Thrift stores and consignment shops have been growing in popularity as the DIY (or “do-it-yourself”) trend continues to sweep every blog. In the last fifty years, clothing has started to be produced en masse, meaning shopping purchases have become frequent and quality has occasionally dwindled. Between the internet’s growing accessibility and the large quantities of money we seem to throw at big name clothing stores, it begs the question: Why not alter the clothes we already have so they do match our current needs?
Many people have already taken to that question and are honing their creative skills for all they’re worth. Because as fun as shopping can be, there are various advantages to re-working your old clothes to make a bold, new statement:
- Customize Your Own Style
There has become an increasing pressure to “brand” oneself as a means of identity—on social media, in social settings, and even for certain employers. This is only one benefit of adapting your clothes to better suit your needs and personal style—another being, of course, feeling more comfortable in your own skin.
Everyone has their own unique fashion sense, and no matter how many different kinds of clothes are being sold, chances are a very slim quantity of them will fit into exactly what you’re looking for. Do you have a certain color you like to incorporate into your outfits? Would you like all of your skirts to have buttons down the front? Do you want lace peeking out from under all your blouses? Do you like to customize with embroidery? If so, check out the best embroidery machines. All of these customizations can be brought to life in the pursuit of redesigning your own clothes.
- Develop a New Skill
Sewing, embroidering, and customizing clothing are skills that, now that clothes are being sold on a commercial level, have been lost among vast amounts of people. These skills in particular are not only helpful for recreational projects, but extremely usable if you have a hole in your fabric, need a new button sewn on, or decide to alter and hem your own formal attire. You can also do these things for your loved ones or even as a side business.
Due to the internet, resources have grown in number and reliability. You can easily find a plethora of craft supplies that will assist you as well as reviews for all of those items, on websites such as Embroidery Machine Reviews and other similar ones.
- Affordability
Naturally, when you shop at discounted stores or revamp clothing you already own, you’re saving significantly more money than you would buying something brand new. Hundreds of dollars can be very easily spent at the mall, but in craft stores it is much harder to reach that number (also due to the fact that craft supplies have a longer lifespan than most clothes). You could adapt your clothing to better suit your style, and even save money while doing it!
Taking this one step farther, you could also make money off this new ability. If you find an innovative way to decorate sunglasses, add tassels on the hems of skirts, or embroider denim, you might find people that would pay a pretty penny to own something that you’ve made.
- Reduce Environmental Waste
Regardless of the amount of clothes that get donated, there are still a large supply that end up in the dumpster after a certain period of use. Once a permanent stain has appeared or the color has worn down, people tend to throw away what they no longer use. Therefore, in seeing the significance of clothing that simply needs a little mending, you’re reducing your carbon footprint by contributing less to landfills.
The resources to improve your crafting skills are ever-present—online, in craft shops, in bookstores, the like. So, while the decision to pursue it is entirely personal, it is plentiful with opportunities and self-fulfillment. Redesigning your own clothes can produce a sense of capability, satisfy a new hobby, and remind you of what makes you unique.
