Mending and makeovers: cut and hem!

Mending and makeovers: cut and hem!

• 4.18.2011

I love good deals, you know... so when I found these two cute items at Goodwill for $2.50 and $1.50 (half off color!), I snatched them up!

This is a nice silk dress from Old Navy a few years ago.  It's a cute idea, nicely lined and all, but it doesn't really work for me as a dress.  Maybe with tights and heels at a holiday party, but not for wear-to-work in spring.  The silk is nice but lightweight.  I bought it to turn into a shirt!

And this little lightweight cotton Forever 21 tunic blouse thing just missed the mark.  It has beltloops on the sides, you can see, but was missing the belt.  It was suuuper long but a preppy blouse style--whaaa?  It could be cute, I thought, shorter.  I love the color.

Sometimes all you need to do to freshen up pieces is change the hemline!!  I hemmed the dress to a nice shirt length.

I am wearing it today with a thin belt at the waist and a v-neck cardi over!
And on this green top, I cut off the ruffled bottom and saved it to put on a pillow or something later!  Yaaaay reuse and cheap/recycled materials.  The shirt was also too big around, so I took in the sides before I gave it a nice 1.5" hem.  Much more wearable now!  (Although, boy, I really should have pressed it before modeling... I had it folded waiting for a photoshoot for a few days!).

And of course it can be worn belted as well!  A more casual look.  The belt is from Anthro clearance =).

So there you have it!  Easy ways to refresh a wardrobe.  Cut, press, pin, and sew!  And voila, a new shirt.  Like a 10-minute project.  Do you have any great quick wardrobe refreshes/fixes??