Think before you throw out

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Many women are looking at their wardrobes in new ways now that we have been in lockdown for more than a month.

Those who have lost their jobs could be considering trying to sell their formal clothes to make cash in the short term. Otherwise they might be concerned they will not have money to buy clothes for a while, so they should hold on to and take care of what they have.

The lockdown might have been a time to do some wardrobe weeding for some - getting rid of clothes they had not worn for a long time.

Before you throw out clothes, consider carefully what they mean to you. They might still have more value to you than the next person, even if they are flawed.

If there is a hole in one your blouses, you should not necessarily throw it away. It could be worn under a jacket or jersey in the winter, which hides the hole. Perhaps the blouse has a special collar and cuffs which can be seen, even though worn with the jacket, and these make attractive features of the overall outfit.

Don't ditch that blouse
Another reason to be careful not to give away blouses too easily is that you might not have something to wear under that particular jersey in the winter.

Usually one needs to wear a top underneath a jersey and the jersey hides that little hole, rip in the seam or burn mark made by an iron.

Do you have a leather jacket that is looking worn? Depending on the colour of the jacket, you can use shoe polish or even lipstick to liven up the leather and make it look new again. Lipsticks come in many shades - from brown to purple, to pink, to red. You could also use shoe polish if the jacket is black or a shade of brown.

You might have thought you could not get the exact colour shoe polish to restore the colour of those unusual coloured boots of yours, but you could use lipstick.

Smear a little lipstick on part of your jacket, such as the inner arm, which is not visible, to match up the colour. If you discover the colour is correct, use a soft cloth to rub lipstick on the parts of the jacket where the colour has worn off the leather.

Then, buff and shine those parts where you have applied lipstick, as you would if you were polishing a shoe, but with a clean cloth. All the excess lipstick should be removed with the soft cloth.

If you have bell bottom or bootleg pants and you have a sewing machine or a friend who has one, it is easier to take them in at the calf than go looking for a new pair of pants. Alternatively, cut the pants off at the knee or above the knee to make into shorts. It is difficult to find pants which fit well around the hips and waist, so hold on to these gems in your wardrobe.

BEFORE: The red colour of this leather jacket had worn off in places, especially on the corner around the lower button hole.