Changing Your Clothes

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

Tag Archives: wardrobe creation strategy


by 8 Comments

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.

Continue reading →


by 2 Comments

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?