MEAGHAN SMITH PERSONAL STYLIST

If your new jacket or coat (or skirt) features a *vent, then generally you’ll find two small threads in the shape of an X (securing the vent) that need to be carefully snipped and removed before you wear it.

The vent stitch is designed to keep the garment from getting wrinkled and creased during transportation to a store and while it’s hanging on the rails or in storage.

If the stitch is still in place once the jacket’s on the body, it can prevent the garment from fitting and falling the way it’s supposed to. (i.e. It might make it pull across the hips)

*A vent is a vertical slit at the bottom hem of a jacket, coat, or skirt to allow for ease of movement. (e.g. Back in the day they were designed to make horse riding easier.)

**It’s easy to forget. I’ve done it myself and I’m sure to do it again. ?

You can see in this pic, that the vent stitch here is yet to be removed.

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This pea coat was about to be thrown out.

While I love it, in fact, it’s one of my favourite pieces – I knew I couldn’t wear it like this (below) anymore. I had to do something to save it, or it needed to be let go of.

Firstly, I tried using this little comb (testing it on a small area), but it didn’t work. It was pulling and tearing at the fabric – it was too rough.

So when I saw someone mention a little de-pilling device on Instagram, I thought I’d give it a go …and it worked a treat!

It now looks as good as new.

You can watch how I did it here

How you take care of your clothes is very important – both for ensuring they wear well and last as long as they should, but also so that you look well put together. 

You’ll never look stylish if you leave the house with frayed, scuffed, faded, stained, pilled, creased…or like you slept with your dog in their basket – hair all over your clothes. 

Go the extra step and take great care of the pieces you invest in.

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Depending on your lifestyle and where you live, you might need a variety of coats for winter – one for everyday wear (perhaps for work), one for weekends, one for evenings out and one for extreme cold. (ie the big puffy fur lined coat I might wear to the football).

If your work coat, is the same as your going out coat, and your watching kids sport coat, and your go to the snow coat, etc, .. think about building a wardrobe of different coats for different occasions.

Coats can be expensive investment pieces, so start with the one you need and will wear the most. Then continue down the list.

I bought this one (pictured), decades ago in a vintage store. I like to buy myself a new coat every few years – and have a collection that I’ve had for about 20 years. (Which also includes a vintage Dior I found in an opshop, for $40).

Rather than just buying stuff, (and still feeling like you have nothing to wear) think about what your wardrobe needs.

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image via here

Don’t spoil the look of your lovely new coat or jacket (or scarf) by leaving the label on the outside of the sleeve.

They should be very carefully and gently removed.  (You might want to invest in one of these to do the job)

All the label really says is the type of material the garment is made of and in some instances it mentions the brand of the coat.

If the jacket is beautiful and was expensive, there’s no need to expose the label.  The garment and the quality of the fabric will speak for itself.

If for some reason you wish to keep the tag for any particular reason (it may include care instructions) you can reattach it to an inconspicuous area of the coat.

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You can read what styling services I offer here

Follow me on Instagram here