Dear readers,

This is the time of year when I pull out pants, shirts, sweaters, and skirts that I haven’t seen in close to 8 months – and then I remember, oh yeah, this sweater has a hole I told myself I was going to fix or “I would still wear these pants if it wasn’t for this tear…”

One of the best ways to get “new” clothes is to fix and mend the much loved ones you already have.  Below you will find links to articles that share great tips on how to tailor, sew, and mend your way to a fresh new closet of clothes!

But there’s a hole in my pocket!

Stop losing change and fix that hole!  This is probably the easiest snafu to fix, especially for your favorite pair of jeans. 

Crafting a Green World has an easy to follow post on how to mend that hole and extend the life of those jeans just a *bit* longer.  Though the tutorial is for jeans, I think it can be extended to any pair of pants.

Hemming…

Speaking of jeans, you may have a few pair that fit really well, but are dragging you down with their length.  Hemming pants is surprisingly easy – I used to bring long pants to the tailor, but no more!  Once again, Crafting a Green World comes to the rescue – all you need is a pair of jeans, a double-fold bias tape maker, and a sewing machine (or a sturdy sewing needle).

Hodge Podge

If you have never checked out San Francisco Indie Fashion, I recommend you do – while they focus primarily on Bay Area designers, they also often have great tips on fashion, sewing, and tailoring.  In the spirit of “revamping” your closet, they share five tailoring ideas on how to take what you already have – and make it new.  As they point out, it IS ok to take clothes to the tailor – if you have nice clothes you want to last, it is worth the investment – dressing up the outfits with different accessories also extends the wearability of your clothes.

Other ideas they share are turning a dress into a shirt, changing the sleeves on a shirt, converting a tie-neck halter to a button closure, and replacing the lining (a GREAT idea for much loved winter jackets).  Read more here.

To fix or not to fix…

Lastly, to leave you with some food for thought, I recommend you read (or re-read) this article that appeared in the Boston Globe awhile back: “Can this garment be saved?”  It explores when you should and shouldn’t save that article of clothing and related costs.

Do you have any tailoring tips or shortcuts?  Please share them with us!

Dear readers,

I am excited to present a guest post from Anne at Rural Runway, one of our favorite blogs over here at Goodwill.  Anne and Patience gave us a back to school and fall fashion tour at the Bangor Goodwill.

Patience found this beige dress (a great neutral!) and we decided to spice it up with a metallic belt and a furry bag. Patience also loved these butterfly ballet slipper flats.

Anne thought this gray plaid dress would be practical for work, with a matching belt (too bad both were a little too big). Plaid patterns are making a big comeback this fall…we’re curious to see whether they catch on. And a pair of high black boots is always a great closet staple.

Argyle is also a great print that never seems to go out of style. Patience chose this sweater with colors that look great on her. The jeans are hers, and the flip-flops on the rack still had tags on them!

Still thinking about work attire, Anne chose a fitted houndstooth blazer and belted it a la Michelle Obama. The belt adds some much needed color to this outfit. The wool trousers are lined, so they’re less itchy, and probably cost $100+ retail. A great find!

Of course, no trip to Goodwill is complete without trying on a fur coat. We got a kick out of these styles. Vintage clothing is so much fun, because there’s history in each item.

Finally, Anne wanted to show off a fun plaid dress she found at the Portland Goodwill on Forest Ave. Perfect for work, or the weekend!

Happy back-to-school shopping, everyone!

Check out this great video from Threadbanger, featuring stylist Barret Wertz.  He takes you through a Goodwill store in New York City and shares some great tips for back to school and fall shopping.  Enjoy!

We had a great time last week refashioning Goodwill finds into new, fashionable clothing!  Goodwill partnered with the Portsmouth Public library to offer a series of teen refashion classes.  We held our first class last Tuesday and it was a huge hit – everyone got to go home with a newly made creation.  A big thank you to Jennifer at Recover Girl and everyone involved who helped make this a great success!

Do you want Goodwill to host a similar event in your community?  Please leave a comment and let us know!

Assessing our projects…hmmm…

The refashioning begins!

An old fleece jacket is now a stylish wrap!

A bulky orange sweater is transformed into a casual wrap!

An old purple sweater becomes a new summer cardigan!

Buttons jazz up this plain white t-shirt

Pajama pants turned into a cardigan!

Hello readers!  We have an exciting announcement! Goodwill has partnered with the Portsmouth Public Library to offer teens a thrifty way to express their creativity – they will learn how to alter second-hand garments into trendy new pieces!

There is a  series of four classes being offered at the library this summer that will teach teens a new skill set that will allow them to look at old objects in a new way.  Teens may turn a sweater into a hat, a t-shirt into a cardigan, or make other creations.

The library suggests that teens pre-register to hold their place AND so they can pick up a gift certificate to Goodwill to pick out an article of clothing to refashion.  You can find all the detail on the Library’s website – make sure you sign up early!

The workshops are scheduled as follows:

Tuesday, July 21 2-4 p.m.

Thursday, July 23 2-4 p.m.

Tuesday, August 4, 6-8 p.m.

Thursday, August 6, 6-8 p.m.

Woo-hoo!