This may seem obvious to some, but with an increasing awareness of sustainable fashion and making your clothes last, rather than opting for fast fashion that doesn't last, I thought it appropriate to talk about how you CAN make your clothes last and look good for longer.

Here's a few of my top tips for looking after your clothes:

1. WASH YOUR CLOTHES INSIDE OUT - if you wash your clothes inside out the friction between the fabric and the inside of the washing machine drum during the washing process will cause less damage, or the damage will be on the inside of the garment, not the outside.
   
   
2. IRON YOUR CLOTHES INSIDE OUT - after you have finished washing and dried your clothes, leave them inside out before ironing. The heat of an iron can cause so much damage to your clothes including making your seams shiny, ruining logos and printing and causing heat damage so always iron on the reverse side, except mens shirts.
   
   Ironing is one of the worst household chores, it seems so time consuming but it makes your clothes hang better, you look smarter and like you've actually made an effort with yourself.
   
   
3. LEAVE THEM INSIDE OUT TO HANG IN YOUR WARDROBE - when I've ironed the clothes, I then leave them inside out before hanging them in the wardrobe for three reasons 1) you know at a glance if it is something clean and ready for wearing, 2) it prevents further creasing turning them the right way, and 3) it prevents your clothes looking dusty on the shoulders.
   
   
4. HANG YOUR CLOTHES USING THE CORRECT HANGERS - it is worth investing in decent clothes hangers - PLEASE THROW AWAY any wire hangers still lurking in your wardrobes.  They are terrible for your clothes. For fine knitwear it is so worthwhile investing in knitwear hangers (available in John Lewis and Amazon) to prevent "shoulder nipples" but these are also great for silky garments that slide off normal hangers.  
   
   Use clip hangers for hanging skirts and trousers and if the garment is delicate, or something like leather / suede which marks easily, use a cotton pad either side to cushion the clip to prevent it leaving a mark on the garment.
   
   Never use children's hangers to hang adult clothing.
   
   
5. BRUSH YOUR KNITWEAR - use a soft brush to brush your knitwear to stop it bobbling under the arm and down each side of the body where your arms rub. If your jumpers have already bobbled slightly, it is worth buying a clothes shaver for a small amount of money to bring your jumpers back to life and stop them looking scruffy.
   
   
6. POLISH YOUR SHOES - even if you don't have time to polish your shoes correctly with polish and a cloth, take a minute to wipe them with a shoe wipe or if needs be a wet wipe! Your outfit will look so much better when your shoes are clean.
   
   
7. FOLD YOUR CLOTHES PROPERLY IF YOU STORE THEM IN A DRAWER - if you take 30 seconds longer to fold your clothes and store them properly in your drawer it will actually save you time and frustration in the long run because you will be able to see exactly what you have and they won't get super creased being shoved in the drawer.
   
   
8. FASTEN YOUR SHIRTS / TOPS / BLOUSES - Before hanging your tops / shirts / blouses in your wardrobe, always fasten the top buttom and prefereably one or two more buttons further down the garment to make sure 1) it stays on the hanger and 2) it doesn't get all creased or caught up on other garments when you take things in and out of your wardrobe.

I hope that helps, if you look after your clothes, they will look after you and you will enjoy wearing them. x