Don’t Save Clothes For Best

“I have seen inside many wardrobes and am often amazed at what beautiful clothes people have that they never wear. Don’t lock your feel-good clothes away. If you love it, wear it. It feels good when you actually wear something out rather than just get tired of it. Try thinking about cost per wear. A Birkin is a bargain if you’re still using it every day when you’re 70, but not only if it comes out of its orange box once in a blue moon”.

I wrote that for Harper’s Bazaar many years ago and it’s even more relevant now. We’ve been through a pandemic, working-from-home-wear, a return to ‘going out’ and so now, basically, when it comes to clothes, anything goes.

Today I tried on Phoebe Philo’s new collection (Collection C - she doesn’t subscribe to the usual fashion calendar, instead preferring to drop new pieces throughout the season). She explains that each of her pieces are designed to be worn day to night, because she can’t think of anything worse than having to go to home to change before going out in the evening. Rather than looking plain in the evening, she’s basically giving all of us permission to dress up a bit more - hell, a lot more - during the day. It’s a much more exciting way to approach dressing and while I’m not suggesting you show up at the office in a velvet gown, maybe the expensive, bright silk evening jacket can make it out of the closet before Christmas.

One reason I hear from people as to why they don’t wear this or that, except for on special occasions, is because of the cost of dry cleaning. I get it. But most things actually do not need to be dry cleaned. My advice will come with a disclaimer, but I’ll write about washing instructions soon. There’s a practical side to fashion, after all.