*Disclaimer: There isn’t much recycling going on here, I just thought y’all would like to see how I made my Halloween costume.

This year I wanted to go as the King of Pop in one of the best music videos ever produced… THRILLER! (Mua ha haaa)

This is perfect for Halloween, as it’s zombie-tastic! After studying the video about 300 times, I had a pretty good idea about what was needed. A red leather jacket with black stripes, red jeans, white socks and black shoes. The jacket is obviously the key element to the look, it’s fabulous. Continue reading →

This project was a little different to the others, in as much as I had the idea for what I wanted to make first, and then set out to find suitable cast off garments to cut up. Normally it’s the other way around.

Now, I’m a big Stella McCartney fan, and I’m also a fan of Nicole Scherzinger’s style, so imagine my delight when I saw the cover of last month’s InStyle:

It’s Nicole Scherzinger rocking Stella McCartney Winter 2011!

Obviously a “tribute” to this dress went straight to the top of the list of future projects. I know Ms McCartney probably uses only the finest, heaviest, drapiest 100% cotton jersey that’s hand dyed by silkworms in Nicaragua or something, but I had a different raw material in mind. Yes, that’s right, charity shop men’s T-shirts.

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Today’s project came from Oxfam in Whitby – this cost £3.99, which if you ask me, is a total bargain as there’s a very large amount of material. I was instantly attracted to the Japanese-inspired print and colours. It’s 100% viscose, quite heavy and drapes nicely. Continue reading →

This started out life as a men’s checked flannel shirt.

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Here’s my inspiration picture for this project – Kelly Rowland at the X-Factor auditions in Manchester a few weeks ago. Note the woman in the background admiring the back view …Kelly is wearing a fabulous bold print dress featuring a fitted sleeveless bodice with an semi-ellipse cut out at the chest and what looks like a short circle skirt. Unfortunately I don’t know the designer.

I love this dress – I mean, I absolutely LOVE it. Luckily I have a bold print of my own with which to make my version….

Step forward, hideous permanently pleated polyester!

This skirt is a real corker. £4.50 from Scope in Whitby, size UK 16, 100% polyester. It’s in permanent pleats which are sewn closed to about 6″ from the waistband. When I put this on for the before pictures, it didn’t look as big as a 16, which was slightly worrying as I was going to need a lot of material. Continue reading →

Today’s quick and easy refashion is a vintage dress I found in Scope in Walthamstow for £5.50. It has enamel buttons on the front and cuffs that are the same colour as the fabric. The fit wasn’t too bad but the style was looking a bit dated. There were extremely ugly belt loops sticking out and the self fabric belt was long gone. There’s a shirt style pocket on the front and the centre front pleats on the skirt were sewn closed over the hips…. frump city! Continue reading →

This is part 2 of the refashion of this delightful 80s ensemble. For part 1 (the blouse) click here.

The original “Howard’s Way” outfit, a matching 80s blouse and skirt in size 18, was £14.99 from Save the Children in Whitby. Time to tackle that skirt!

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Believe it or not, this is my most expensive piece to date! £14.99 from Save the Children in Whitby. It’s actually two pieces, a size 18 blouse and skirt in thin polyester. The pattern is so 80s… I love it. I mean, it’s about as 80s as it could be if it’s not visible white socks and mens suit jackets with the sleeves rolled up. The pattern actually reminds me of yachts – it’s straight out of ‘Howard’s Way’. Continue reading →

Another ‘Pat Butcher’ blouse! :)

This one came from a charity shop in South Woodford that supports Heal, the Helen Rollason Cancer Charity. It cost £6. The blouse is made of a thicker, more drapey polyester and has a series of pleats either side of centre front which also cover the button placket. The pleats have multi-coloured dots embroidered on them, and it is these subtle but interesting dots that enamoured me to this blouse. It was a size 16 which gave me plenty to play with. Continue reading →

This project begins with a polyester skirt.

It was very large and the material was not pleated, which was good as the pleats can be difficult to get rid of (ask me how I know).  I kind of fell in love with the African-style print on the fabric even though there were several holes and half the hem was hanging off. This was £3.99 from the Save the Children shop in Whitby. Continue reading →