Road Test: Does Clutch Glue’s liquid fashion tape work?

“Feeling secure in your outfit breeds confidence – and I think we could all benefit from a little bit of that.”

Taking clothes to the tailor for alterations is a pet peeve chore of mine. Nothing annoys me more than spending money on altering something after already forking out for the initial purchase. Forget my daily coffee – tailoring is the hidden cost I’m concerned about. I’m also a sucker for a cute TikTok and a five-star review, so when Clutch Glue came up on my For You Page a couple of weeks ago, I knew I needed to try it.

Marketed as a ‘liquid fashion tape’, Clutch Glue is a water-soluble adhesive that applies to the skin for all your clothes-gripping needs. From holding down a pair of bike shorts during a workout (goodbye chafe) to hemming pants or sticking down a plunging v-neck top, Clutch provides a handy fix for a variety of pesky garment problems.

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Born out of sheer necessity, Clutch Glue’s TikTok stardom has been four years in the making. For founder Annabel Hay, its conception was so obvious, she’s still surprised nothing similar had been done before. The glue is sweat-resistant, extremely strong and will hold up until you wet it in the washing machine.

It’s also more planet-friendly than its predecessors, offering a reusable formula instead of a one-use product. It’s palm oil and single-use plastic-free, hypoallergenic, made from recycled packaging and most importantly, guaranteed to work – just check out the reviews at the bottom of the Clutch website.

Clutch Glue is a response to the dilemma which at this point, is synonymous with a girls’ night out. In her college room getting ready for a concert, Annabel recalls thinking ‘I wish I could just glue myself into this’ while battling with fashion tape trying to stick down a plunging jumpsuit. What ensued was a lengthy battle and an unsatisfying result.

Annabel’s catalyst was the jumpsuit and for me, it was spending the night of my year 12 formal with my hand on my chest to avoid flashing my teachers. I haven’t worn a plunging dress since.

 

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Curious to see what Clutch could do for me, I reached out to the team. It arrived, I put my best arts and craft hat on and got to work. In the interest of giving it the best test, I decided to try it across two different garment dilemmas: a strapless dress and unhemmed pants. After a quick web consultation on how to apply it, I felt ready.

For skin-to-clothes contact, Clutch recommends applying the product sparingly to the skin where you want your clothes to stick and waiting 30 seconds until it becomes tacky. You then gently press the clothing to the glued area and minimise movement for at least 10 minutes. I mentioned to Annabel I was excited to use the glue to hem my pants. Like clothes-to-body gluing, it’s important to wait for Cluth to adhere. For thinner fabrics, use a thinner layer of glue and adapt the amount as needed.

The trial run

Strapless dress

First up was my favourite strapless dress. It’s a classic style, goes with everything and doesn’t need an iron. As someone who doesn’t like putting much effort into getting dressed, it’s very me. The only issue is that I bought it a size too big because I was so desperate to have it. I justified it by saying I would just fill it out with a bra but every time I’ve worn it, no bra has alleviated me from the grievance of pulling it up and twisting it around every five minutes.

It was a bit too cold to wear it out over the weekend as I had planned but be assured the aerobics moves, jumps and sprints down my hallway put Clutch Glue to more of a test than a night out ever could. The TikTok below demonstrates pretty much the same thing – if you need a visual.

@clutch_glue This goes out to our bride tribes 🫶 #fyp #clutchglue #liquidfashiontape #bride #bridetobe #bridetribe #bridehack #bridesoftiktok #bridesmaids #bridesmaid #bridal #fashionhack #dresshack #weddingtiktok #weddingtok #weddingdress #weddingdresshack ♬ Sia – Xeptemper

Final results? Post-horizontal dry time, the dress was not budging. I feel confident in saying that come the summer months, I will be dancing the night away in my mini dress, arms above my head and completely carefree.

Hemming pants

Circling back to the pants convo, I almost had too much choice for this next trial. It was perhaps the most exciting part of this whole experience for me. The pants I chose have been in my wardrobe for nearly four years, but the hem unravelled and they needed a freshen-up. They’re a wool blend, so I used a bit more glue than I did with the dress to make sure it really sunk in.

They stayed in place all day at work and are still stuck and ready to be worn next time. I love that aspect of the glue – when using it, it will only be removed by either completely saturating it in the washing machine or by peeling it from your skin. With my investment pieces, I try to refrain from washing them after every wear unless they need it. It’s nice to know the glue will hold up until I don’t want it to anymore.

Clutch Glue is the little tube I didn’t know I needed in my life. I’ve since used it to hold shoes and shoulder straps in place, plus secure the sides of a plunging top down (see above). I didn’t know if I’d ever feel comfortable wearing a top like this without constantly adjusting it, and now I do. As Annabel says, feeling secure in your outfit breeds confidence – and I think we could all benefit from a little bit of that.

Check out Clutch here.