Fashion: Rework your old clothes into a new wardrobe

FASHION FATIGUE: Try looking at your collection from a new angle.

I'm sick to death of my wardrobe and don't really have any money to spend giving it a badly needed overhaul. Any suggestions?

I know what you mean. Even if we have tonnes of clothes in our wardrobe we often get sick of them, even if there's nothing wrong with them and they still look fabulous on.

I do quite a few wardrobe consultations with women in exactly the same rut as you, and I've helped re-energise both them and their wardrobe.

What I find is that the majority of women wear their clothes a certain way - for example, they will always wear that top with that skirt and that jacket. They either don't think or aren't adventurous enough to mix and match.

One client had an amazing vest that she'd only worn once. She liked the vest but didn't like the skirt that went with it (a recommendation from a pushy sales assistant). So we tried the vest with about three other bottoms from her wardrobe and voila, now she loves her vest.

You can't tell if one garment is going to work stylistically with another until you try it on and have a good play.

So go on, pull out everything in your wardrobe and drawers, and I mean everything. With an open mind, mix that top with those pants, that skirt, those leggings, etc. Try every garment on in loads of different ways with other garments. I suggest you group all your tops, skirts, jackets, trousers, etc, in separate piles to make it easy.

Get a friend around to help you - you can have some fun while you're doing it.

Now, are there any gaps in your wardrobe? Could you do with another top in a particular colour, or with new accessories, can you create a different look for some of your outfits?

Lisa Lyford is the founder of Gorgeous Me, free DIY personal styling and makeover advice.

Send your questions for Lisa to regionalfeatures@apn.co.nz.

www.gorgeousme.co.nz