Posh Swaps Blog

Frugal living is currently a necessity for many people but has also become quite fashionable as people find new and creative ways to live on a minimal budget. The media have likened this frugality to the second world war when rationing and shortages forced people to ’make do and mend’. John Lewis has even rewritten a wartime make do and mend booklet for modern times. It gives some great tips that still apply today as well as some new ones such as the economic use of the central heating.

This make do and mend philosophy, is not just frugal but also environmentally friendly and a real contrast to throw away society that has become so prevalent in recent years. Make do and mend positively encourages a reduction in waste and recycling in all sorts of different ways. Some thing that may be quite alien to many but that fits in perfectly with the current economic climate and make do and mend philosophy is making do with the clothes we have instead of buying new. Of course it help greatly if the clothes were great quality and classic styles in the first place.

A whole movement of fashionistas has began to spring up around the make do and mend idea. Clothes swapping, swishing parties, clothing repair and alteration, buying and selling second hand clothes and refashioning/ reworking old clothes have all become popular ways not just of saving money and the environment but also of creating unique, interesting and beautiful outfits.

We are pleased to present our first Posh Swaps DIY refashion project. We thought that we would start off with something fairly simple. We have refashioned two boring old t shirts/ tops by bleaching them. It can take a little bit of trial and error to get the desired effect, but it is really quite simple. We used some tops/ t shirts that we bought from a second hand shop for a few pounds.

All we did was to bundle the t shirts up and tie them loosely with string. We then covered our clothes with an apron to protect and donned some very attractive rubber gloves. We put a bit of bleach in the bottom of a washing up bowl and rolled the tops in the bleach. We left for about 3 or 3 minutes before topping the bowl up with water and leaving for another 10 minutes. We then cut the string and rinsed the tops really well.

For the eco friendly option, you can use an eco friendly bleach like Ecover.

This black top turned orange when bleached. I love the effect even if it does look a little like the hippy tie dye thing. It is worth experimenting with the amount of bleach coverage for different effects. A bit more bleach and this top would have been even more orange.

This orange t shirt changed yellow when bleached, making it a really colourful summer t shirt.

All Posh Swaps Refashion projects are available to buy on www.posh-swaps.com

Second hand clothes are a great starting point for creating your own restyled unique and individual clothing. As you will not have spent too much money, you can experiment and be as creative as you like. I have been seeing lots of very inventive and stylish ideas for restyling second hand clothes. So here are just a few ideas to get you started. If you have restyled any second hand clothes yourself, we would love to see your pictures and hear what you did. Please email them to ceri@heathcotecommunications.co.uk.

• Dyeing - Dip dying or the ombre effect was a big trend last year but still looks great. You can also try dying clothes a whole new colour, tie dying or batik. A  cream or white chiffon prom dress would look amazing dyed with an ombre effect. You could also try shortening and dying a second hand wedding dress for a really different evening dress. For instructions and ideas try http://www.ritdye.com/Ombre+or+Shadow+Dyeing.37.lasso
• Embellishing - there are so many different ways that you can embellish a piece of second hand clothing to make it really special. Try sequins, beads, ribbon, embroidery, fringed trim, applique and buttons.
• Painting - a very ordinary silk dress of shirt can be changed into something magical by painting on it using specialist silk paints and gutter resist.
• Shortening - a number of items can be shortened to create something different. Try shortening skirts, dresses and trousers. A longer style top could also be shortened to create a cropped top.
• Complete restyle - You can change a piece of second hand clothing into something completely different. Try jeans into a denim skirt, a dress into a top, a mans shirt into a ladies blouse or mini dress,  any garment with a beautiful pattern into a scarf.  

picture from http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/fun-ombre-dyed-chiffon-party-dress-vintageous-vintage-clothing