This idea was inspired by Emily Noel who started something similar on Youtube concerning makeup. I found her ideals regarding waste reduction and her mindset of focusing on the items you already own was inspirational. I hope this post inspires you, the same way Emily inspired me, to take a minute and reflect on that loaded clothing rack back at home. There are so many different ways to change up your look. So save your money, and let me show you two different outfits that I styled from pieces I’ve up-cycled from my very own wardrobe.
Look #1
Everyone seems to own a pair of denim jeans that doesn’t fit
quiteeee right and has been collecting dust for some time. Well it’s time to
finally pull them out of your closet because we are about to transform them
into a brand new pair of shorts. Cutting your own shorts may seem a bit
intimidating at first. It’s hard to get a clean cut, yet super easy to cut them
too short.
The trick is in the shape of your cut. A lot of people tend
to cut their shorts straight across, put them on, and realize that the pair
reveals more in the back than expected. This is because the back of your shorts
tend to rise up a lot higher than the front. To prevent this, I opt to cut my
shorts diagonally, leaving the back about 1 inch- ½ inch longer than the
front. I also try the pair of jeans on, mark it, and cut very sparingly during
my first initial cut.
Here are how the look like on. I paired them with an
off-the-shoulder crop top.
Look #2:
For this next outfit, I wanted to find a new use for this beautiful
floral maxi dress. I’ve worn it a couple times on my page for photoshoots and
quite frankly, I was getting tired of the same look. I folded the dress over
and belted it at the waist to give the illusion of a skirt. I love midi skirts,
but it’s really hard for someone as short as me to find one with the right
length. This solves that problem because I can adjust the length by controlling
how much of the dress I fold in.
I paired the skirt with a basic white tank and belted it at
the waist with a brown belt.
Look #3:
Saving the best or last, I decided to DIY my own cropped
denim jacket! I bought this white one over a year ago (alas, I fell victim
to impulse) and have not touched it since. There wasn’t really anything wrong
with it, I just didn’t like the way it sat on my body and it had a generally
unflattering fit. I decided it was time for a change. I took a pair of scissors
and cut straight across the jacket so that it could give me the cropped looked
that I was looking for.
TIP! You have control over how cropped you want the jacket
to sit but make sure to be aware of where the buttons are sitting on the jacket.
To give it the most natural look, make your cut line directly above or below a
button.
Here it is on:
I think the overall fit, look, and feel of the jacket completely
changed, and now I love how it looks on. If you would like to recreate this,
you can pretty much do this to any of your denim jackets that you currently have
at home, or go out and get one at your local thrift store.
That’s it for this post! I hope this gives you some ideas on
different ways to recycle some of the pieces in your closet. When you have time,
take a look at your wardrobe and find different ways to pair certain pieces
together. You may be surprised by what you come up with.
Stay tuned!
- T.N