"recessionista" lessons

I have been trying more refashioning of old clothing into new lately. I'm gonna go ahead and say that I'm not the best at it yet. But it is really fun and if I keep trying I will be able to save a lot of money on clothing.   I have already learned a lot about working with jersey and knit materials.

Let's start with the one I actually like:

I got this black and gray shirt for a couple bucks at the thrift store and it was already in good condition. Then I added the white parts from this forever 21 shirt I found in my closet that I haven't worn in a long time. Easy! And I actually wear it often. Helpful, since last year I was wearing maternity shirts and for some stupid reason I threw away everything else in my closet. (I didn't really throw it away, it's at goodwill...that would just be plain wasteful!)

a detail of the pretty bottom:

This dress was the first refashion I tried, about 2 months ago. It was inspired by those "hey, it's a shirt with a skirt attached" kind of dresses that are everywhere right now. It was an oversized Target t shirt I had and a dress that fit really weirdly on top. But I loved the pockets on the skirt part, so that's what I used. Then I slapped on a white linen belt to tie in the back. I love the unexpected color combination. Nick pointed out that I should have sewed the belt on a little lower to cover up that little bit of navy stripe. I hate it when he's right. Who knows if I'll feel like wearing it in the spring...

I had this black thrift store sweater I didn't really know what to do with, so Sunday I made this capelet scarf wrap thingie. It was very quick and easy, but then I realized there is absolutely no situation I could see myself wearing this in. I'm just not that fashionable. I might wear it in the scarf style she suggests though.

Ok, last one. I have to show you because it's so awful. People are doing a lot of ruffles these days, they are all over J. Crew shirts, so they are cute right? Not in this case.

The colors are wrong, the placement is wrong, the ruffles look sad. I had never made ruffles before and they are actually really easy and fun, but I think I will stick to putting them on little girls' clothing. I just need a little girl.

So, in summary: Experimenting is fun. Mistakes are good. Jessica is only mildly fashionable.