For a new wardrobe, start with your old one
Staying on trend can be a costly business, but it doesn’t have to be when you revamp your old clothes. Customisation is a cheap way to breathe live into things you don’t wear anymore, or to funk up things you can pick up cheaply in charity shops. It’s cheap, easy and can be a great craft activity for kids too.
Not only will you have a new wardrobe, you’ll be wearing a one off, exuding style and smugness that you’ve created it yourself for next to nothing.
Here’s a few easy customisation tips to inspire you.
Turn a drab old long skirt into a funky boob tube dress
If you’ve got any long skirts hanging around your wardrobe, you can easily make use of them with minimal alteration - especially if they have an elasticated waist. At it’s simplest all you need to do is hoist it up over your boobs and team it with a wide belt just below the bust line, it’ll give you a great shape and a new strapless dress - you could even wear it over jeans and layer it with a simple cardigan. Why not have a look in your local charity shop, you’ll probably find some great floral prints that are bang on trend for this summer’s gypsy style dresses.
Give those plain old jeans a bit of bling
Jeans can be costly, but are a wardrobe staple that most of us have more than one pair of. If you don’t, and you’re not keen on customising your one good pair, head to your local charity shop, or budget chain like H&M and get a pair you’re happen to liven up. Next head to the Haberdashery or craft shop - these places are like treasure troves for customisation. Most large department stores have them too.
Choose some jewels or sequins, even buttons or ready made motifs and simply glue or stitch them on to one of the back pockets, or the front. They’ll make a great pair of going out jeans no one else will have.
T-shirt treasures
Old plain t-shirts and vest tops can be easily transformed in to something really special, or you can buy them cheaply in places like H&M, or your local charity shop.
What you do with them is up to you. You can buy relatively inexpensive fabric pens, even glittery ones, which make a great craft project for kids to decorate their own t-shirts. You could even dye a faded or colour-washed top a darker colour and it’ll be like new.
The trick to good customisation is never through anything way, keep buttons, bits of ribbon, corsages from things you no longer wear. You can also buy them in haberdashery stores a lot cheaper than you can get a whole new outfit for.
You could make a ribbon bow to stitch on the neckline, or attach a length or ribbon around the bottom. Add some jewels, sew on a few buttons or stitch a piece of lace or even cord for a nautical look, all the way around the neckline.
Give your coat an overhaul
Buying a new coat is a big expense, and most of us have at least one sitting around at the back of a wardrobe, maybe with a few buttons missing. You can quickly and easily transform a coat simply by changing the buttons for something that makes a statement. This year it looks like the nautical theme is making a come back, so why not jazz up a light spring jacket with some stripey fabric coloured buttons, or some shiny metal ones. Or if you’re looking for something dressy, stitch a big flower corsage on to a plain woolen coat or jacket - it’s a great way to add a splash of colour - and it’s easily changed.
These shoes were made for showing off
Shoes are one of the easiest things to customise, and we all know how hard it is to find a pair that are comfortable enough to wear all day, or for a night of dancing. So if you’ve got a pair that feel like slippers but just don’t look the part, you can transform them into something that looks designer in minutes.
You can embellish them with jewels or studs just using glue. This is great for boots and can really bring a pair of old suede boots bang up to date.
Why not liven up a pair of ballerina style pumps or plain courts by fixing a flower corsage to the front. You could even buy some inexpensive costume jewellery (obviously you’ll need 2 of whatever you buy) and glue a large pendant or pin a broach to them. And you’ll have a one off pair of couture shoes that are bound to get you noticed.
Or, if you want to jazz up a pair of canvas shoes or trainers - and this is a great one for kids - get embellishing, with glitter fabric pens, jewels, buttons or paint your own designs on with acrylic paints, then when they’re dry, paint over the top of your designs with clear nail polish and they’ll be completely rain proof too. And for an instant update without mess, just replace the laces with ribbons.