10 Ways To Bring New Life To Old Wardrobe

With more of us trying to save on waste and spend less cash, it could not feel more time to make the most of what we have got. Here’s how the specialists do it. There are things that do not match, do not suit us, or that feel like forgotten identity crisis souvenirs. There are cherished gems, yes, many more cases of buyer’s remorse bookend them. But all is not lost. An increased interest in repairing and upcycling of outfits would bring such unloved dresses back to life, seen anywhere from the rise of alterations companies on Depop to the recent repair “concierge” at Selfridges. And with charity shops full, and more of us trying to save on waste, spend less money and keep our clothes longer, it does not feel more time to make the most of what we have got. To spin your wardrobe, you do not need sewing skills-all of the tips below could be: These all hacks are applicable to all outfits, new dress design, and even on Pakistani dresses.

Cuff Trouser Hems

Elastic cuffing is very simple and can change any wide-legged pants, from jogging bottoms to jumpsuits, provided that the fabric is “flimsy” enough to take on the new form. YouTube tutorials abound, but we believe the simplest way is to make a small opening at the seam of an existing hem, feed the elastic through with a Safety Pin on the loose end, tie a knot to the elastic and stitch the closed gap. New dress design and awesome outfits are created through these hacks.

Rethink Office Shirt

When Gayle Bennett’s father died of cancer 18 months ago, she wanted to turn one of her shirts into a lower-necked top with a tie on the front: “The shirt of my dad, but in my style,” she says. For her Soul and Flare Depop store, which sells antique and personalized parts from a sewing studio in Nottingham, Reworking Men’s Shirts is now a design trademark.

Bennett is passionate about low-waste apparel and says office shirts are perfect for upcycling so many office employees want a shirt for upcycling.

Made Accessories From Old Shirts

The Girl Knit Club was formed early last year, inspired by the “diverse Knitty” hashtag, which called for craft and knitting diversity. The club is described by founders Simone Kludje and Vea Koranteng as a “safe and inclusive space for black women and women” with the goal of promoting hand skills and exploring sustainability, “in a way that is fun and accessible to all.” One of their best tips for upcycling includes converting T-shirts into yarn, which can then be knitted into headbands, bracelets, and necklaces, making perfect gifts that have reached the end of their lives. You will find descriptions of the T-shirt method here; here’s the bracelet technique.

Revive Your Old Denim

Don’t throw away denim,” says Hunter, who believes that the upcycling of the denim will become a major thing. Many designers work with contrasting denim, which can offer you ideas. Denim hacks range from easy tapering, converting wide-legged jeans into something slimmer for which she charges around £ 16, to more complex upcycles, such as swapping in contrasting denim panels in denim jackets, one of Bennett’s most famous services. Hunter purchases kilo-bags of unsaleable denim from the online charity shop Refashion for £ 8 for patches and panels; she is currently considering inserting triangular panels for a vintage 1970s look into a pair of skinnies. Bennett is also passionate about repairing denim, and a “big fan” of obvious mending, adding patches of embroidery or hand-stitching, and closing gaps. Pakistani Dress also has the capacity for recycling.

Upcycling Of Jeans

A designer who deals a lot with The Seam, Twishika Daley has made good use of the calves of trashed jeans, upcycling them into the arms for an oversized, baggy sweater made of loopback jersey. Pakistani dresses can also be upcycled.

Make Use Of Better half

If your closet is full of clothes that would be perfect if they only had different sleeves, or jumpsuits that are undermined by saggy bottoms with chic necklines, you might try to repurpose them using the half you want. For example, Hunter sometimes blends two dresses, sewing the top of a dress to the skirt of another, something an alteration service should be able to do for you reasonably cheaply, particularly if the skirt has a waistband built-in. An even simpler version of this fashion hack is to make a skirt or top by slicing up a shirt. Different accessories are used for making funky outfits and new dress designs.

Repurpose Vintage Scarves

Get a piece of elastic, sew your favorite antique scarf into a long tube, place the elastic in the tube by hand, mess it up, and cover it by hand.

Jazz Up Your Sportwear

When looking to upcycle, people may overlook their gym wear, but they can be modified to be very wearable just by changing the fit for many different occasions,” say Eme Ikpeme and Heather Swindlehurst, the duo behind Hemmed, a Depop shop that has a quite distinct aesthetic – quite a body-con take on upcycling – with cropped hoodies and shrunken sports tops of its most common styles.

Dye Older Clothes

Tie-dye was almost as intrinsic as sourdough bread and fear in lockdown life and is a perfect way to rejuvenate tired cotton T-shirts and dull old socks. According to London Fashion Week designer Golan Frydman, here is how to do it. You may want to give commercial dyes, with their harsh chemicals, a swerve if you are willing to reduce your effect on the environment on your wardrobe. Start with this fantastic guide by Justine Aldersey-Williams of the Wild Dyery to natural dyes.

Replace Fastenings

Good clothes often have poor fastenings, whether it’s the button that constantly catches the hair or the failure of my own personal repeat wardrobe, the aforementioned jumpsuit with its practically useless hook-and-eye fastening If you’re changing a button for a decorative ribbon or putting a zip in or attempting corset-style lacing, anything can be replaced, Bennett says. Or if there is another fastening on the fabric somewhere the seam is fully stitched up.