Quick Fixes for Wardrobe Emergencies

Now that we've covered the how of buying clothing on line let's talk about some easy things you can do to keep your wardrobe fabulous without spending an arm and a leg. Here are the tips I think everyone should know to keep it all fabulous without spending an arm and a leg.

First, learn a little bit of basic sewing. Here are things to have around the house. At almost any drug store you can find small sewing kits. Often they will contain a few needles, some thread in various colors, a thimble, a needle threader all in one convenient little box. Now if you want to create your own for either home use or on the go here's a few ideas to get you started.

For an on the go or in your desk kit a few safety pins of varying sizes, super glue, a few buttons (you can buy these on cards), one pair of small scissors, black thread, white thread and some Velcro. With so few supplies many wardrobe malfunctions can be temporarily fixed. Lose a button? Hem come undone? Here's what you do.

Let's say you lose a button off of the middle of your button up shirt. You can temporarily fix it with a small small safety pin fastened on the inside of your shirt to hold it closed. Anywhere you have a button you can do this with ease.

Next up, the hem of something you have on comes apart what do you do? Take your super glue and head into a bathroom or other private place. Take off the garment and dab a tiny bit of super glue where the fabric still shows a fold, fold it back into place and wait for it to dry. When you get home it's very easy to add a few stitches to put it back into place.

Another handy thing are the new portable stain removers. They come in pen style, wipes etc. A package of these in a desk drawer can mean the difference between a ruined shirt and a shirt that just has a little damp spot on it.

If you don't happen to have one of these on some fabrics you can use a little nail polish remover, hand soap or even dish soap to remove or loosen a stain. For most stains make sure to use cold water so you don't set the stain, pat don't rub and hope. You can also use seltzer and salt.

One tip especially for the ladies. We've all had it happen, right in the middle of the day your bra pops a wire and pokes you right in a tender spot. What do you do? There are a few quick fixes you can do to save your bra until you can get home. The end that pops out if it doesn't have some sort of coating, you can wrap the end in a bit of paper towel and tape then gently feed it back into the bra, then cover the hole with tape. If you have a little more time you can use a dot of super glue and a couple of stitches and voila. One saved bra and you're more comfortable for the rest of the day. If you're in a real bind and don't have anything else a band-aid applied to the area where the hole is can keep you comfortable until the end of the day.

Gentlemen, what do you do if your zipper breaks in the middle of the day? You can use one or two safety pins to pin down the flap across the zipper. You can also (if you're pretty handy with a needle and thread) sew the flap over the zipper until you can get it replaced. In a serious pinch instead of the safety pins you can actually use a stapler. Make sure you take those pants off first to avoid accidents.

In conclusion remember, it might seem hard at first but, these few little things can save you time and money. If you can fix your clothes yourself you can save by not running around trying to find a dry cleaners or tailor or throwing away perfectly good clothes. Next time join me for tips on how to thrift shop in a store without getting frustrated.