In loving memory of the money you have dispensed over the past few weeks, the Times fashion team has wracked its brains to find methods and means to refresh, reawaken and restore our wardrobe without spending (much) money.

First, it never hurts to go through your clothes methodically, pulling out anything you haven’t worn and giving it away or selling it. Secondly, it’s a good moment to reassess all your favourite outfits and devise at least one new permutation for each.

Thirdly, if you have a few days off, there’s not much excuse for not getting your favourite items mended or altered. Shoes should be polished and resoled and ones that are past it put out to grass.

Fourthly, invest in some decent (ie, not the wire freebies from the dry-cleaners) hangers that are the appropriate shape for the garments you intend to hang on them.

Fifthly, declutter your accessories drawer and lavish some tender loving care on those items that you save — they are the footsol-diers of your campaign — updating old favourites and bringing shape where there was sag. Without them your wardrobe is nothing.

This could also be the moment to be brave and opt for a radical overhaul courtesy of an expert; seek some professional style counsel. There’s plenty of good (and free) advice available from shopping consultants. Someone else’s objective eye cast coolly over your repertoire can be the most invaluable gift of all.

THE DRESS DOCTOR

There is a graveyard in every wardrobe; a place where badly fitting wrong buys live — or, rather, die. Mine was once densely populated and languished in the far left-hand corner of my cupboard. To be brutally honest, I had stopped venturing in that direction for fear of all my sartorial ghosts.

Today, though, my wardrobe is a happy, healthy place, thanks to the Dress Doctor. A costumier at the National Theatre, BBC and Shakespeare’s Globe, Jo Poole has healing fashion hands. And even better, she comes to your house.

The wardrobe resuscitation process started with a proper measure-up, followed by a lengthy discussion and try-on session. Together we assessed why I wasn’t wearing these clothes, whether they were worth rescuing and how she was going to save the good ones. Then the Dress Doctor got to work, sending me off for several hours — presumably to avoid any backseat sewing. In cosmetic surgery terms, I had only fillers and a shot of Botox: sleeve-lengthening, new buttons and a whole lot of hem-shortening. But the Dress Doctor can perform full facelifts. Take this plain New Look dress (shown left). A veritable blank canvas, it was nipped and tucked into something that puts many designer fancies to shame.

Poole’s process involves a certain degree of trust, but when you consider that she has hand-stitched Elizabethan costumes, you realise that your oversized Topshop sack dress is no more than a walk in the park. And her array of fabrics, finishings, ribbons and haberdashery paddings (for shoulder and bust) are as mind-boggling as her ideas. Somebody pass the scalpel.

www.thedressdoctor.co.uk
07855 032705; £240 for a full day’s work, all materials included

Alice Olins

THE CLOTHES SWAP PARTY

As the day of this novel event loomed closer the collective spirits of the Times fashion team sank ever deeper into gloom amid mutterings of “Whose idea was this?”

What had seemed like a legitimate experiment suddenly presented itself as a lightning rod for potential resentments, unintended insults and squirming embarrassment. What happened if no one wanted the clothes you’d brought?

And what about the etiquette? How should we initiate the swap; by keeping our bundles close to our sides and having clandestine negotiations, or by throwing everything into a heap on the floor and diving in (we chose the latter). Is it blatant label-climbing to trade up by swapping, say, a pair of H&M hotpants for a Sara Barman dress? And what would happen to the leftovers?

In the end, the issues resolved themselves — and we didn’t even consume any alcohol. I swapped a dark charcoal sleeveless Wyeth dress that made my feel like a particularly unsexy nun for a burgundy Karen Walker dress with a big bow (which had made Carolyn feel washed out). Nicola swapped a patterned Kenzo top for a dark charcoal, silk camisole (me again, and charcoal again, lesson learnt). Alice scored a pair of black patent peeptoes that Nicola had never mastered the art of walking in. Carola and Eve exchanged minidresses, both of which look much better on their new owners.

()

Anything left over was subject to a free-for-all (including Eve’s gorgeous Aquascutum sequined shrug, which I nabbed and which my daughter then nabbed). The remainder went to Oxfam.

What amazed us was how enjoyable it turned out to be and how successful.

We’ve all been wearing our new trophies nonstop, which proves that one woman’s fashion disaster is another’s wardrobe saver. Any shyness rapidly disappeared, along with label discrimination. We decided unanimously that it was better to swap your unworn Chloé for a Zara coat that you would wear and wear.

Oh, and far from regretting the swaps, we’re all bathing in the altruistic glory of seeing pieces abandoned at the backs of our wardrobes being given new leases of life.

Lisa Armstrong

THE NON-TRAUMATIC RETHINK

Slide show

Sometimes, all it takes is a little lateral thinking and foresight to bring your look bang up to date.

• Add character to a tired garment by changing the buttons — the bigger the better. Visit the Button Queen for antique and modern buttons (020-7935 1505).
  
  
• Drainpipes out, mannish trousers in. Or, if you’re feeling really bold or lazy, a pair of Marc Jacobs-inspired slouchy trousers.
  
  
• Swap ballet flats for a chunky wedge. Less Margot Fontaine, more Harajuku girl, they have more edge when worn with tights.
  
  
• Grey is gone, so throw on some colour for the perfect antidote. Twin acid brights in blue, orange and pink with black.
  
  
• Get rid of cheesecloth smocks and swap them for classic silks and satins, or cinch looser shapes with a belt to create a different silhouette.
  
  
• Update your shoes with clips from absolutelyaudrey.com. They promise to “marry the elegance of vintage-inspired shoe clips with the latest fashion trends”. The possibilities are endless.
  
  
• Pull out your white shirt but wear it loose and untucked this season or borrow your boyfriend/husband’s for the oversized look.
  
  
• Dresses are getting shorter. Have your Sixties shapes taken up by the dry cleaner or a tailor.
  
  
• Swap T-shirts for vests — the sports look is coming back.
  
  
• Don’t throw away your shorts — roll up the hemlines and pull on a belt to tune in to the new summer look.
  
  
• Get over the bob — start growing your hair now and it will be long enough for the summer.
  
  
• A few key accessories can update your look. Move over patent: silver and Perspex form the crux of the new season’s accessories (see Pucci and Anna Moli-nari for inspiration).
  
  
• Platform shoes are still growing (watch those ankles). See Missoni’s vertiginous version.
  
  
• Try an updated Jelly shoe — less Woolworths, more Louis Vuitton — with a heel and in block colours.
  
  
• Metallic bags and shoes add a dash of glitz to monotone shades.
  
  
• Huge bags are going to be, well, huge. Look out for Gap’s great brown leather version with rope handles and the bucket bag — simple, big and the most likely place to lose your keys.
  
  
• Big, plastic wide cuffs and bangles à la Chanel is the new jewellery trend. Cheap and chic.
  
  
• Eyes are the focus for make-up this season. Go for hard-edged black or brighter Sixties-inspired colours.
  
  
• Pale skin is in. Goodbye streaks.
  
  
  
  Nicola Copping
  
  

Times recommends

• Live chat: Thrifty ways to update your winter wardrobe
• Is anybody out there really listening?
• Nutrition Q&A: Will eating late make me fat?