Clothes maketh the woman, they say. Chester-based BBC TV presenter Louise reveals some of her wardrobe secrets and how to make it seem like you own a vast collection of clothes.
It’s that time of year when I want to have a massive spring/summer clean-out of my wardrobe. For me, that means switching around all those dark dresses and jackets that have been decorating the BBC Breakfast sofa over the winter, and making sure some summery ones get to the front of the queue.
One of the comments I receive most often about what I wear on the sofa is: ‘You never seem to wear the same thing twice’. But eagle-eyed viewers will notice that I most definitely do. But I have a system which helps me fool at least some people. I always put clothes back into my cupboard in the order that I have worn them, which guarantees I can never wear the same thing two weeks in a row. I line up all the outfits, then in a spare moment, when I have had enough of them taking up space, I have a massive sort out, take them all out, put them in a huge pile, decide what needs to be done with them and start all over again, in a different order.
I don’t have a stylist and I buy my own clothes so budget is high on my list of priorities, which means I have some dresses that have been guests on the Breakfast sofa for many years. Fashion-conscious viewers can get quite irritated when they want to buy something I have worn on TV, but I have to admit that I bought it years ago, and is no longer available.
Some outfits really make an impact. There was one shirt I bought from a well-known high street brand, which had poppies all over it. Within an hour or so viewers spotted where it was from, and it sold out before I came off air.
Another was my so-called Battenberg dress. It was bright pink and yellow and made me look like the cake. It’s fair to say it had the audience divided, but Heart of Midlothian fans were over the moon, as it was the exact colours of their new away strip. They even sent me my own personalised shirt in honour of the dress. The dress became so infamous that I decided to auction it to raise money for Children in Need. An incredibly generous person paid over £400 to the charity for it. I’m not sure they would be too happy if they knew it cost me under £50!
