Ideas for recycling your clothes

While working on a presentation for my boss on Friday, I had an epiphany. About a dress.

I purchased a strapless floor length chiffon tube dress on clearance from Old Navy two years ago, and it ended up being unworkable for me (too big, and the straps I tried to sew on did not work). I’d given up, and tucked it in the back of a cabinet.

Then, as I said, Friday came. And somewhere inbetween the words “synergy” and “corporate vision,” I realized I could cut the dress in half. (wish I’d taken a before pic). The top half, which had elastic banding on the top edge, became a knee length skirt with one cut. That band fit my waist perfectly.

The bottom half of the dress, with a few swishes of a serger, became this raglan top (and I didn’t even have to hem the bottom, because it was the bottom hem of the dress):

So that got me thinking. What else in my closet could I morph? This badly fitting silk skirt, which material I still loved, came to mind:

I cut off two inches from the bottom, and turned them into straps. Then I cut out some room for the underarms and finished the edges.

I share this post not to boast, but in hopes that it will inspire you to reexamine your own closet and find some “new” clothes for summer on the cheap! Not to mention you’ll be environmentally friendly at the same time–on Etsy they call it “upcycling.” This skirt was from Goodwill, so it’s twice-cycled…even better.