Changing Your Clothes

Shopping, Sewing, Upcycling, Repairing: Make the most of your clothes!

Category Archives: Makeovers


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Makeover Monday: Collaring Outside the Lines

Previously on Makeover Monday, I showed you a skirt that I made to go from work to tango dancing. This week, I’ve got something a little different for you: a quick and easy upcycled accessory project! Read on…

Remember the necklaces shaped like collars that were so popular last fall and winter? Personally, I still love them, especially the ones that are made at least in part with fabric, so they almost look like actual collars. And the other day, I was sifting through a pile (one of many) of pictures I’ve snipped out of various publications, trying to choose some for one of my mood boards, when I ran across a photo of a bejeweled faux-collar necklace, with this note scribbled on it: “real collar, wear like necklace”.

I often find my somewhat cryptic notes in unexpected places, and don’t always remember exactly what I was getting at, but this doesn’t really bother me; these notes always spark at least a few ideas, even if they’re totally different from the original inspiration. In this case, I suspect I was thinking of sewing a fabric collar from scratch, but when I read the note, my first thought was to make it even simpler: take a collar off an existing shirt. Great idea!

Problem: I don’t actually own that type of shirt. At least there are none in my closet at this moment. But I dug through my big clothes-to-be-made-over bag, and look what I found:

My "before" shirt

My “before” shirt: lightweight cotton with intentionally frayed edges, Western-style. (Don’t judge me: I bought this in Nevada to wear to my first real rodeo. At least it’s a good color.)

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Makeover Monday: Sew TTTW!

Previously on Makeover Monday, I showed you the beginnings of my Take Tango to Work (TTTW) wardrobe, thanks to a fantastic find at one of my favorite thrift shops. I also concluded that, to make my tango wardrobe work-appropriate (and vice-versa), I should focus on professional fabrics and colors, and wear them in tango-ready silhouettes. Now that I’ve started sewing a few things based on that general concept, today we’ll be talking about how to choose patterns for maximum garment versatility. And I’ll show you a fabulous skirt I’ve just made, in 2 outfit variations: Professional Lindy and Tango Lindy!

Since I’ve decided a new skirt is a top wardrobe priority, my first step was finding the right pattern.  I was lucky enough to find this in my pattern collection:

Butterick 4859

Butterick 4859 skirt pattern. I made Version B. Sadly, this pattern is now out of print, but I found this one that’s similar (and still available): Vogue 7937.

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Makeover Monday: She Shops… She Scores!

Previously on Makeover Monday: Last week I told you about the launch of my wardrobe-wide makeover, that will transform my motley assortment into a cohesive collection. My most pressing need is for more professional wear, but I would also like to incorporate additional garments suitable for Argentine tango— without having to create 2 separate wardrobes. Hence my new and ongoing Makeover Monday project: Take Tango to Work!

My main issue: For me, virtually all clothing currently sold as tango wear is inappropriate, both as part of a professional wardrobe, and for a woman of a certain age. (Not to mention that tango clothes frequently come only in various combinations of red and black, neither of which is a personal favorite.)

What kinds of pieces would work? Even outside of dancing, I prefer wearing skirts, so I’m starting there. But even with the fashion latitude a creative professional enjoys, I don’t think slinky skirts and dresses are proper. So I’ll look for more structured pieces, meaning made with woven fabrics, including stretch wovens; these materials typically result in a more substantial garment, as opposed to one that would cling inappropriately.

Since I really wanted to get this makeover project off to a quick start (I have a tango lesson tonight, after all), I dropped into one of my favorite thrift shops, Value Village. (If you happen to be in the Portland area, the one I usually go to is the Tigard branch; this is a fairly large chain of stores, and you can search for the one closest to your zip code.) I was looking more for tops, of which I found a few, but my big find for the day was this skirt:

My new gray skirt!

SCORE! My new gray skirt is a lightweight wool pinstripe from Jones New York, fully lined, with an invisible zipper, in like-new condition. And it fits me perfectly! (Skirt price: $7.99!)

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Makeover Monday: A New Wardrobe Equation

No doubt you’ve heard of Einstein’s famous equation E = MC². But how many of us know what it means? I admit, I didn’t know off the top of my head, but fortunately for me, my brilliant daughter did. E stands for Energy, M is Mass, and C signifies the speed of light. So the equation symbolizes a quantification of energy determined by a specific mass moving at the speed of light. Something like that.

What, you may well ask, does this have to do with Makeover Monday here at CYC? Well, after last Monday’s Makeover, as I tossed around various topics to cover, I kept coming back to the same thing: the inescapable fact that my own wardrobe needs not just a makeover, but a total overhaul. And ever since I introduced Makeover Monday to Closet Confessions last week, I’ve been intrigued with the idea of continuing this collaboration of CYC favorites. And the possibilities in their alliterative titles naturally led to my new wardrobe equation. Here it is, along with my profuse apologies to Einstein:

C² + M² = E. (Closet Confessions plus Makeover Monday equals Epiphany.)

In keeping with this new formula, I’ll start with my latest Closet Confession, namely: I hardly have anything to wear. Continue reading →


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Makeover Monday Meets Closet Confessions: A Sweater Story

It was only a matter of time. Ever since I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve become more and more uncomfortably aware of the shortcomings of my own closet (wait, maybe that’s the reason why I started this blog). I’ve covered some of these faults in my Closet Confessions posts, and still have lots to talk about under that heading. And since Makeovers have now taken over my Mondays, I should have known that, sooner or later, they would cross paths on my way to what I hope is the perfect wardrobe.

Today is the day: Makeover Monday comes to the Closet Confessional.

The confession: This photo is worth at least a thousand reproving words.

Confession/Before

Confession/Before: My sweaters are in an unholy mess.

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Makeover Monday: Rethinking the Concept

I’m working on some fairly major makeovers right now, none of which are quite ready for their close-ups, so I’m going to take a little break from the projects this week, and give some thought to my whole makeover concept.

If I was going to have a total makeover myself (clothes, hair, makeup), I would only consider it a success if the changes were more than just superficial; helpful shopping advice, greater confidence, more openness to trying new styles, or tips for tailoring clothes to fit me perfectly, for example. And if I apply that same thinking to my Makeover Monday projects, shouldn’t I expect more than, say, newly-dyed jeans or a scarf turned into a sweater?

I’d like to think, when I’m choosing and working on my Makeover Monday projects, that you’re getting more than just a tutorial; after all, maybe you don’t actually have a pair of jeans in need of an overhaul, or a scarf that you love and yet don’t wear. If that’s the case, I still want you to derive some benefit. So now, after quite a few weeks of makeovers, maybe it’s time for me to ask myself: Is there more to my makeovers than meets the eye?

The more I think about the answer to this question, the more I come back to the original intent of this blog: to inspire you to think about, and wear, the clothes you already have in new ways. That may involve repairs, alterations, embellishments, or all-out makeovers, or it might be simply rethinking the way you use the items in your current wardrobe. I’ll give a simple example from my own closet: jeans (recognize them from a previous Makeover Monday?), cowl-neck knit top, tweedy jacket, and my very favorite (okay, only) Hermes silk scarf, a souvenir from my very first trip to Paris over 20 years ago. Here are 3 ways I wear the same scarf:

1 scarf 3 ways

1 scarf 3 ways: draped and tied at the neck, swinging from a belt loop, and embellishing the bag.

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Makeover Monday: Cardi-Wrap to Cocoon

Ever since I made my first 3D scarf for last week’s Makeover Monday, I’ve been wearing it almost every day. It’s the perfect light-yet-warm layer that goes on easily over everything. (I’m wearing it even as I type right now!) In fact, this surprisingly versatile piece has gotten so much use already that it inspired me to root through more than my scarf collection for makeover candidates. And lo! Lurking deep in a stack of seldom-worn hand-knitted sweaters, I found this:

Cardi-wrap, pre-makeover

Cardi-Wrap, pre-makeover. This is literally just a long, wide scarf with sleeves set into the rectangle.

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Makeover Monday: 2 Steps to a 3D Scarf

On this new Makeover Monday, I present my Ode to a Scarf. I wear one scarf or another almost daily, almost year-round, so I have a lot of them: silk, wool, pashmina, mohair, cashmere, cotton, rayon; striped, solid, printed, jacquard; scarves I designed and hand-knitted for myself, gift scarves, thrift-store and hand-me-down scarves, even one upcycled from a skirt into a scarf.

Out of this motley but well-loved collection, there’s one scarf I love best: my hand-knitted brushed-wool entrelac scarf, in the most luscious combination of deep, dark brown and rosy, pink-y reds.

My favorite scarf ever!

My favorite scarf ever, pre-makeover. All it needs is to be wearable.

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Makeover Monday: Cuff ‘Em! (The Sequel)

Previously on Makeover Monday: A pair of too-short jeans gets a glam fix with the addition of deep hem bands in bronze-metallic-finished denim! But when I discovered I didn’t have enough of the contrast fabric to do a double-layer cuff, I got to thinking…

What if I added a different fabric to line the cuff? Then, in addition to the full-length look with the bronze bands, I could fold the cuffs up to capri length, showing the second fabric, and have a whole new look! I thought about the type of fabric for a minute; my first instinct (as usual) was to use something fabulous in sequins (I have lots of scraps under this heading), but I reflected that that might not feel too comfortable against my shins when I wear the jeans at full length. (Boo.) A quick rummage through my stash yielded this:

Fabric to line the bronze cuffs

Fabric to line the bronze cuffs: The new fabric (on right) is printed to look like lace, and I think it’s a great complement to both the original denim and the bronze band.

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Makeover Monday: Cuff ‘Em!

I confess to a fashion crime… my narrow-leg jeans are just a tiny bit too short. Usually, with a narrower leg, I can get away with a “regular” length, meaning a 31-32″ inseam; with wider legs like boot-cuts, I’d have to go to a “tall” or “long” length (33-34″ inseam). These jeans seemed perfect at first, but after a solid 2 years of a lot of wearing and washing, they’ve gradually gotten a little shorter, to the point where I can only (barely) get away with wearing them with high heels; with flats, they’re maybe 3/4″ too short, at least to my eye. What to do, what to do…

When I was in the fabric store a few weeks ago (getting more dye for my other jeans’ makeover), this idea popped into my head: why not add a contrast band or cuff to the legs of my jeans to lengthen them?

In spite of a rather bewildering array of denim fabric choices, I couldn’t find the black denim I wanted, but I did find an intriguing piece with a bronze metallic finish on one side, very like the lacquered treatments so popular in denim right now. Here are my jeans in their sad “before” condition, and the fabric I found to cuff ’em:

"Before" jeans and bronze-finish denim for cuffs (these are not the same jeans as the ones I dyed on previous Makeover Mondays).

“Before” jeans and bronze-finish denim for cuffs. (These are not the same jeans as the ones I dyed on previous Makeover Mondays, by the way. Now I’m starting to think my whole denim wardrobe is just sad…)

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