Thrifting, upscaling and restyling

Finally!  The week away from my usual routine, scheduled months ago, is here. As I type I’m snuggled in a luxurious hotel suite, near a mountain range where raptors are migrating.  Really, for me this is the best! Early afternoon into sundown today will find me on a mountain promontory watching for raptors riding currents over the Appalachian range. 

I’m  always on the lookout for the beginning raw materials I can upscale into statement pieces for my wardrobe or home. In preparation for this trip I visited my favorite thrifts shops and made 3 great finds.  Here’s the inventory:  One oversized men’s plaid shirt, one 90’s-era blazer that was about 3 sizes too large but well constructed and fully lined in a soft, crushed taupe linen, and a cute ballet flat. 

After some time with the sewing machine and hand needles they’ve been restyled and updated.  I put casings slightly above my natural waist in the shirt and the blazer and pulled drawstrings through to ruche in the fullness.  A sporty elastic drawstring was chosen for the plaid shirt, and I rolled the too-long sleeves to make a shirt jacket. This will be perfect for cool spring weather.  For the linen jacket I inserted a light brown velvet ribbon for a drawstring then knotted it to hold the gathers and finish off the ends. For the too-long, too-full sleeves,I removed the button plackets at the cuffs and inserted an elastic casing making blousy, bracelet length sleeves. The ballet flats were adorned with bead clusters from a deconstructed necklace and pink velvet ankle laces were pulled through the casing loop at the heel.

TaDa!