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Refashionistas, it’s time to tackle those outdated styles lurking in your wardrobe with a dash of creativity and a pinch of eco-consciousness.
How to Update Outdated Styles in Your Wardrobe
Wardrobe’s carry a lot of weight. They hold sentimental value, often symbolizing the clothes we’ve worn during our most significant and meaningful periods.
They are expensive. Refreshing or replacing an entire wardrobe can quickly become exorbitantly expensive. Throw in different wardrobes for different seasons and settings (work, gym, home), and you’re looking at a sizable financial investment.
They are an extension of ourselves. The clothes we wear rank among the most personal possessions we own. Clothing communicates to the world who we are, mirrors our personalities and interests, and becomes extensions of ourselves.
Considering all a wardrobe entails, revamping outdated styles requires thoughtful and careful handling. If you’re looking for ways to stay on-trend without donating everything and starting at zero, you’ve come to the right place.
The following guide will walk you through a wardrobe reset and give you some cost and sentiment-friendly ways to update even the most outdated styles in your closet.
Everything Old is New Again
The reality is that some styles, colors, and patterns do not age well. I’m talking about some of yesteryear’s bright and bold designs that immediately conjure up some era flashbacks in all the wrong ways.
If you have many of these items stagnating in your closet, a great way to update them is to play around with the colors.
Dyeing your clothes can bring an instant and cost-effective change to even the most dated items. From t-shirts to jeans and sweaters, a little bit of dye can drag your wardrobe firmly into this decade.
Another way to update old clothes is to “age” them. If you have a t-shirt that has started to feel stale, try some DIY aging techniques to give that shirt a vintage look and feel.
Taking your clothes from slightly worn and outdated to vintage and “aged” will give that shirt a new life and allow you to re-incorporate it into your daily rotation with a new look and feel.
Friendly Trading
Clothing swaps are a time-tested way to eliminate items you don’t wear while acquiring soon-to-be-treasured pieces. They provide a dual benefit: letting you declutter your wardrobe of things you no longer wear while welcoming new treasures into your collection.
The beauty of clothing swaps lies in the collective creativity that often unfolds; others can take those pieces you deemed outdated and magically fashion them into fresh, on-trend combinations that may have eluded your imagination.
This enjoyable and cost-free activity expands your repertoire of wardrobe staples and fosters connections with like-minded fashion enthusiasts.
More than just a fashion exchange, clothing swaps champion sustainable choices, serving as a tangible way to reduce clothing waste and positively impact the environment by reducing the demand for new clothing production.
Essentially, they offer a fun and eco-conscious avenue to minimize your carbon footprint while keeping your style fresh and exciting.
Tailoring Your Outdated Styles
Do you ever look at an old t-shirt and think, “This isn’t wearable, but I also don’t want to throw it away.” We’ve all been there! A great solution to this common problem is to turn that item into a new garment.
For example, repurpose an old t-shirt or long-sleeved shirt into a scarf or bandana. Do you have old jeans that don’t look as good as when you got them? No problem! Cut the bottoms off and transform them into a great pair of shorts for the summer.
Using old items to create new ones can update your wardrobe with clothes you already have, making a free and environmentally friendly way to bring your closet into modern times.
Don’t Overlook the Magic of a Tailored Outfit
Sometimes, updating your wardrobe is as simple as bringing your old clothes to a tailor or seamstress for fine-tuning.
For example, if you have a much-loved oversized or overstretched shirt that doesn’t fit your current look, a professional can work their magic to transform it seamlessly (pun intended), adapting its dimensions to align with the style and fit you desire.
From pants that could use a hem adjustment to blazers seeking a more tailored silhouette, t-shirts needing resizing, or jackets longing for a modern twist, the realm of tailoring knows no bounds.
This skilled craftsmanship can breathe new life into your clothing collection, ensuring that even your long-time favorites remain fashion-forward and aligned with your evolving style preferences.
Seasonal Mix-and-Match
Seasonal wardrobes don’t always have to be so compartmentalized. If you’re seeking a simple way to refresh your outdated styles, consider blending seasonal pieces to craft fresh ensembles.
Think about combining t-shirts with winter outerwear, layering summer and fall items, and experimenting with mix-and-match outfits. These approaches enable you to utilize your existing clothing to invent novel and innovative styles that suit different seasons and occasions.
Embroidered Brilliance
If you have old jeans, jackets, or shirts tucked away in your closet, don’t hesitate to embark on a creative journey. You can experiment by sewing on patches, embroidering unique designs, or even painting custom artwork onto these garments.
These creative endeavors breathe new life into your existing pieces, creating a fresh, personalized aesthetic that harmonizes seamlessly with your current fashion preferences.
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Don’t Forget the Pets
We all love our pets, and one of our favorite ways of updating out-of-date wardrobes is to turn your discarded clothing into fun pet accessories. Ramp up the cuteness factor by cutting and re-sewing old t-shirts into trendy (and cute) dog sweaters or shirts.
Sweaters and bulkier items can become super-cute scarves or bandanas. We absolutely love this way of repurposing old clothes as it allows your furry best friends to get their own personal wardrobe revamp.
Old Classics/New Favorites
All the techniques and wardrobe refresh methods we just listed are cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Fashion waste is responsible for 10% of greenhouse emissions and millions of pounds of landfill waste.
Using your old clothes to update outdated styles lowers your carbon footprint, gains a unique style and look, and keeps your favorite (yet outdated) clothes. With a little DIY finesse, you can turn any garment into your new favorite piece of clothing.
