Conscious Fashion: Thrift in Your Closet: Mission Impossible?

Part of Conscious Fashion is recycling and re-using clothes.  That can mean re-using someone else’s clothes (thrift stores or hand-me downs) or it can mean re-using your own clothes.  Why take a trip to the thrift store when your new summer look is probably already in your closet?!  The biggest challenge that comes with recycling your clothing is coming up with new looks.  But don’t worry, I’ve got some ideas for you!

Summer dresses

We’ve all got at least a dozen summer dresses that we never wear anymore.  For me, the problem is that I don’t really feel like a grown up in them.  How do you make something you bought when you were 16 look new and mature?  Easy peesy.  Add a structured blazer and some greek sandals.  Structured blazers are everywhere right now.  They’re also at pretty much every thrift store on the planet.  The blazer isn’t new.  Wearing it with uber-girly summer dresses is.  The trick to making this work is the length of the jacket and the length of the dress.  Make sure the dress stops above your knee, but before the widest part of your thigh.  That way your shape won’t get lost in the dress.  Also, make sure the blazer isn’t longer than half your bottom.  Cutting your bum in half makes it look better in jeans and the same works for blazers.  Try a white or khaki blazer for a more summer-inspired look.  Check out how Kristen Wiig does it in Bridesmaids.

Plain pumps

I have given my pumps some serious lovin’ over the years.  A few too many long nights out dancing have resulted in the heels and stilts of my pumps getting scuffed.  I can hardly wear them to work when they look that scruffy.  They’re so nice and worn in, I hate to ditch them, but I end up never wearing them.  Sound familiar?  Try giving them new life with some new accessories: spikes.  Try hotglue and some modest spikes on the heels of your pumps.  They’ll have a new attitude, and the scuffs will be hidden.  Combine different shaped studs for an individualized look, but use all the same metal or color to keep it from looking too craft-y.  Use this shoe for inspiration.

Short shirts from the ‘90s

I remember the ‘90s.  Kirsten Dunst and Mandy Moore and their adorable midriffs sparked a national epidemic of shirt shortening.  I myself owned far too many shirts that were far too short for my 16 and 17-year old self.  But I still have a lot of them because they’re in good condition and they’re still cute.  What to do, what to do?  Well, nowadays, hemlines on skirts and shorts are migrating as well.  High-waisted pencil skirts and high-waisted shorts are everywhere.  Give your short shirts new life with a sleek pencil skirt or a dark, pleated jean short.  No one has to know that they’re only tucked in like 2 inches.