Nothing to Wear

Are you a closet glamazon, stuck in a minimum-wage job, barely making ends meet? Do you enjoy fashion but find that even the "cheap" versions of the latest trends are out of your financial reach (if you've ever had to "save up" for a $16 top, this means you)? Do you wish that the clothes you own would fit you better, but have no money for professional alterations and little to no sewing experience?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above questions, this blog might be for you.

At twenty-one years old, after moving out of my parents' house and into the world of adulthood, I recently took a good hard look into my wardrobe and made a horrific discovery: I had nothing to wear. Now "nothing" means that my wardrobe, though in fact prolific, desperately needs an update. Unfortunately, in this transitional period of my life I've discovered that even my old habits of rummaging through the sales racks at the mall are out of my financial reach.

It isn't that the items I possess are so heinous, or worn beyond repair, but most are evidence of trends long passed, or a figure I no longer have (ever try to dress curves on a budget?).

However, I've found an oasis in this fashion drought. My boyfriend recently requested that I pick out an older shirt of his and make it my "designated girlfriend shirt." I found a Zelda shirt in his bottom drawer that I took a liking to. Unfortunately, it had become too large for him and so I practically swam in all the excess fabric. I asked if he wouldn't mind me tweaking it a bit as an experiment, and he gave me his approval. Initially, I only planned to take it in at the sides, but botched the job and laid the shirt aside, disheartened. Weeks later, with renewed zeal, I attacked it again, redoing the side alterations properly and changing the conventional t-shirt neckhole to a more open, square neckline.

front view A

back view A

To my surprise, I was remarkably pleased with the result, as were my boyfriend and a few others I'd told about my experiment. I decided to alter a few other t-shirts similarly, and was equally pleased.

(sorry, these next few pictures were taken on my cellphone so the quality's not so fantastic)

back view B

front view B

view C

I took comfortable shirts that I once deemed too unflattering to wear outside the house and gave them new life. It's not a new idea, and I'm nothing close to an expert at alterations, but reworking those old shirts got me excited, and now I'm at work in earnest trying to update my whole closet. It's an excitement that I want to share, because if I can do it, why can't you? Besides, in the current recession here in the US, isn't it greener (and more economically sound) to be as efficient as you can with the resources you already possess?

If you can afford a needle, thread, fabric scissors, and pins, then you are well on your way to a much brighter view of your closet.

My goal in creating this blog is to take you, step-by-step, through the process of altering my wardrobe, taking cues from current fashions in my alterations. It isn't professional work, and I'm no designer, but I'll show you both my progress and pitfalls through the process in hopes that it may assist those of you who also feel that you've got "nothing to wear."