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How to Modernize Your Thrifty Finds

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Krystyna LaChance
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Rida Ahmed
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Western chapter.

Found something with great potential? Don’t worry, we’re here to help you turn that “could be something” into a “will be something”.

 Found: Blazer
 It doesn’t matter what color the blazer is or how beat up it looks, it’s really easy to turn an outdated jacket into a work of art. Want a popular rolled sleeved jacket? No problem.First, grab a striped, long-sleeved shirt. Next, cut the sleeve of your blazer about 3 inches up the seam. You’ll then want to cut off the sleeves of the striped shirt at about 6 inches up (to allow for sewing room). Then, take the striped sleeves and sew them inside the blazer sleeves. Try to keep the sewing seem to the jacket’s liner so that the thread doesn’t show through on the other side. Allow about 2 inches of space between the cut portion of blazer sleeve and the striped shirt. After you’ve finished sewing the striped portion to the blazer, roll your sleeves so that the cuffs show the striped collar and secure with your choice of a stitch or a button (in which case you will sew the button at the desired cuff and cut a button hole in the sleeve itself). Voila! A fashionable blazer for a fraction of the cost.

 Found: Jeans
If you find a pair of jeans and you really like the fit of the waist, not to mention the design of the pockets, but they just aren’t short enough? Or perhaps they flare at the bottom and you prefer skinny jeans? Don’t fret fashionista, simply turn those jeans into shorts! Put on the jeans and make a mark along the leg to how short you want them. Take a pair of scissors, cut and there you have it: frayed shorts. Definitely a hot item and this is a cheap alternative to buying them at the chain stores. Want to rock your new purchase in the winter months? Wear patterned tights underneath to keep your legs warm when the weather is cold.

 
Found: Knit Sweater
Going for an over-size sweater seems to work out the best in these cases as you can simply modify them to look fashionable. Long sweaters and leggings is a popular winter combination and there is no better place to find long, knit sweaters than a thrift store. Look for simple colors like black or pink, or opt for white. Solids are better, but if you find a cute patterned sweater, go for it. If the sweater is too wide, but is perfect in length, add a skinny belt to the mix for a cinched in waist. You’ll be stylish and warm! Another alternative is to take a wool needle (the large, thick ones) and a bit of yarn (preferably of the same color as the sweater), measure your waist, pin where you want the sweater to fit properly and sew a new seem down the sides.

 Found: T-Shirt
 The t-shirt may be oversized, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less cute. There is an easy fix to this problem: turn it into a crop top. There are several helpful YouTube How-To videos for this, but it really isn’t as hard as you’d think. Simply cut off a significant portion of the bottom of the t-shirt, possibly cut the neck so that the shirt fits a little “off the shoulder” and there you have it: A homemade crop top. Don’t like crop tops? Try simply cutting the shirt’s neck as mentioned above for that “off the shoulder look”, and if you’re handy with a needle and thread, try restitching the sides to make it fit tighter. Another easy alternative would be to cut a 1 inch section off from the seam, puncture holes in the fabric of the shirt and then thread the material you removed from the shirt through the holes, creating a “lacing” effect. It looks majorly hot, especially combined with the off the shoulder collar. 
 
Here are some helpful YouTube How-Tos:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP6smgH-8CM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IMUIzbh7BE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL1hR4j4mhE&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IdHgYm8hVg&feature=related
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Krystyna is in her fourth year at Western University, formerly the University of Western Ontario. She is majoring in Arts and Humanities, with a Specialization in the English Language and Literature. She hopes to pursue a career in teaching with a fallback on journalism. Fair warning, she is a bit of a grammar freak and as such is a trusted HerCampus Western Ontario editor. She loves fashion, literature, music and film - subjects which she also happens to enjoy writing about, so stay tuned. All in all, Krystyna is a proud member of the HerCampus community and she looks forward to writing for you.
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Rida is a fourth year student at the University of Western Ontario and is extremely excited about the opportunity to bring Her Campus to London! She recently changed her major from Finance to English Literature after finally realizing what she wanted to do with her life. Having spent her whole life in the Middle East (Dubai and Saudi Arabia) Rida had no choice but to grow up a shopaholic! Having shifted from the desert to the great ice box that is Canada, she still finds it difficult to adjust to the freezing weather. In her spare time, Rida likes reading, watching way too many shows, stuffed crust pizza and,of course, shopping! Her aspirations are to one day live in Paris and be a writer for Vogue.