Me in Melange

jean hemlines 101...

It's back to school for many this week and for us that usually means an influx of girls looking for a brand new pair of jeans.  New jeans are the best way, in my opinion, to boost your confidence.  They make you feel great and they're an instant staple in your wardrobe.  The worst thing you can do though, is not get your jeans hemmed properly.  I'm not sure why anyone would spend so much on designer jeans and not spring for the extra $15 to get the original hem at the correct inseam. In fact, we believe so strongly about original hems that we now offer FREE HEMMING to all of our IN-STORE customers... come see our smiling faces in person and we will not only put you in the perfect pair of jeans for your bootie, but we will also hem them for free. 

(Emily pinning for one of said, back-to-school-ies)  Now, unfortunately we can't offer this to our out-of-town web customers... but what we can do is give you all of our good 'hemming jeans know-how'.  First.  Pick a good seamstress, try not to just go out on a limb... get references from girlfriends or go to a local boutique and ask them who they would recommend.  Next, be sure to wash your jeans before you get them hemmed.  Denim tends to shrink up a bit after the first wash. So always wash and dry first.  And speaking of drying... I always air-dry my jeans.  If you put them in the dryer they will continually shrink upwards getting shorter and shorter, until one day when you're like, 'when did I buy high-waters?'  Air-drying will save your inseam and help keep the wash it's original color. Finally, ALWAYS ask for the original hem.  ALWAYS. I've been going to the same lady for 4 years now and I still specify that I would like the original hem.  Why risk it... cause once it's hemmed, you cannot take it back.  We have a super cute new shipment of Citizens coming in tomorrow.  I might have to treat myself to a back-to-school pair just for fun.  signed, me {CA}

Hard Tail Fit and Alteration Guide

We hope this makes buying the perfect pair of Hard Tails just a bit easier!  signed, me {CA}

Food coloring stains be gone!

A couple of days ago we had a food coloring "issue"....the nanny busted out some color experiment kit that was intended for kids much older than mine (I think someone gave us this gift at a birthday party..they were probably happy to give it away...I bet it was a "re-gift"!!)  Anyway, the kids "had at it" with color experimentation and had food coloring all over their hands, dresses and tights.  At first I thought maybe it was simply washable (after all, this was in a children's game), but after about 30 seconds of scrubbing Lucia's green hands I realized that they weren't budging from green.  The big bummer was that their dresses were nice too...they weren't even in play clothes (of course).  So....I took the clothing covered them in shaving cream (suppose to lift food coloring spots), scrubbed a bit (at this point the stains looked like they weren't budging), then I threw them in the wash with about a cup of vinegar and some liquid Tide.  Voila...two clean dresses, not a spot on them!  I was pretty excited.  I'm not sure if it was the shaving cream or the vinegar that did it, but regardless, that combo worked!  Signed, ME {lv}

perfectly patched

My favorite pair of distressed Sevens were becoming just a bit too distressed... aka you could see my winter-pale leg through one of the on-purpose holes because the threads that once stretched across them had torn. So, I took them to my seamstress and had her put a white cotton patch behind it and she did this great stippled stitch to stregthen the fabric around the hole.  And voila...

my Sevens are perfectly patched and you can hardly notice!  And they're even more comfy because I'm not constantly worried about the hole becoming bigger and bigger.  I totally recommend doing this to prolong the life and look of your distressed jeans.  signed, me {CA}

PS! Speaking of Sevens.... we just got a brand new shipment with 3 new styles and restock on the high waisted bootcut in LA Dark!!  Check them out here. 

Fixing bleach spots!

I found this in the Lucky magazine issue this month and I think it is a pretty darn good tip.  As a person who has ruined numerous pieces of expensive clothing with random bleach spots that seem to come from nowhere (I actually considered banning all cleaners and bleach products from the house because usually I get the spot and can't quite figure out "when" it happened).  Anyway, the suggestion was as followings:  Use a Tria System Pantone Marker, because it won't bleed on the fabric and it comes in a million colors.  Just wash the garmet first, color in the spot and let sit for a day, then wash and it will be permanently set.  You can find the markers at www.pearlpaint.com.  Signed, ME {lv}

Before and After- Jean Makeover!

Here’s the story of how I went from a size 30 to a size 27- without loosing a pound!  (Sorry girls, no big diet secrets here) 
Ok, here’s the story:
In the past I always bought my jeans too big thinking I’d probably shrink them in the wash. Also, I’ve always thought tight jeans were uncomfortable.  What, of course, ended up happening was my jeans would stretch out, not shrink, and thus I would end up with jeans that were way too big.

Ok, don’t laugh, here are the before and after photos...

At Melange we always recommend people buy jeans that feel a little too small when they first try them on.  If they feel tight when you first buy them, they will probably feel perfect after they stretch out about a half size.

Feel free to check out our Jean Bible for more helpful jean fit tips!

signed, {k}

Clothes care tip...cashmere

Quick note about cashmere...it is just on my mind because I grabbed a black cashmere cardigan that I bought years ago last night when going out and I was happy to find that it looked great and it was still the perfect little cardigan.  I wash all my cashmere--drying cleaning over time ruins in.  Most cashmere labels says you should dry clean, that it mostly because if they say "wash" someone will throw it in with a load of jeans and pop it into the dryer and wonder why it comes out ruined--they try and make it as simple as possible for the peole .   Anyway, washing cashmere in cashmere soap, and then rolling it out between two towels to get the excess what out, and the blocking and laying it to dry really does it it looking the absolute best.  Your cashmere will be MUCH softer.  I also store my sweaters in airtight containers during the "off season".  Signed, ME {lv}