Polyester gets a bad rap because it’s a man-made fibre that can look nasty, lack drape or substance, and doesn’t breathe. These aspects greatly diminish the quality and aesthetics of a garment, and that’s why there is an anti-polyester movement. 

Despite the obvious negative aspects of polyester, I’m sticking up for it. Here’s why:

• Polyester has come a long way. These days it can look and feel better than silk. It can drape as beautifully as a natural fibre and can feel just as substantial. 

• Polyester is durable, fast-drying, machine washable, and crease-resistant. It’s a low maintenance fibre that neither stretches nor shrinks. Natural fibres can seldom boast these positive attributes, which is why polyester works as well when blended with natural fibres. 

• Polyester is inexpensive, which brings down the price of clothing. 

I recently bought two patterned blouses that are 100% polyester. The H&M Victorian blouse is the nicest polyester I’ve seen and I was wowed. It drapes like a dream and is neither shiny nor flammable. It’s substantial, soft, and looks better than some of my silk blouses. I was flabbergasted to find out it was polyester and cost $35.

The ruffled blouse from Banana Republic is a weightier polyester that feels very silky. In fact the sales assistant thought it was silk and so did I. It also drapes like a dream and feels lovely against the skin. The ruffles flounce as I stride and look lovely. 

I machine-wash both blouses. They hang dry perfectly without needing to be pressed. They look pristine throughout the day and do not crease. They also feel wonderfully cozy when I layer a thermal tee underneath for warmth. I haven’t found them to lack breathability. 

I also fell in love with a cropped striped pullover from Zara with pleather patch pockets that’s polyester-rich. I read the laundry instruction before purchasing it because I wondered about the pleather. I had my doubts about it being machine washable, but was prepared to experiment for $50. Well sure enough, it came out of the machine and air dried perfectly. To my surprise, the pleather pockets did not stretch or ruin the yarn of the rest of the pullover. It has retained its shape and looks fab. 

I will not be deterred by the word “polyester” on the label if the garment looks good, feels good, and is inexpensive. Polyester has definitely earned its place in my wardrobe. How about yours?

I’ve posted many a tip and trick about footwear over the years. I’ve summarized the most practical ones below for easy reference. Follow the link on each title for more detail. 

1. Save your feet with heel cups and cushions: The heel cushion or cup lifts the back of the foot, preventing the uncomfortable rubbing and blisters caused by closed shoes like loafers, sneakers, flats and pumps. Heel cushions or cups can also reduce rubbing in ankle strap shoes by changing the position of the strap on the ankle.
2. Wear no-show socks or nude knee-highs with cropped jeans: Cropped pants and boyfriend jeans that are rolled at the hem often look best without socks. But since wearing socks is more comfortable and insulating, wear no-show ankle socks, footies or nude-for-you knee highs to fake the barefoot look. 
3. Transition your feet into Summer with a pedicure and shorter sandal wears: Pedicures keep your foot skin and toenails healthy, as well as toughening up your feet. And break in your Summer sandals slowly so that your feet get used to wearing the style all over again. 
4. Clean light footwear with moist wipes, a magic eraser, or nail polish remover: Moist wipes remove grime a lot more successfully than you might expect. Light-coloured suede shoes are best cleaned with a moist magic eraser. And nail polish remover is particularly effective at removing black marks on white or light leather.  
5. Repair scuffed black footwear with a sharpie pen: The result isn’t perfect but it can take the edge off the scuff marks by making them darker and less noticeable. 
6. Order narrow size sandals for low volume feet: Failing that, size down half a size in regular sandals to fit a narrow foot. Also, choose design details like smaller peep-toes, closed toes and open backs, more vamp coverage and ankle straps, to help secure the sandals to the foot. 
7. Switch out your footwear after the commute: Don’t let rain, snow, slush or a long walk to and from work ruin your style. Wear comfy and sensible footwear on your commute and change into the right shoes for your outfit once you’ve reached your destination. 
8. Weatherproof suede and leather with weatherproofing spray: Weatherproofing spray will not waterproof your shoes, but it will make them more resistant to damp weather and stains. It’s especially effective on delicate suede.
9. Stretch footwear with a shoe stretching kit or with ice: Get a shoe stretching kit, which uses spray and shoe horns to stretch certain areas of the shoe. Or fill two plastic ziplock bags with water. Place the bags of water in each of the shoes and freeze them. After a day or two, allow the ice to thaw and remove the bags. Voila. Stretched shoes. 
10. Stretch the toebox of your shoes with potatoes: Place a spud in the opening of the shoe and push it in hard and tight. Leave it in there for a couple of days to stretch the toebox. This method works best with soft leather. 
11. Stretch your shoes with wet feet: This is my favourite shoe stretching technique because it stretches the shoe all over. The trick is to wet your feet, put on the shoes and walk around in them for an hour or two. It’s a little squelchy but you get used to it. Walk around at home, or take them out for a spin. Repeat the process a few times and you’ll find that the leather stretches over time and molds to the shape of your feet.
12. Bodyglide prevents blisters: Bodyglide is an anti-chafing balm that you can rub quite liberally onto the areas of your feet that are blister-prone before putting on your shoes. Reapply after four or five hours if necessary. It’s a miracle balm for my own feet. 
13. Six footwear travelling tips: Resist the temptation to take brand new shoes — broken in footwear only. Pack multiple pairs so that you have backup in case something happens to your shoes or feet along the way. Travel in your bulkiest shoes to save suitcase space. Build your travel capsule from the footwear up so that you don’t compromise on comfort and outfit styling. Take the dressy shoes for the dressy outfit, and use Bodyglide.
14. Wear your socks inside out to prevent the seams from rubbing: That way the fabric around your toes is smooth. No ridge seam means less rubbing. 
15. Prevent heel slippage in boots by adding inserts under the footbed of the shoe: The inserts close the gap between your heel and the footbed by taking up some of the space. This is especially effective for wide feet with narrow heels. 

Feel free to add to the list in the comments below.

If your affinity for colour mixing is relatively high, combining eggplant with burgundy is a walk in the park. Finish off the look with grey footwear and bag, and you’re good to go. Add blue or grey jeans to the mix if adding a second neutral will make you feel more comfortable with the palette. 

Combine burgundy and eggplant in any way at all. Silver footwear will work as well as grey. If you don’t have grey or silver footwear, think cognac, taupe, burgundy, eggplant or dark brown. Black will work when you bookend the look with black hair. Think both in solids and patterns. Here are two renditions to get you started.

Burgundy Bottoms, Eggplant Top and Grey Accents

Pair burgundy jeans or trousers with an eggplant top. Add grey boots and bag, and a grey, burgundy or eggplant topper. Add a scarf in the same palette. I’ve shown a casual combination, but by all means make it business casual.  

Eggplant Bottoms, Burgundy Top and Grey Accents

Combine an eggplant skirt with a burgundy blouse or sweater, and add grey boots and bag. Sheer black or grey hosiery is a good match for this palette. Add a purple or dark red blazer as a third piece, and/or a topper in grey, burgundy or eggplant. Add jewellery, eyewear, scarves, belts, watch and headgear as desired. 

Feel free to pair a burgundy dress with a purple cardigan. Or a grey dress with a purple cardigan and burgundy bag. Get those creative juices flowing and play dress-up in your closet.

Solid, dark-coloured socks may be the more practical option, but I’ve had a soft spot for patterned, colourful socks for as long as I can remember. After reading En Brogue’s Snazzy Socks Guide I’m eager to welcome them back into my wardrobe and even try to make them an integral part of my outfit once in a while.

This StyleCaster roundup offers more fun sock suggestions. I bet map lovers will like the NYC Mytropolis socks (slide 14).

Racked has some tips on how to wear socks with sandals this Winter.

Finally, searching for “snazzy socks” on Pinterest yields lots of results. Looking at all these happy socks made me smile.

Fab Links from Our Members

Beth Ann says that if she had a place to wear this light-up dress, she would definitely do so.

And if she had a dress form, one of these would be adorning her parlour.

Sally discusses the concept of “modesty”. Angie thought the arguments for and against using the word as an adjective to describe your style were fascinating, and the opinions in the comments section are worth a read too. It’s a heavy discussion, so consider yourself warned!

Annagybe found this BBC broadcast about the history of the T-shirt very interesting.

Lyn67 was surprised to see what happened when female graphic designers in 18 countries were given an image of a woman with the brief to Photoshop her into the ideal woman.

For 2016, Pantone has picked two colours of the year: Rose Quartz and Serenity. Joy found Janice’s tips on how to use these pale colours helpful.