Changing Your Clothes

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

Tag Archives: wardrobe creation


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Thrift-Shop Thursday: View from the Trenches

Previously on Thrift-Shop Thursday, I told you about my archaeologist daughter’s last-minute quest for the perfect dig-site wardrobe— and by perfect, I meant quick and thrifty, and she meant practical, yet chic. For a girl who just today wore a black pencil skirt, charcoal-grey cowl-neck top, cream fishnet hose, and taupe heels just to get her hair done, satisfying both of us threatened to be a very tall order. Today, Valerie is my very first guest blogger, with her own take on this thrift-shop-based experience. Welcome her to Changing Your Clothes!

“A garment in the closet is worth two in storage.” —Ancient proverb

What-ho from your guest correspondent. The above-mentioned trenches are also proverbial: I did indeed leap at the recent chance to help excavate an archaeological site within commuting distance of my home address, but we are digging in 1 x 1 meter squares! Although I insist I never actually wailed, “What do I wear?”, proper attire was an immediate concern. Because of the nature of this dig, I needed little more than the clothes on my back and the knowledge in my brain; but by the nature of my recent life, my entire closet was oriented to libraries, museums, and evening events —distinctly indoor clothes. If it were merely a question of finding acceptable work clothes, rugged and washable, it would have been a simple utilitarian jaunt to the nearest clothing-seller and this post could end with this paragraph.

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Packing ORDer (and a minor emergency)

You’ve heard my original plan for my Chicago (ORD) wardrobe, seen the color palette I developed for it, and how that palette translates into fabrics, as well as clothes and accessories already in my closet. And now, on my last day of preparation, I can at least show you what I’ve been working on for the past 6 planning-and-sewing-filled days. (This will be in the nature of a briefing— emphasis on brief— with many more details to follow after I get home.)

After working out this color palette, my next move was to decide which garments to make with which fabrics.

My new ORDer palette

My new ORDer palette. Click on the palette to see it on my ColourLovers page.

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101 Words, The Inaugural Edition

To celebrate my 100th post (!), I intended to start a new every-so-often feature called 100 Words; each would be a brief but pithy post about anything I felt like at the time, from the colors and trends that are inspiring me to a report on my latest favorite runway show. Great idea, right?

Ooops.

I didn’t notice until it was too late that I had just published my 100th post (on June 14). This is my 101st, so with a slight title revision (and a peek at the word count), I now present to you the inaugural edition of 101 Words!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about different ways to approach wardrobe creation. Personally, I tend to be item-driven; if a garment is special enough, if I love it enough, my experience tells me it will work with the rest of my wardrobe. However, this item-based approach can also lead to those dreaded I-have-nothing-to-wear moments, despite the proverbial closet full of clothes. Is there a way to balance a practical, lifestyle-needs-based strategy with my compulsion to actually love every single garment I own? Is constant change, and consequently, adjustment to it, the norm?


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Practical vs. Extravagant: The Follow-up

I know you’ve all been breathlessly waiting to hear the results of my Practical vs. Extravagant question. Wait no longer! (For those of you who are breathlessly confused about what I’m talking about, you might want to read the post that started this great debate.) Here is my finished outfit:

Extravagant dance outfit!

My Extravagant outfit, all dressed up and hoping to dance! The skirt, with its glowing colors and asymmetrical hem (longer on the right side of this photo, shorter on the other side), is sexy without being inappropriate.

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