Buying something new is always very appealing for most woman, and I have to admit that I’m no exception – I love the thrill of the chase of lovely, flattering items. Though, as I’m perfectly aware that regularly purchasing new pieces (even if well-made and low-priced) can quickly turn into a chocked-full closet, most of the times I have to slow down my hunting instinct, which is not always that easy.
Therefore, recently I’ve come up with a very effective and fun way to turn my “I-need-something-new” mood into a more profitable mindset, and in this post, I’m going to share it with you.
The trick mainly lies in swapping your shopping fever with making something new out of an old garment you already own – and that you don’t wear anymore because of its style/color/size.
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You surely have in your closet lots of unworn, unloved items.
Articles you bought because they were the latest fad (that was over after a couple of months) / the salesman told you looked so slim in it / you were hit on your head the previous day and didn’t realize what you were doing.
Well, from now on, you can make the most of your unworn garments in a useful and fun way.
The key is turning them into different pieces.
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This way, not only will you have a wearable article instead of a useless one, but you will also gradually learn what styles and designs are most suitable for your figure.
This will turn into higher shopping skills when purchasing new items – much more satisfying purchases and less money spent on unsuitable stuff.
You don’t necessarily need sewing skills to do this.
Remember the movie The Heat, with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, where a formal (and quite dull) outfit was turned into a super sexy cropped ensemble in minutes?
Well, you can easily do the same, as most “garments makeover” can easily be done with the only help of a pair of good quality scissors (I suggest that you buy a pair of fabric scissors to do this).
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Here are the garments most suitable for the “cutting makeover”:
- Tops and T-shirts: you can easily make a crop-top / shorten the sleeves (or cut them away) / cut a lower neckline (we’ll see a detailed example in the next post).
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- Jersey dresses: similarly, you can shorten the sleeves (or remove them) / shorten the hem / cut a lower neckline.
- Jeans: you can make rips to achieve a vintage (and more interesting) look instead of a boring and ordinary one, shorten them, turn them into distressed shorts or into a miniskirt (the miniskirt requires some sewing skills, though).
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- Skirts: you can add a deep side slit to improve the fit of an extra-tight garment.
- Old trousers made from a lovely fabric: surprisingly enough, you can turn pieces of this kind into top-quality scarves!
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If the ripped/distressed look is not your kind, you can still have a regular hem done: most laundries offer this service for a moderate price.
Sometimes your experiments will turn into a veritable success, sometime they won’t – therefore, I suggest that, in the beginning, you start experimenting with something that’s very old, or worn over.
Anyway, all your trialing will be helpful to learn something new about your flattering styles and designs.
Furthermore, gradually you will learn to recognize well-made pieces and quality fabrics from low-quality stuff.
This will allow you to kill two birds with one stone, as not only will you declutter your closet from unworn items, but you’ll end up with something brand-new made with your own hands!
In the next post, I’ll show you some lovely makeover I myself did to a T-shirt; a jersey dress; and a pair of jeans.
