightsbridge bag is the same size as the Mayfair but doesn’t have the outside compartment. All crossbody bags have an outside zipper at the back. The hardware is gold so Team Silver is out of luck.

For years I’ve been trying to replace my worn out citron Furla satchel — the most used bag in my wardrobe. I was delighted by the Mayfair and City bags in lime, which are a perfect shade of citron so I ordered them. If you use the code BANKBUNDLE at checkout, you can add two guitar straps to your order for free. So the bags come with the self-colour leather strap, plus two patterned straps of your choosing for $108. Shipping to the US is free and the duties are paid for too. The return policy is good, but you will need to ship back from the US at your own cost.

I was torn between which style would carry my stash best, so I ordered both the Mayfair and City bags. I chose two free guitar straps when I bundled my order. One in citron and one in blue. They arrived with lightning speed, and were fably packaged. Both bags are beautifully polished, lightweight, very comfortable, super soft yet structured, and gorgeous quality. The zippers are awfully smooth and easy to use. As it turns out the citron is exactly the same colour as my old Furla, so the colour fits seamlessly into my wardrobe, and I have old fashion sneakers in the same colour.

My new citron Pom Pom London bag fills an important wardrobe hole. I like to take two handbags on trips longer than a week, because handbags are my thing. I typically travel with a larger Furla, and pack a smaller one in our suitcase. The City bag is easier to pack because it’s small, less bulky, and just became a go-to bag to pack for travel capsules.

Similar bag styles are available from a range of retailers at higher prices, which I’ve had and passed on because they were just a tad too small. The dimensions of the City bag are a little bigger, and the Mayfair bag has the extra outside compartment. And the brand throws in a few free fun guitar straps when you bundle the order. It’s fab to support smaller companies that try to give us extra value, good service, and great quality.

My Strappy Sandal Surprise

Seattle used to have gorgeous warm Summers. No rain, low humidity, sunny blue skies, breezy by the water, and between 23C and 29C (75F and 85F). But with climate change, temperatures are rising and our Summers are hotter. Days of 30C (86F) and hotter are no longer uncommon, and very few homes here are built to withstand the heat. As a result, it’s a style goal to embellish my high Summer capsule, aka my Seattle heatwave capsule. I’ve added fab breezy dresses, some ventilating tops and, to my surprise, two pairs of strappy sandals.

Generally I’m not a sandal wearer because I prefer the comfort and coverage of closed shoes like loafers, ankle strap ballet flats, and fashion sneakers, even in Summer. My feet feel cold fast, and since I live in the city and do a lot of walking, protection from all sorts of nasty stuff on the street is reassuring. That said, Seattle Summers are feeling like the hot Italian Amalfi coast, so breezy sandals that go the distance were on my shopping list.

I find it challenging to find well-fitting sandals. I need them in an N or NN size to fit my low-volume feet, and these sizes are in very short supply. Any other size is a guaranteed disaster because my feet fall right through the front. Sartorially, I like white modern classic, dainty, refined, polished, flat or low-heeled sandals with light-coloured soles. And they have to be VERY comfortable so that I can walk fast with doggies in tow. These requirements further narrow my choices. So I got to work early in the year while stocks were high.

After a lot of online shopping and returning — the only way I can find a narrow sandal size — I found two candidates. A pair of casual gladiators made in Italy, and a pair of dressier caged sandals made in China. Their strappiness worried me despite their enormous comfort as I tried them at home. Strappy sandals I’ve had in the past killed my feet because the straps dig into my skin. The real test would be putting them through their paces on the street in the Seattle heat. I’m pleased to report both pairs passed this test with flying colours. The gladiators are particularly soft and comfortable, and I can painlessly walk for hours in them. Comfy strappy sandals do exist when you’re lucky to land the right pairs. I was lucky this year. I’m wearing the gladiators here, and the caged heels here.

One of the reasons I shop very early in the new season, or off season, is so that I can plan ahead, relax into it, and find exactly what I want. Then I have the items ready in the wings of my wardrobe when I need them. I do not like feeling rushed or pressured to shop, because it’s stressful. Fashion and style have to remain the fun part of my life so I try to avoid anxiety-provoking situations. Unfortunately, both pairs of sandals went unworn for many months before I could road-test them properly. Fortunately they worked out, and now I’m not scrambling to find pretty white sandals that fit and go the distance in the heat, or making compromises because I’m desperate.