“Fashion isn’t about buying the most expensive designer duds. It’s about learning the difference between overpriced items and quality products” – Linda Dominique Grosvenor

by Linda “Princess Dominique” Grosvenor

I don’t shop much and people are always shocked to hear a woman say that, however, I don’t have to shop much. It’s not that I don’t like to shop, but I am careful what I buy and I don’t let myself get enticed with sales and other bright signs. I have a pair of lilac linen slacks that I bought at the Gap 4 years ago and they are still in fabulous condition. Fact is, I hear people squeal at how much things cost and I think to myself, those are probably the same people that have to go out every single summer and fall and buy a whole new wardrobe because everything in their closet is worn to shreds. Most people don’t know it, but there is a key to shopping. Quality. And trust me, quality doesn’t always mean inflated prices.

Quality means, knowing what you’re buying, learn to buy to last and be mindful of cost, but average how many times you’d have to replace an inexpensive piece to justify buying a pricier garment. Let’s get down to the nuts and bolts of the no-no fabrics. If you’re intent on building a wardrobe, keep cottons to a minimum. I know, we love cotton because we can get tops for $3.99 and $5.99, but cotton fades, it gets unsightly lint balls and when cotton stretches and gets out of shape–there isn’t a thing you can do about it. That means that the cute cotton top you bought at the beginning of the summer will be used to polish your car in the fall. If you absolutely must buy cotton (because it does breathe rather well), keep cotton for the tops and even then keep it to a minimum because tops made of rayon or a linen/cotton blend wear better, fit better and last so much longer. Polyester is another enticing fabric, enticing because, yes, it’s cute and affordable to manufacture, but once polyester snags–it’s not very nice at all to see strings flying away from your skirt, pants, dress or having to walk around snipping the strings off with a scissors. And if you snag a garment that has a pattern, well, polyester will almost never line up for you. When you tug the fabric, the misalignment will be noticeable. That’s why polyester should have stayed back in the 70’s. It’s outdated and not very durable. Cotton spandex is another fabric and while it looks good on the hanger, the lint balls that develop from slight wear (especially between the legs on pants) are outrageously embarrassing. A year from now you will not even recognize that cotton spandex pant suit in your closet, so, it’s best to skip it all together.

By now you’re saying, “Well, what can I buy?” One of the first things I look at when I eye a product for potential purchase is the tag. Not the price–I need to know specifically what it is made out of. it’s suffice to say that my top favorites fabrics are rayon, wool crepe, linen and silk. Rayon it a true to size fabric. If you have a top, pair of slack or skirt in rayon, it will maintain its shape, color and size (meaning it won’t shrink when you dry clean it). Wool crepe is excellent and among my favorites. Every suit hanging in my closet with the exception of maybe three are wool crepe. I love to buy suits that come with a skirt or slacks so that I can wear the bottoms with another top. I also buy the sheath or plain tank dress and often opt to wear the dress alone as well and dress it up with a colorful neck scarf. Wool crepe is a flattering fabric and you definitely get years of wear out of anything made from wool crepe. One reason I love wool crepe is that, it’s is wool, but it’s woven light enough to wear all year ’round. Crepe thankfully is not as heavy as the basic wool we’re all familiar with and a year ’round fabric will allow you to wear your suit in the winter and the pants or the skirt with a pretty feminine top in the summer. Linens are great too if you’re endeavoring to build a wardrobe. They work well with tops in the summer and also dress up with a blazer too in the fall. The only downside to linen is that it wrinkles very easily and the wrinkles are hard to get out on your own, but a linen suit, blouse or skirt will last you for years. Now, last but not least on my list is silk. Silk is a delicate albeit not a very forgiving fabric, meaning that it doesn’t “give” much and depending on the cut you may have to go up a size because if silk fits too snug it will tear.

But all in all if you eliminate purchasing the kinds of pieces that don’t last and replace them with the ones that do, you can begin building an impressive wardrobe in no time. And of course, you won’t have to run out and replace an entire wardrobe every year. Imagine the savings. Now you can just walk into a department store or dress shop and know that you only need to “enhance” your wardrobe with carefully selected pieces that meet your level of durability–not start all over from scratch every season.

Linda Dominique Grosvenor is a true shoe connoisseur and a Fashion Insider for Hautelook’s new member only shoe-of-the-month website SoleSociety.com. She has appeared on The Today Show to dish about “Why Women Love Shoes” and believes all women who love shoes have a little exhibitionist in them. She is also the brainchild behind The Weekly Shoe Giveaway™ and spearheaded Project Prom Angel in which she partners with generous sponsors to assist lower income teen girls with acquiring shoes, dresses and accessories to attend their prom. The legal guardian over a massive shoe collection, she invites you to visit her website and take a peek at PrincessDominique.com.

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