My mom watches as I open my closet yet again, sighing, as my eyes scan over all the stale clothes I constantly wear. I know what she’s going to say. “You don’t need more clothes”. I want to tell her that I’ll always need more clothes, but the drawers overflowing and clothes spewing volcanically say otherwise. Still, I hop on Vinted anyways. Is the answer to my monotonous closet in buying new clothes? I delete the Vinted tab. I’m taking matters into my own hands. Here’s to a renaissance in revamping.
I am always seeing reels on Instagram and TikToks on how to embellish old clothes and create them anew, ways to make clothes more synonymous with who you are. It’s only fair you outgrow your closet as you move through your teenage years into your 20s. Surely it’s possible to transform these clothes with you. If artists can repaint their canvases and writers can edit their literature, the fashion girlies can absolutely revamp their closets without throwing the whole canvas away.
While you may think old blouses from your high-school days have met their end, there are many ways to re-work tops into your cool, uni- adapted wardrobe:
- Replace Buttons with Metal Clasps
Replacing buttons on a blouse can transform a piece into a more edgy, fashion-forward look. Whether you go with horseshoe style hooks or fireman coat clasps, the choice is yours. The power of Renaissance is in your hands. Simply searching for cool clasps online can offer you a variety of options. These metal clasps can be easily stitched on in place of buttons, or, if you’re feeling more creative, towards the waist of the blouse, offering an asymmetric, cinched look.
- Embroidery
One of the easier ways to create new looks is through embroidery. Having attempted this approach myself, I can vouch that embroidery, although a challenge, is not impossible. You can start off by drawing outlines on t-shirts beforehand, and following with a needle and thread. Embroidery can go as far as beads, if you’re feeling a beaded look on a white t-shirt, or embellishing pant-hems with some that are metallic. The creative vision is in your hands and social media is always there for inspiration. Embroidering a cheeky saying on the back of your Jean pocket is always a well-received change and is guaranteed to gain you some compliments.
- Safety pins
While a little more untraditional, adding safety pins to clothes can revive old clothes. If you’re looking to make oversized clothes more fitted, adding safety pins to the inside of tops can create a temporary cinched look. Tons of freedom comes with this revamp, as you can always move the safety pins around or take them off if you’re tired of a look. Safety pins can also act as a unique, grungy look on the outside of clothes. If you want a bold addition to a blouse, you can cinch on the outside of a piece, creating a more daring look and incorporating the look to the safety pin itself to your outfit.
If the French can have a Renaissance, so can you. Remember, fashion is all about having fun and trying out new approaches to what may seem boring to your eye. A renaissance in revamping is just the thing you need to challenge your vision of fashion and enhance your own wardrobe.