Look after your Handbag, How to Store your Winter Clothes, Hats for Special Occasions

Look After Your Handbag (and your back!)

We all know that a smart handbag can make an ordinary outfit look special, but we often forget that it is possible to spoil the look of a bag by overfilling it with stuff we don’t really need.  (The bag in the picture is from the Boden autumn 2010 collection.)

Women are now lugging around less in their handbags, according to recent research commissioned by Debenhams. According to this study, the average bag now weighs 3 lb 5oz, down from the 7 lb 11 oz of two years ago. 

Debenhams attribute this reduction in weight to the new generation of technical gadgets such as iPhones and BlackBerrys.  These have replaced heavy laptops, larger mobile phones and Filofaxes.

Are you still carrying everything but the kitchen sink?  Is your purse stuffed with every till receipt you’ve collected since 2005?

We try to clear out the rubbish from our bags and purses about once a week, and add regular reminders to our Daily Diary to help our viewers.  Tricia points out that carrying too much weight in your handbag can contribute to poor posture and a bad back.

What is on the outside of your handbag?

Try a Google search on ‘bacteria on handbags’ and you will find references to a number of research projects that found potentially dangerous bacteria on a high proportion of handbags, especially on the bottom.   Think about where your bag has been – for example, on the floor of a public loo?  Then consider other places you might put your bag.  When you arrive home from work do you deposit your bag on the kitchen table?  

One website that I looked at suggested wiping over your handbag with disinfectant wipes.  I don’t think that is a good idea if you own an expensive leather handbag, and it probably wouldn’t work if you have a fabric bag. In my opinion the best way to protect your health is to act on the basis that the bottom of your bag is no cleaner than the soles of your shoes.

This advice should also be applied to backpacks and men’s briefcases!  

How to Store your Winter Clothes   

If you live in the northern hemisphere, it is time to start putting away your winter clothes.  Time invested now will be repaid by having ready-to-wear clothes when summer is over.  Your goals are to ensure that your clothes are clean, mended and protected against moth damage, dust and mildew.   

Moths lay eggs in warm dark places, and when the eggs hatch the larvae feed on available material.  Try to ensure that the ‘available material’ does not consist of your favourite winter woollens.  Moths can feed on tiny bits of skin, hair oil, etc left in clothes that have been worn but not washed.  You reduce the risk of moth damage by ensuring that your clothes are clean when you put them away.   

Clothes that require dry cleaning should be taken to the dry cleaners.   

The dry cleaning process will kill moth larvae, and the residual smell will provide some deterrence against attack.  

Silk clothes, wool and cashmere sweaters often specify ‘dry clean only’ on the care label.  It is my opinion that this is often self-protection on the part of manufacturers, but use your own judgement.  I usually send heavier cardigans to be dry cleaned, because they would take a long time to dry at home.  I also have silk or silk-mix knits dry cleaned, because I have found that the sheen on the fabric is lost through hand-washing.  

I wash the majority of my wool and cashmere sweaters by hand, using a very gentle detergent in warm (not hot) water.  Look for a detergent that is recommended for hand washing, such as Woolite, or wool lavender mix from Lakeland.  

The most important rule to follow when washing cashmere is that you must not use fabric softener, as it will cause the fibres to ‘felt’ and you will lose that soft-touch feel that makes cashmere so special.   

Wool and cashmere must never be tumble dried.  I put my sweaters into my front-loading washing machine for the slowest spin cycle.  You may prefer to roll yours in a large towel and gently squeeze out excess water. Recently I read that excess water can be removed by using a salad spinner! I do not recommend putting them in a top-loading machine, as the spin cycle is much faster.  Reshape the garment, and lay it flat to dry.   

When my sweaters are dry, I use a warm iron to get out any creases. 

I store my sweaters in plastic food bags, available in almost any large supermarket. I pop them into the deep freeze for 24 hours prior to putting them away.  This kills off any moth larvae that may still be lurking in the fibres. 

I store my sweaters, plus scarves, gloves, woolly hats, etc in large plastic boxes that slide under the bed. (The photo shows a box from Robert Dyas.) 

I put lavender sachets in the boxes, even though the items are in plastic bags.  Moths dislike the oil that comes from lavender.  You could also try cedar wood, sometimes available as balls. These are available from many retailers; you may find them at Lakeland.

If you are short on space, buy large plastic bags that reduce in size when you use a vacuum cleaner to suck out the air.   At the time of writing Betterware have vacuum seal bags on their website at 3 for £14.99. 

Hats for Special Occasions   

Many of us only wear hats for events such as weddings or ladies’ day at the races.  This may mean that we do not really feel confident about choosing or wearing a hat. 

If you are putting together an outfit for a special occasion, your dress is the obvious starting point.  This will probably be the most expensive part of your outfit, and hopefully you will wear it more than once.  You can then choose a hat to match or co-ordinate with the dress.  

Consider checking your local charity shops for a suitable hat.  Many people wear a hat only once (or sometimes never) and then donate it, so you could find something as good as new at a fraction of the shop price.  

Try to choose a shape of hat that suits your size, and shape of your face.  If you don’t know where to begin take a critical friend (probably not your other half) when you go shopping, and try on a variety of styles. 

From scanning the fashion press, the most desirable style for summer 2009 is a Panama hat; the most out-dated item you could choose would be a fascinator.  

That said, fascinators will probably continue to be popular because they are less daunting to the inexperienced hat wearer.  

One reason people worry about wearing hats is the fear that the hat will blow off in the slightest breeze.  

Making sure the hat fits can reduce this risk.  While men’s hats often come in variable sizes, women’s hats (at least in the affordable price range) are usually one-size-fits-all.  So, if the hat is loose on your head, take steps to make it smaller.  

You can make your hat smaller by padding out the band inside the hat.  This can be done by neatly folding tissues (try the larger-sized ones) and securing them inside the ribbon that runs around the inside of the brim of the hat.  

If the hat has an elastic band, you can attach the band to your hair under the hat with a few hairgrips – try to make sure they don’t show.  You can usually buy hairgrips in a colour to tone in with your hair.  

Some novice hat wearers place the hat on the back of their head, rather than on the crown (top) of the head, which is wear the designer usually intends it to be worn.  This will make the hat much more prone to falling off, and it not so flattering to the face.   If you are splashing out and buying an expensive hat, ask the sales assistant for advice on how to wear the hat – get your money’s worth!  

Practice wearing your hat before the big day.  You could try vacuuming the carpets or making the bed – anything to become more accustomed to the feel of the hat on your head.  

And finally – enjoy your special occasion.

Do you love/hate hats?  When and where did you last wear one?  Tell us about it on Talk Back!        

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