Revamping clothes just happened at our house. My daughter could never find clothes that she liked at any stores so, unlike her older sister, she just went without and never seemed to have enough clothes to wear. She has always had quirky taste and a sense of her own style. She loves Indie music and has been known to play some of her own, and shopping at chain stores just didn't suit her style. We started looking in second-hand stores but many of these have very recent styles and didn't cut it either. We felt like we had struck a gold vein when we found a couple of stores that always seemed to have retro clothes that she loved. Problem was, most of them were way too big and way too long. What we really looked for was material that she loved, and that suited her, and neat collars or bows. In the old days, when the kids were young, I would occasionally sew simple clothes for them, to save money, but really didn't enjoy cutting out patterns, pinning etc... basically all the things you need to do to sew from scratch. I was never great at it, but knew enough that when she brought home her first 1980s dress I was able to sew it in a bit here, raise up the hem and just possibly she would have something that she could finally wear.
After that first dress, we found more tops and dresses that we could see possibilities for. I know there are lots of people out there that don't like the thought of recycling retro and vintage clothes into a totally new garment or item, such as a bag. However, I didn't think it too sacreligious to adjust the size and length and possibly take some of the fulness out of the sleeves (after removing the shoulder pads of course!) so that the dress would fit.
We have revamped about 15 dresses now and every week my daughter hits her favourite St. Vinnies and comes home with a bag of new and 'delicious' dresses and jackets from days gone by. I am embarrassed to say that many of them would have been in my wardrobe back in the 70's and 80's and every time, she laments the fact that I didn't save any of them for her!
Even though I am getting behind with the sewing, every time we get a new piece, I can hardly wait to see what we can do with it. They are not all brilliantly sewn or perfectly fitted, but with a jacket thrown over top, a bow pinned on at the collar or an artsy brooch pinned on they look great and never before has my daughter had so many clothes to wear at such a low, low price!
We are addicted!
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