I love to travel. I’ve finessed packing light, and fitting all toiletries into a ziplock bag not much bigger than my hand. On the other hand I hate checking luggage. (Have you ever met anyone who loves checking lugagge?) But I have never been able to not shop while on a trip.

To alleviate the airlines taking an extra $25 to $50 bucks off my hands on my return trip home (due to overweight luggage), I stop at the Post Office and pick up a couple of Flat Rate Shipping Boxes.

Say you are going to a conference, where you know you are going to come home with a lot of books, brochures and whatnot? Flat Rate is great, because no matter how much the box weighs, it’s still a flat rate. And the Post Office provides the boxes for FREE. You can also have the post office mail the empty boxes directly to you (again, FREE), and throw a few in your luggage before you leave. If you ship to yourself, you don’t have to drag that extra reading material from airport to airport or gate to gate-it will usually get to you within two days of shipping (yet another bonus, it’s Priority Mail!).

For you gals that love shoes, the last time I stopped in Vegas, I had a field day shopping the sales! I bought six pair, threw the boxes away, wrapped them in tissue, and fit at least four pair in one large Flat Rate Box.

On the day before my trip ends, I pre-pack everything I will need for the next day, and set aside whatever I don’t need that can be shipped. (If it’s work stuff that I picked up on the trip, I ship it my job, alleviating the need of dragging it from my house to work). I pack it up, and drop it at the Post Office. I even ship my toiletries (lotions, hair gel, etc.,) I may not need, or want to carry on the return back to myself also.

The best part is, sometimes it feels like an extension of my vacation when I get that box!

This one is an oldie but a goodie.

A coworker dropped by my desk to ask if I had an extra earring back, she had lost hers.

I opened my desk drawer, cut the eraser tip off a pencil, and pushed it onto the back of earring.

Problem solved.

Bottomless Closet Chicago, 445 N. Wells, is having a special sale this Thursday, August 27, 2009! What makes it so special? A donation (for sale) of 76 pairs of brand new designer shoes donated to raise much needed revenue for Bottomless Closet, brand names include:

COACH, PLINER, WEITZMAN, COLE-HAAN, JUICY, JINNY KIM, LEOMBRUNI. PURSES TOO-LIMITED QUANTITY!

The doors open at 11 am, and close at 7 pm. Clothing will also be on sale.

The mission of Bottomless Closet is to support women in transition by providing business professional clothing, career skills and image coaching, empowering them to interview with confidence, gain employment and achieve economic self-sufficiency.

Take an early lunch for a good cause, and bring your wallet!

Guys and gals, fashion is year-round. Your styleosophy should reflect that. I am doing a series of posts on how to transition your wardrobe items, either into storage, or recycle directly back into use for the season. I want to help you focus on how to make the most of your wardrobe, all-year round. Need a specific question answered? Email it to me at glenyse@styleosophy.com.

Coats, jackets, and trenches
Have you recently made a spring purchase in this category? Once you get it home, get your needle and thread out. Reinforce the buttons. If you can’t sew, take the purchase to the cleaners and have them do it. The cost should be negligible, but well worth it.

If your newly purchased item is anything less than haute couture, you better believe that whoever sewed those buttons on only gave enough staying power to keep them on from the manufacturer to you taking it home. And usually that’s not a lot of reinforcement.

Also, put your winter coats in the cleaners. Ask them to reinforce all your buttons, and ask if they can store your coats through to the fall. Why have them taking up space in your closet over the summer?

Pants into Capris or Shorts
I don’t know if this is a generational thing or not, but I often see young ladies walking on the back of their nice dress pants, tearing them up. They get all frayed, nasty looking, and give an otherwise magnificent outfit an unkempt look. Yeech.

An ecologically chic solution: take your pants to the tailor and get them shortened into capris. It’s an super-easy update, and capris are fashionable all-year round.

Guys, this one applies to you also. Shorts are in for the fellas. Take advantage of this tip with your worn-out hemmed dress pants and request your tailor update them into bermudas or longer-length shorts. Pair them with a dressier shirt. Very fashionable this year and an excellent way to recycle new fashion into your wardrobe for the summer.

Where do you find a good tailor? Start with referrals from friends and family or ask at your cleaners.

If you have committed this fashion crime in the past and would prefer to not put yourself through all that unstylish torture again, get some Zakkerz.

Part two next Monday

Ladies and gentlemen, check my legs out on Corprette. There was a big discussion going on about fishnets in the workplace, I had a pair on that day, took a few pictures and sent them in. In the poll, I’m that 1% that thinks it’s quite alright to rock your nets if you can pull it off in a professional way.

I think my fishnets look great, but not everyone agrees!