Want to be totally original as well as up to the minute? Do you have access to a sewing machine and have basic sewing skills, however rusty? Then you can take advantage of the wonderful bargains to be had by rummaging at charity shops and car boot sales.
The best time to buy at a boot sale or jumble sale is towards the end when the stallholder wants to get rid of everything. Sometime designer clothes can be found turned inside out or squashed into a box of rubbish by checking the label. You might only need to press or clean the garment, photograph it with a digital camera in good light, put it on EBay and before you can say Vivienne Westwood, you have made a £30 profit – or more.
Often though the garment might need a bit of imagination thrown at it before you can flounce along the King’s Road. Turn an old jacket into a fashionable waistcoat by removing the sleeves, hem the rough edges, and accessorise with a scarf, belt and boots.
Dress has become increasingly informal over recent years and wedding outfits with long dresses and jackets never get worn more than once. How about making it less formal by shortening the coat to the new bolero jacket length and if necessary making the dress shorter too? Add a scarf or piles of beads and then it’s ideal for formal meetings at work, or for that dreaded interview. Who would think you paid £3.50 for it in a charity shop?
Oh, but you can’t sew, or have forgotten what you did know? Enjoy the company of an evening class at your local college and your skills can save on upholstery and all kinds of running repairs. Did I mention my husband’s shirtsleeves have shrunk and just need cutting down to make it short sleeve shirt?
