Like many of us these days, my spending budget is…shall we say…weak of wallet. The recent minor upswing in the economy has yet to hit THIS stylists home. As such, it benefits me to find ways to revitalize and/or re-invent things that I already have. I took advantage of the extra day off this holiday weekend to really dig through my closets to find some items that needed some TLC. The result: a very busy Friday and much-needed new life for some of my pieces!
First I found some shoes with scraped-up heels, the result of the heel slipping through the grates on sidewalks (no matter how hard I try to place the heel just so, it always falls through anyway). Two of the pairs were basic wardrobe staples: a pair of cream heels, and my favorite black pumps. During times when money is not flowing in at a rapid rate (does it ever?) I HATE spending my funds on basics I already have (no matter how tired the existing version) since they are really no fun. Who skips happily through the front door carrying a bag full of new socks? No one! I would much rather spend my money on something fun, bright, and unique. Something that feels worth sacrificing my spending budget for. Therefore, I was thrilled to find new life for my wear-all-the-time shoes, and save the spending cash for something more interesting.
Here’s what the back of the shoes looked like:
My favorite black pumps, with the pointy toe!
These bronze shoes were gifted to me by a friend, and although sadly too big, I wore them anyway. Twice. and the heels were already ripped up!
Other than the heels, both of these pairs of shoes were in great shape and have LOTS of wear left in them, but one cannot go prancing around downtown in shredded heels. To fix them myself, I bought some coordinating ribbon and superglue and got to work. First, I secured the ribbon with super glue on the flat inside edge of the heel and let it dry until it was thoroughly stuck like this: 
Then I started winding it tightly around the heel, super gluing it to the flat inside part every two or three rounds. Once I reached the bottom of the heel, I liberally applied super glue and held the end of the ribbon in place until dry to make sure the ribbon didn’t unwind or fray. This was EXACTLY the new life these shoes needed!
Because I couldn’t find bronze ribbon at the craft store, I used gold on the bronze shoes and glued gold ribbon around the platform under the toes as well. I LOVE the results:
The finished products, ready for more wear:
Next I started on my clothing. I found several tops that were languishing in the dark corners of my closets getting little or no use. The first item to fall prey to my crafting hands was a kimono-style top I got and absolutely adored…except for the poofy sleeves.
I am all about volume and I’m not afraid of it, but it just didn’t look right on this top. Luckily, the elastic in the sleeves came out very easily with barely any seam-ripping and re-sewing.
The end result? a wide, flowing sleeve much more fitting of the kimono style.
Up next was a boxy, too-flowy, empire-waisted top purchased for minimal money at Forever 21. Even though it only cost a few dollars, that money was still going to waste because I never wore it.
Since, unfortunately, I couldn’t remove the elastic from the empire waist or the sleeve, I had to be a little more creative. First, I rolled the sleeve up and tacked them there so they were short instead of 3/4 length. Then, to tame all that excess fabric, I re-purposed some fabric scraps and made side ties on either side.
the finished product is much more pleasing in terms of proportion, and something I will actually WEAR!
There are items in all our closets that get little or no use because of something minor and, frequently, something fixable. Here’s how to re-vamp your own closet:
1. Find the items that you’re not wearing.
2. Determine why you’re not wearing them: length, color, minor fixable flaw
3. Think outside the box for a way to solve the problem. Look at items in catalogs, in stores, or online that are embellished. Can some of those embellishments help hide or solve your garment’s problem?
Now, obviously, some items are BEYOND fixing or are too worn out to warrant the time and effort needed to make them wearable again. But I think we’ll all find that isn’t the case with everything. And what better way to spend the weekend? Relaxing at home, enhancing your wardrobe, no money spent.
Happy crafting!
