I am not an expert in clothing synthesis but I have learned a few handy things while experimenting with it. One major aspect I have noticed is that not many players realize that once an item is synthesized into something else, it is not lost and you are not stuck with a fish on a pitchfork as your staff (a personal issue for me at one point).
If you have a favorite weapon cloak or set of wings you want to wear, you are not stuck wearing the most recent result of clothing synthesis. In fact, you can wear any of your clothes that you have ever owned at any time and still retain the benefits of the highest level of clothing you own.
How to do this? Use the dressing room.
In your inventory, equip the highest level of clothing you own. Then, in the dressing room (the tab next to clothing synthesis) you can sort through all of the clothing you have ever owned and pick your favorites to display on your character. Once you have all of your favorite items displayed on your character, click "Save Figure". That's it! At this point, you will still gain the benefits of your highest level clothing, but have a custom look that you actually want to wear!