Cardigan Empire

Salt Lake City Fashion Stylist

  • ABOUT
    • Credentials
    • Press
    • Testimonials
  • SERVICES
    • Color Analysis
    • Fashion Lookbook
    • Local Services
    • Closet Cleaning
  • FIT GUIDES
    • Top Jeans
    • Modest Shorts
    • Leggings Comparison
    • Find Perfectly Fitting Clothes
    • Best Swimsuits for Your Bottom
    • Best Swimsuits for your Belly
    • Best Swimsuit for Your Bust

How to Make your Kids Clothes Last Longer

Your assistance in our Coco petition, garners ample appreciation. something wondrous like:
5 Steps to Extending the Life of Clothe-lettes

Proceed with me to your retributed reward…



Step I) Buy High Caliber Clothes
You may erroneously assume that investing in dandies for your dickens is equivalent to stocking your wipey case with George’s minted profile.  But you are wrong (hence erroneous).  And I will methodically address each of your arguments.  

  1. Small people grow big too quickly 
    Better clothes include self-adjusting details. Multiple button homes on elastic waistbands or shoulder straps allow clothing to be purchased roomy and worn from season dawn to season set, if not the next season go-round as well.
  2. Minors major in clothing destruction  Better clothes are made of better fabrics.  Tighter weaves proffer stain resistance, larger seam allowances protect against dropped hems, scientifically smartish blends stretch then rebound.  Give the fabric a tug, without compromising comfort you want a taut response.  A dense weave locks out potential stains.  Check the garment’s innards, the seam allowances should be generous and reinforced.  Hems should never look malnourished.  Inventory the tag, if it’s intended to stretch (ie a pull-on t-shirt) it should include a touch of spandex or lycra or similar.  Plain cotton will stretch, but it won’t rebound, and Flashdance fashion should never be forced on juveniles.
  3. Better clothes cost too much.  Quality is not measured in the number of digits on it’s retail tag.  Buy the best quality you can afford at the lowest price you can find.  Filter through end of season clearance racks at the stores you wish you could shop at…and you probably can. Buy for next season, then catalog it away until it is time to wear.  Check thrift and second hand shops, if they made it for a second go round, it may last longer than brand new disposable clothing.  Always, always, consider cost per wear

Step II) Dress for the Occasion
My babies dine in diapers.  Their petal soft skin is far easier to polish clean than their clothes are.  While this technique may not be appropriate for your ten-year-old, prepare ensembles for activities with clothing pollution potential.  Make smocks, aprons, or pre-stained items available for painting, grass rolling, cooking, etc.



Step III) Refashion Outgrowths
Cut back on giant arm syndrome by rolling the sleeves.  Layer a thin cotton underneath. Make what you already have work.  Winter’s wool trouser may blossom into wee tween short pants.  A-line dresses make natural tunics and what was originally donned as this year’s denim skinnies may evolve into summer capris and can even be selected for boot tucking next winter.  Evaluate how you can refashion what you already have before you buy your next season of inventory.  






Step IV) Cross-Dress
This button-up was intended for Baby Boyfriend’s fall collection, but while we waited for him to sprout a few lb’s and “‘s, sister enjoyed it for a few summer frolics.  If there’s little chance of it wearing out, buy it in a gender neutral color.  White onesies and socks know no gender boundary.


Step V) Wash Less, Quickly
If you want to obliterate the Winnie-The-Pooh coveralls that Grandma gifted your darling, wash them.  Wash them every time you pass a dirty look at them, because washing is the fastest way to break fibers down.

Conversely, the fewer times you have to wash an item, the longer it will live.  Step two’s occasional dressing will aid your wash resistance and so will the liberal wielding of your wipey case. Wipeys aren’t just for diaper debris.  Those and their wet rag cousins can remove all kinds of unset stains.  Address baby spits, toddler dribbles, and the like as soon as they land.   



In short, if it isn’t stinky or soiled, put it back in the drawer.  If it is dirty, treat it as soon as possible.  If you don’t have a load to launder at hand, apply stain remover and a quick warm water soak to ensure the stain doesn’t set.  When you’re ready to wash,  use a quality detergent to support clothing longevity.  If your detergent is efficacious in one wash, you’ve saved yourself at least another wear.



And I’m not done thanking you, next post I’ll address how to dress your tween.

In the meantime, book a Virtual shopping session for you, for your progeny, for your next family frolic.  I was born to fashion childhood and the supporters of it.


Feed me fashionably fresh

posted Filed Under: Budget, Children's Fashion, Laundry Care

Money Saving Tips: Make Your Jeans Last Longer


Denim is a prolific closet panacea. It can associate with garment princes and paupers without requiring even the application of a warm iron for perfect presence. But how to get your most popular clothing choice to last a few seasons longer?

one. Recycle
Your jeans should not be laundered following every wear. Unless they are stained, wear them at least two or three times between laundry soaks. Denim & rivets were combined to serve miners who occasionally bathed their trousers in the creek. It can stand up to your afternoon at the park as well.

two. Hem
Unlike Princess of Monaco’s train this idea will only look shabby. Make sure your denim is hemmed to the break of our shoe, so you don’t trample your hem.

three. Zip & Button
Close all the openings before washing your jeans. Exposed fasteners, rivets, and zippers can rub and weaken your indigo threads.

four. Inside Out
Turn jeans inside out before bathing them in the washer. This strategy allows the fading dyes to settle back into the fabric. And if possible wash a family of denim together. Your 6-year-old grandpa’s can be rejuvenated by the dyes escaping from your 2-week-old newborns.

five. Wash Cold
If you can’t see visible dirt or stains, dial to cold. You’ll see a reduction in your denim fade and your utility bill. Reserve hot water washing for jeans for heavily soiled or oily occasions.

six. Wash Delicate
Apply the most tender wash cycle available to your jeans. While sturdy, delicate care will extend your time together. Very lightly soiled jeans may even be washed on a delicate cycle, but will need an extra spin cycle on regular to remove the excess water.

seven. Air Dry
Save your denim from the spinning jaws of your dryer. Air drying your jeans with only a short fluffing in the dryer.

eight. Reinforce
Surgery may be required to save failing denim knees. Patch them before they wear through by applying fabric glue or fusible web to the inside of the knee. You can also cut up an old, unwearable pair of jeans for patches to reinforce stress points like pocket corners.

nine. Storage
Folded not hung, store your jeans with zippers and buttons inside the fold, stacking the pairs in alternating directions to make a level pile. Hangers will crease, and clips will distress the cuffs or waistband.

ten. Dye
If you wish, you can dye your denim new. Rit Fabric Dye can flash your jeans back to a fabulous inky black. But Dylon Machine Dye for Blue Denim will resurrect them back to a perfect shade of deep, rich blue.

Please add your denim saving tips in the comments.

Feed me fashionably fresh

posted Filed Under: Denim, Laundry Care, Money Saving

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Next Page »

Categories

 

spacer
spacer
spacer advertise

Copyright © 2025 · Cardigan Empire on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in