A Happy Wardrobe with Clothes Doctor

We’ve teamed up with clothing care brand Clothes Doctor, to help you achieve a wardrobe that makes you happy and extends the life of your favourite pieces. Get ready for their top tips!

 

Wardrobe Review

 

Clothes Doctor’s first tip for kick-starting your wardrobe detox is to pull everything out from your wardrobe and review what you have already. Ask yourself, when did you last wear each item? Or take the Marie Kondo approach and ask yourself whether the item sparks joy. If not why, why not?

If you’re looking for more tips for your wardrobe detox, check out our dedicated blog post!

 

Eco Clean

 

It sounds simple but Clothes Doctor’s golden rule for any wardrobe detox is to make sure your garments are clean at all times. They may look clean, but you’d be surprised how easily any food, hair, skin particles and toxins can attach themselves and cause damage.

According to Fashion Revolution, up to 25% of each garment’s carbon footprint comes from how we wash and care for our clothes. So, keep your cleaning eco by hand washing instead of dry cleaning where you can and using eco-friendly locally sourced products – Clothes Doctor has just the thing! 

 

TLC

 

Sometimes our clothes need a little extra care and attention. Show your older clothes some love with repairs, alterations and restyling. We teamed up with Clothes Doctor for a mending tutorial, featuring sequins! 

Discover how you can keep those stunning sequin styles in your wardrobe for longer on their website.

 

Swap, Donate, Recycle

 

Now what to do with your ‘to go’ pile? Clothes Doctor stresses the importance of these not ending up in landfill, so suggests storing them away for now. For the future, clothes swaps, donating to charity or taking them to be recycled are all great ways to say goodbye.

At Monsoon we have a Clothes for Life initiative, where you can recycle your unwanted clothes with us in exchange for £10 off your next purchase. So you can visit us in store once we reopen to drop off anything in your ‘to go’ pile! 

 

Store

 

Last but not least, restoring your wardrobe. Starting with a clean, cool, dark, dry space to keep your clothes protected, it is a good idea to invest in decent wooden hangers and to not overfill your wardrobe to give your clothes room to breathe!

 

 

Want more tips from Clothes Doctor? Visit their website, you can also shop their handy mending kit for all your repairs. Happy spring cleaning!

How to At Home: Wardrobe Clear-Out

 

Spending so much time at home has us looking for projects to keep us busy. One always on our to-do list is a wardrobe clear-out, and now is the perfect time! It can be hard to know where to get started, so we’ve put a step-by-step guide together to help.

 

 

Step 1

Condense! It sounds simple, but with so much to go through it can be a lengthy process. We suggest taking everything out and putting it into three piles – yes, no or maybe. You can then decide whether you want to recycle, donate or sell your unwanted clothes. Read more about our Clothes for Life initiative, where you can donate unwanted clothes via Monsoon. You may also want to consider putting unseasonal pieces into storage boxes, to make more room in your wardrobe for what you are wearing now.

 

 

Step 2

Group your clothing into sections, for example, t-shirts to blouses to dresses to trousers. Then you can organise by colour, making it easier to locate your items, but also to make it look aesthetically pleasing!

 

Step 3

Storing clothes so they last the test of time is so important. For example, folding your jumpers as they will stretch out on hangers, using space-saving hangers if you have a small space and using cute baskets for storing small accessories, so they don’t go missing when you need them most!

 

 

Step 4

Get ready for DIY! Another way to save space is to utilise the inside of your wardrobe, fix hooks to hang up jewellery, sunhats, belts and bags. Or small wire baskets to hold sunglasses!

 

 

Step 5

Last but not least, introduce a one-in, one-out policy. It will help prevent hoarding, and also overspending – knowing you’ve got to get rid of something may make you think twice!

 

Discover New Collection >

 

 


Lucy Bennett: 5 Stay-At-Home Wellbeing Tips

All this time indoors can take its toll on your mental wellbeing and make you feel a little less productive. We spoke to the beautiful curve model and influencer Lucy Bennett, to get her top 5 tips to help you manage your time at home and keep your mental wellbeing in check!

 

Make a List

When you sit down in the morning with your cuppa make yourself a to-do list. It just gives your day a little bit of structure even if it’s little things like – make the bed, go for a walk or do your washing.

 

Rediscover a Hobby

Get back into a hobby you might have let slide when you were busier. We’ve got all the time in the world! So, get back into something that will make you feel good – for me it’s yoga!

 

 

Take It One Day at a Time

Take each day as it comes, and don’t worry about future weeks. We have no control over what is going to happen, so just live in the present and try to get by with taking each day as it comes. This is something I’ve been trying very hard to do.

 

Dress up

Every so often get yourself ready as if you’re going out. Get yourself glammed up, put your lippy on and paint your whole face. Why you ask? Why not. Even if it’s to video chat your friends, it gives you that little boost and makes you feel as if things are normal.

 

 

Don’t Pressure Yourself

Keep reminding yourself that what you are doing to get through this time is enough. You DO NOT have to come out of this with a new skill or new body. Do not feel any pressure from what others are doing. What you are doing is enough.

 

View video on social >

The Art of Monsoon: Celebrate Earth Day

Wednesday, 22nd April is Earth Day and we’re celebrating with some eco-friendly at home crafts! At Monsoon we’re passionate about looking after our planet, from sustainable fabrics to our artisan collections, we believe in seeking an eco-friendly world however we can – art at home is one of them.

Art is at the very core of Monsoon; it is in our DNA and influences so many of our collections. That’s why we’ve decided to create our own art club. To start we spoke to our design team for tips on how to make natural dye and create woodblock printing inspired by Earth Day.

We’d love to see how you get on, please tag us in any photos with the hashtag #mymonsoon and they could be included in our next post!

 

 

How to At Home: Natural Dye

 

You will need:

Natural fabric – cotton, silk, linen, wool

Stockpot or large pan (ideally stainless steel as will not stain)

Water

A cup of salt/washing soda

Natural dye material of choice (see step 2)

Mordant – optional (dye fixative – alum)

Gloves

Utensils to stir with

 

 

Step 1 – Preparing the fabric

Wearing gloves, the fabric needs to be cleaned with washing soda (I used one cup per gallon water) can use salt if you wish as an alternative.

Add to a large pan with water (enough to fill pan). Add fabric and turn up the heat then let simmer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally, drain and rinse once cool.

 

 

Step 2 – Making the dye 

You can use:

Dried black beans = black (these will need to be soaked overnight- once drained the black water is the dye)

Ground turmeric= golden yellow 

Spinach=green

Beetroot= pink

Red cabbage= purple

Blueberries= lilac

Avocado pits/skins= soft pinks

Leaves= pale yellows/greens/browns

Dried flowers of your choice

 

Roughly chop your choice of dyeing material, pile in a large pan, fill with water, sprinkle with salt and bring to the boil then simmer for an hour. Set liquid aside.

 

Step 3 – Soaking the fabric in mordant (optional)

For this step you will need to soak the fabric in mordant, to make the colour stick to the fabric if you will be washing it. Alum is one of the least toxic mordants and can be found in supermarkets (used for pickling).

Wearing gloves stir in a few teaspoons of alum into a cup of boiling water – pour into a large stainless-steel pan of cold water, stir in the fabric, simmer for an hour.

If you are using alum/plants keep this pan separate for dyeing, do not use for cooking afterwards as even some plants can be toxic!

Once cool, rinse with cold water still wearing gloves.

 

 

Step 4 – Dyeing Process

You should use enough dye so the fabric can move freely. At this stage, you can do a tie-dye technique if you wish to – see our how to below & our Instagram page for the video

Place the fabric in the pan/a bucket – leave at least an hour or overnight. Stir occasionally. Once you are happy with the colour, rinse with cold water and leave the fabric to dry. The colour will lighten when the fabric dries.

 

 

How to At Home: Tie Dye

 

You will need:

Natural fibre fabric – or whatever you would like to dye! 

Elastic bands or string

2 wooden triangles or two wooden squares (approx. same size) 

Dye solution and dye bucket 

Utensil to stir 

Water 

 

 

For circles:

Step 1

Lay out the fabric flat, get elastic bands or string – although elastic bands are much easier! Start near a corner and gather the fabric up in your hand, pop your elastic bands around, where you have the elastic bands will be where dye does not appear.

Step 2

To get a smaller circle inside the larger circle just add another elastic band higher up.

Step 3

Once you have as many circles as you wish you are ready to place in the dye bucket.

Step 4

Leave at least one hour or overnight, then rinse in cool water and leave to dry, the fabric colour will lighten while drying.

 

 

For squares & circles:

Step 1

Lay your fabric out flat, take your wooden triangle or wooden square and place at a right angle on the fabric to get apron scale.

Step 2

Fold over the fabric, then fold back on itself (like an accordion) until you get to the end.

Step 3

Then place your wooden triangle or square on top at a right angle, and again fold then fold back on itself until you get to the end. You will be left with a triangle or square.

Step 4

Now sandwich your fabric triangle or square in between the 2 wooden pieces. Tie 3-4 elastic bands around the triangles or squares.

Step 5

Now it’s ready for the dye bath.

 

 

How to At Home: Woodblock Printing

You will need: 

1 large household sponge (we used a face painting sponge)

1 woodblock (available in most art stores/online)

1 water jar

2 tonal acrylic paints

 

Step 1

Colour wash your page using the watered-down acrylic paint (use your lightest tone paint) and large sponge and leave to dry

Step 2

Mix acrylic paint with water on a plate

Step 3

Wet your sponge and dip into the paint, then sponge this onto your woodblock

Step 4

Hold the block level above the page and press down evenly across the block

Step 5

Lift directly up and repeat sets 3-5

 

 

How to At Home: Floral Prints

Items you need:

1 large household sponge (I used a face painting sponge)

1 smaller sponge (I used a make-up sponge)

1 paintbrush

1 mixing palette

1 water jar

Mixed acrylic paints 

 

Step 1

Colour wash your page using watered down acrylic paint and large sponge and leave to dry

Step 2

Roughly mark out the lightest flowers using the white paint and a smaller sponge

Step 3

Roughly add the mid-tones using the same small sponge

Step 4

Blend the colours together using a small sponge

Step 5 

Paint in some steams + central parts of the flowers using a paintbrush

Step 6

Paint in the darkest tones in your flowers using the paintbrush

Workwear Edit: The Home Edition

 

We know that your home-working wardrobe is slightly different from your work wardrobe. That’s why we decided to put together an edit of all the trousers, top, dresses and more that you’ll need to see you through your time indoors.

 

The Dresses

 

Enjoy time spent in the garden with spring dresses that’ll brighten up your day, from floral prints to linen fabrics we have it all.

 

The Trousers

 

Keep it casual with our collection of joggers – for a loungewear look that’s more stylish than most!

 

The Tops

 

It’s a party on top! For important work and special social video calls, dress up with chic blouses (paired with joggers of course).

 

 The Jumpsuits

 

Opt for head-to-toe heroines with our collection of relaxed jumpsuits, making an effort so you don’t have to!

 

Shop New In Collection >

Monsoon Monthly: April Edition

This month for Monsoon Monthly, we wanted to put together a continuation of our Monsoon Recommends post, to help you keep busy at home. Fill this month with reading, baking and all the things that make you happy – get ready for our inspiration!

 

For more tips on what to read while at home, we spoke to @TheGoodBookClub_ to find out what inspires her and what her top recommendations are.

 You started your Instagram account ‘The Good Book Club’ to tell people all about the books you’re reading – what inspired you to start this?

I’ve always been a big bookworm, never without a book on the go. My friends and family are always asking for recommendations, so I started @thegoodbookclub_ as a way of sharing my suggestions with them and the wider world, so to speak. Plus, it’s more fun to see things visually than reading Amazon reviews!

 

What is your favourite genre to read and why? 

Thrillers for sure. I love fast-paced, twisty-turny books that leave me completely shocked. I love a great murder mystery!

 

 Can you tell us your top three book recommendations?

Everything I Know About Love – Dolly Alderton. Such a relatable, funny, heart-warming memoir of love and friendship. Like chatting with your BFF.

Behind Her Eyes – Sarah Pinborough. Honestly the most thrilling thriller I have ever read. The ending shocked and scared me like nothing else!

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine – Gail Honeymoon. This is the nicest book ever. A lovely tale about friendship and being a better person. 

 

Get baking! Being at home has got us spending more time in the kitchen, so we spoke to @MyKitchenDrawer for some recipe tips on where to start, and we can’t get enough. Take a look!

 

We’ve had some time this month to sit back and appreciate the little things that bring us joy during the day – we wanted to share some Team Monsoon inspiration with you!

Waking up and exercising before working from home commences

A lunchtime cycle ride in the sunshine

Facetime/skype/zoom calls with my family

A walk in the park to get some fresh air

Baking cakes – and eating them!

Spending time with my cats

Virtual night in with friends – and wine!

Listening to music and remembering old songs

Curling up on the sofa and reading a good book

Having a bubble bath (wine optional)

Looking through holiday photos and deciding which to (finally) put in frames at home

Not commuting!

Creating Pinterest boards for house & decorating inspiration

 

Missing trips to the theatre? Soak in some culture from home with The National Theatre, streaming free shows every Thursday this month including Treasure Island and Twelfth Night.

 

Yoga is a great way to take some time out for yourself. Studios such as MoreYoga and Supply Yoga are streaming online classes for you to join, or you can find one perfect for you on YouTube.

 

 

Discover New In Collection >

 

Teacher Tips: At Home with The Kids

 

We spoke to some teachers to find out what they recommend kids do with this time at home. Perfect for keeping them busy but also helping them to continue learning, we got a list of fun activities and educational resources for you to choose from.

 

Fun Activities

 

Make a rainbow or sign to spread cheer

Make a bug hotel in the garden

Make a fairy garden

Make a wand and invent your own spells

Carry out a bird watch

Invent and create a new board game

Design your own fashion line

Dragons den style challenge with a new invention

Create a 3D sculpture out of your recycling

Plant some seeds

Create some name art

Create some pop art on the computer

Fill a jar with post-it notes of things the kids would like to do once we are over the virus – gives them something to look forward to, they could also paint/decorate the jar

Picnic in the garden – make the most of the lovely weather whilst we can

Build a den (I used to love doing this as a kid!) and have ‘sleepovers’ in it

 


Educational Resources

 

The World of David Walliams 

P.E with Jo Wicks

Draw with Rob

The Maths Factor 

Floella Benjamin Storytime

Go Noodle

Dancing with Oti Mabuse

 

MarcoPolo World School

 

We also teamed up with MarcoPolo to give you a 30-day free trial to their teacher-approved learning program – just click the link to sign up!

Start free trial >

 

More from Monsoon Children

National Unicorn Day

Easter Activities: At Home with The Kids

Fun Activities: At Home with The Kids

 

 

 

 

Baking with My Kitchen Drawer

Being at home has us ready to bake, so we spoke to @MyKitchenDrawer to get some tips on how to get started. Telling us all about what inspires her and giving us some of her favourite recipes from her cookbook, we’re excited to get baking!

 

How did you get into baking?

Baking runs in the family so I’ve been baking from as early as I can remember. My biggest influences are my nan and my mum, who in their own ways are the reason baking became my obsession. My nan taught me great puddings and I’d help regularly with the crumble topping for her famous apple crumble, and my mum was our resident birthday cake baker and pastry chef.

I watched them from a very early age and as soon as I was able, I was there cracking eggs and eating cake mixture. I never stopped and began taking it more seriously when I moved to Surrey, away from my family home in 2015. With all my friends still in my hometown, my social life was halved so I used baking to fill my empty weekends. I used it as an opportunity to develop a skill I knew was screaming to be used. I didn’t realise at the time, but it worked wonders for occupying my mind.

 

 

What are your favourite things to bake and why?

If I need to be creative, I love baking cakes and cupcakes as I can go mad with flavour and decorations.

When I’m craving time in the kitchen, followed by something delicious that I can share, I like opting for traybakes like brownies or a loaf cake like banana bread. 

I’m not a huge cake eater so cupcakes and cakes are purely my go-to for decoration. Brownies and banana bread, on the other hand, are my weakness and not too time-consuming, so if I need 30 minutes to switch off, they’re perfect.

My final favourite is bread. I absolutely love the process, it’s so therapeutic and I’m fascinated by the science and simplicity of it. Plus, there is no better smell in your house than a freshly baked loaf. 

 

What are your top tips for baking with children and how to get them involved?

Preparation with children is key. I bake regularly with my niece and nephew and find that they’re obsessed with the measuring so instead of giving them the flour or sugar bags to throw all over the kitchen side, I secretly measure it all out into a bowl and have it laid out ready. I still ensure they check the scales is showing the correct measurement, but it saves me a whole lot of sweeping.  

If you have multiple children, I usually give them individual jobs throughout the process such as A measures and pours and B mixes then together scoop into tins and decorate. Or I occasionally give them half the ingredients each so they can learn the entire process. 

Finally, for your own sanity, relax and allow some mess. These are memories they’ll cherish forever so let them enjoy it and release your inner child and enjoy the mess too. 

 

 

What are your must-have baking ingredients that you always have in your cupboard?

Flour (plain or self-raising)

Bread flour

Caster sugar 

Eggs 

Butter or margarine

Cooking chocolate and chocolate chips  

Vanilla 

Cocoa powder 

Baking powder 

Easy bake yeast

Food colouring 

 

Rainbow Cheesecake Brownie

Want to get started? We have just the recipe. Taken from her Unicorn Cookbook, discover how to make My Kitchen Drawer’s rainbow cheesecake brownies – you’re welcome!

You can also check out her other cookbooks including The Mermaid Cookbook and her newest release The Tropical Cookbook, which was published on the 9th of April.

Time: 1 hour 

Makes: 16 brownies

 

Ingredients

For the brownies

225g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa)

150g unsalted butter

3 eggs

225g caster sugar

100g plain flour

 

For the cheesecake

150g cream cheese

50g caster sugar

1 egg

Gel food colouring (pink, blue, yellow, orange)

 

Equipment 

You will need a 20cm square baking tin.

 

Method

For the brownie batter

Preheat oven to 170ºC/gas mark 3, and grease and line a 20cm square baking tin.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Once the ingredients have melted, remove the bowl from the pan and set aside to cool slightly. 

While the mixture cools, whisk the eggs and caster sugar in a large bowl until well combined. Add the whisked eggs and sugar to the melted chocolate and butter and mix the two together for around 1 minute. 

Add the flour and carefully fold it into the mixture using a metal spoon until fully incorporated. 

 

For the cheesecake mixture

Beat the cream cheese, caster sugar and egg together until smooth. 

Spilt the mixture between four bowls and add ¼ tsp of different gel food colouring to each bowl. 

Spoon the brownie mixture into the cake tin and smooth it into all corners.

Spoon the cheesecake mixtures in a random formation on top. Using a knife, swirl the two mixtures together to give a rainbow marble effect.

Bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes. Remove from oven, leave in the tin and set aside to cool completely before peeling off the baking paper and cutting into squares. 

 

 

 

 

National Unicorn Day: At Home with The Kids

 

National Unicorn Day is nearly here (if you haven’t already, add the 9th April to your calendar)! We’ve been thinking of how to make the day special at home – from outfits to dress up in to unicorn-themed colouring sheets, this is the only unicorn edit you need.

 

 

Unicorn Dress Up

 

Create fun, magical moments at home with sparkly unicorn motifs and colourful rainbow prints, that will bring out their inner unicorn.

Shop Unicorn Collection >

 

 

Unicorn Colouring Sheets

 

Every unicorn fan will love our new colouring sheets, filled with mythical creatures and rainbows waiting to be coloured in!

Monsoon children Unicorn colouring book

 

 

The Unicorn Cookbook

Make National Unicorn Day extra magical at home with baking ideas from @MyKitchenDrawer. One of our favourites has to be her Sparkling Unicones, guaranteed to add a little bit of happiness to snack time! See recipe below and more from her book, The Unicorn Cookbook.

Prep Time:  30 minutes

Ingredients

6 waffle ice cream cones

200 g white chocolate can be substituted for dairy-free white chocolate

Sprinkles

Instructions

  1. Line a baking tray with baking paper and set aside.

 

  1. Place the white chocolate squares in a heatproof bowl and microwave for 2 minutes, checking every 30 seconds until it melts down completely.

 

  1. Pour the melted chocolate into a mug and dunk each cone, with the tip facing downwards, into the mug until it’s completely coated

 

  1. Stand the cones on the pre-prepared baking tray, scatter generously with sprinkles and leave to allow the chocolate to set.

 

  1. You can use these for ice creams, fill them with sponge cake or sweets or simply eat them as they are. The creative possibilities are limitless.

More Unicorn Recipes >

 

 

Win A Unicorn Bundle

 

It’s competition time! We’re giving away a bundle of Unicorn goodies for you to win. To enter visit our Facebook page – ends tonight at midnight.

Enter Here >

 

 

More Activities This Way…

Easter Activities: At Home with The Kids

Fun Activities: At Home with The Kids