Off the cuff

I don’t know about you, but I’m always short on time in the mornings. The last thing I want to do is mess around searching for a pair of cufflinks or a tie to match the last ironed shirt I have in my wardrobe.

I think the secret to successful and speedy dressing for work in the mornings is a little bit of organisation. I find the easiest way is to prepare my outfit the night before, I either select my favourite suit and find a shirt to go with it, or select the shirt and match the other items to that.

Either way, I find it’s a good idea to start with one key piece. I get everything ready down to shoes, socks and even the watch I’ll wear. One word of warning in preparing things the night before is to make sure you have good lighting! Nothing worse than finding out the colours you thought matched perfectly in the dim light of the bedroom are, in the cold light of day, as shocking as your dad’s dancing!! Oh, and another piece of advice would be to avoid this preparation after a ‘good’ night out; I tend to be braver than usual in my shirt and tie combinations with added flourishes that get swiftly removed in the sobriety of morning.

Whichever way you like to prepare you kit for the day ahead, one thing is for sure - it’s always easier to find things if they are organised well. I like to organise my wardrobe for a couple of reasons actually: firstly, so that I can find things quickly, but secondly, it just pleases me when I open the wardrobe doors to have everything ‘in order’ - it is almost like going shopping every morning!

Small things can make a big difference when it comes to presentation and I’ve picked up some tips from our visual guys over the years who dress our stores so beautifully. Like folding my ties, for instance, and storing them in a shallow drawer; and using the same wooden hanger for all my suits and coats. I also like to fold my shirts and stack them on a shelf – I think they look much better and actually get less creased than getting squashed up on a rail.

My other top tip is to edit your wardrobe regularly. If you’ve got the luxury of another space to store your clothes, then only keep the clothes that are relevant to the season – what’s the point of wading through heavy winter coats in the middle of August to find that lightweight linen jacket you know is in there somewhere!  And if you’ve not worn that jumper for a couple of seasons, then chances are you are never going to wear it again - send it to the charity shop and replace it with something you will wear!

Organising your wardrobe does require a bit of specialist gear. I mentioned earlier about having a row of nicely matching hangers – well it’s also important to have the right sort of hanger too. The best sort is a wishbone shape that has ‘shoulders’ – you can get them from John Lewis and they will keep your jackets and coats hanging correctly so they retain their shape perfectly. It will only set you back a few quid as you’ll only need a dozen or so as you can rotate the clothes in your wardrobe keeping the plastics ones for the suits in storage.

The other crucial bit of kit is for looking after your shoes! Wooden shoe trees are a must: go for cedar as they are perfect for absorbing moisture and keeping your shoes in shape, making polishing so much easier. Again, you really only need to invest in these once – I’ve had my shoe trees for years.

Happy wardrobe organising and if you have any tips you’d like to share, then please do let me know – I’m currently looking for a good way of organising my belts – they are a mess!

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