Welcome to Thrifty Threads, AKA Most Stylish Compact-y outfit, where readers model their favorite secondhand clothes.
A Compact-y outfit is used or recycled, from Goodwill, a thrift store, a consignment shop, a yard sale, ebay, craigslist, a clothing swap, or anywhere else you find used clothing.
Today’s model is Casie, wearing a refashioned 100% silk Betsey Johnson dress. Casie received it as a hand-me-down from a fellow church member, but it wasn’t her style at all. So she used her mad sewing skills to restyle the dress into something she would wear. She removed the sleeves, cut several inches off the hem, changed the neckline, and used the scraps to create the ruffle at the neck.
Casie says she likes how it turned out, and it was certainly thrifty. I love this dress! And it looks fantastic on her. I think it would be wonderful to have such talents, and be able to transform useless items into one-of-a-kind treasures. I’m envious, I don’t possess any sewing skills whatsoever. But for those of you who do, just look what you can do with a little imagination (and a dress that started out a pretty color and fabric, if not a great design).
Casie blogs at 101 Thingees, which refers to her list of things she wants to accomplish (within 365 days, or maybe a little longer…). Casie says it’s not a bucket list, more a list of things that meet criteria like “might be fun, will make her better or smarter, that will make her giggle when she thinks about it, and won’t require a babysitter.” The list includes items like “read To Kill a Mockingbird, wear dresses for a whole week, and make homemade ice cream without a machine.” My favorite is definitely #62: “write a haiku about bacon,” which is coded as already accomplished. Ha! I’d love to read that! Maybe she’ll share it with us in the Comments section if I haven’t embarrassed her. Casie is obviously a very resourceful, busy, and creative person, along with having a great sense of humor. Some of the other posts you might enjoy are this one where she shows how she made a sewing dummy out of duct tape, and this one where she refashioned another dress into an anthropologie-style knockout.
Thanks Casie for that cute photo! The red shoes and your adorable daughter in the picture don’t hurt. Readers, it’s your turn. Put on your favorite thrift store score, snap a photo, and send it to me at barton (dot) angela (at) gmail (dot) com. Don’t be shy, you know how much we all love to see your fabulous finds. If you’ve remade or repurposed something, maybe Casie’s picture will motivate you to send in your own submission.
Do you shop secondhand? Please share your favorite tips in the Comments section. And click here to check out all the previous installments of Thrifty Threads.
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