Looking good is often all about the finishing touches. Your outfits don’t have to cost a million bucks for you to look a million bucks, all it takes is a little attention to detail. Luckily, we can make that even easier with 25 budget fashion hacks that will keep you looking spick and span.
1. Keeping shoes watertight
You can make your canvas shoes waterproof by giving them a rub with beeswax and then setting it with a hairdryer.
2. Getting the better of buttons
Don’t leave your shirt looking crinkled just because you can’t handle ironing around buttons. Simply flip your shirt inside out to make ironing a breeze. (I know, why didn’t you think of that?)
3. Stop losing the little things
Lost an earring back or button in the carpet? Simply slip a stocking over your vacuum cleaner hose and get sucking … the lost item will get sucked onto the stocking.
4. Straight-collared
If you struggle to iron your collars properly, running a hot hair straightener around them is the perfect way to get a perfectly smooth edge.
5. Zippidy doo dah
Zipper on your favourite jacket keeps getting stuck? Rub the teeth of the zipper with a graphite pencil tip and it will soon glide up with ease.
6. Jeanius!
White deodorant can leave annoying stains on your dark tops, but simply give those pits a rub with a pair of jeans and watch them disappear. (Test a small patch first to avoid any colour transfer.)
7. Don’t sweat it
Just as embarrassing as the white deodorant stains are yellow sweat stains. These can easily be removed from white shirts by spraying the affected areas with lemon juice before you put them in the wash. (But don’t try it on darks or colours unless you want bleached armpits!)
8. Wine, don’t whine
If you’re a little unlucky when it comes to red wine, you can remove it from your clothes by gently blotting the affected area with a cloth soaked in white wine.
9. Getting rid of runs
Nothing looks more tacky than stockings full of runs. Spray your tights with hairspray to prevent runs – and it will also help stop static cling.
10. Bread winner
To clean dirt off suede, remove the crust from a piece of stale bread, then gently rub the stain with the edge of the bread until it’s all gone.
11. Old clothes hanging around?
To find out if you’re making the most of your wardrobe (or need to do an op-shop drop-off), turn all your hangers in one direction. As you take out clothes to wear, hang them back up with the hanger facing the opposite direction. After one year, get rid of the clothes that are still hanging in the original direction – chances are you’ll never wear ‘em again!
12. Softly does it
To give your T-shirts that vintage-soft feel, soak them in salt water (1L of water and 1/2 cup of salt) for about three days, then wash normally.
13. Delicate business
Hate the endless wringing required when hand-washing your delicates? Easily fixed by placing them in a salad spinner and doing your thing. It’s your very own spin cycle!
14. Adding shine back to shoes
Have your patent shoes lost their sheen? A spritz of window cleaner will soon have you able to see your reflection in them once more.
15. Using your noodle
To keep your long boots in good nick, stuff them with pool noodles when you’re not wearing them to help them keep their shape and stand up right. You’ll be amazed at how much longer they last when they’re not getting creases from folding over.
16. Vodka spritzer
If your vintage or thrift clothing (or stuff that hasn’t been worn since last season) is smelling like a second-hand store, give them a spritz with a mixture of one part vodka and two parts water to instantly neutralise the musty odour.
17. Perfectly buttoned up
Keep the top button of your cuff buttoned up when you roll up your sleeves and they will always be perfectly cuffed.
18. Magic eraser
Get scratches and dings out of leather bags by placing a little bit of moisturiser onto the end of a cotton bud and gently rubbing it into the scratch. Magic!
19. Bags no ironing!
No-one wants to be ironing on holiday! To arrive at your travel destination with wrinkle-free clothes, fold everything in plastic dry cleaning bags before placing them in your suitcase.
20. The finger test
Avoid hanging bra straps by making sure your bra is fitted properly in the first place. You can check to see if your bra fits properly by trying to fit two fingers under your bra band comfortably. If you can’t, it’s probably too tight. And if you can fit more than two fingers under there easily, it’s probably too large!
21. Stick your neck out
No time to try on a pair of pants? You can tell if they’ll fit without trying them on by wrapping the waist around your neck. If they’re the right size, they will wrap just once around your neck without overlapping. How cool is that?
22. Powder power
Remove an oil stain out of a purse by coating the mark with baby powder and letting it sit overnight. Wake up to a purse that’s as good as new.
23. Cold shoulder
To prevent your angora or mohair jumpers from shedding, placing them in a sealed plastic bag and freeze them for a minimum of three hours. I don’t know who figured out that sneaky trick, but it works a charm.
24. Smooth as an exfoliated heel …
De-fuzz your sweater by rubbing it with a pumice stone.
25. Hot feet
Break in stiff or snug-fitting shoes (yes, those ones you bought that didn’t quite fit but were on sale and really, really fabulous) by putting them on with socks and blasting your feet with a hot hairdryer.
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