May Op Shop Tour Wrap Up

We are now in the midst of another Melbourne winter, and Saturday's op shop tour proved that! With a full day of rain predicted, 14 op shoppers (including myself) set off on a second hand shopping expedition to 6 op shops, travelling through 3 suburbs. 5 ladies joined the tour on a weekend break from NSW, and emphasised the mediocre temperatures in Melbourne vs Newcastle.

Weather never puts a dampener on op shopping though, as we travelled in search of second hand treasures dressed in raincoats, umbrella's and hats.

I wore my new neck warmer scarf, made with felted merino wool and the cutest deer fabric, purchased from a talented friend.



I also made myself another recycled t-shirt tote bag the day before, which is huge; perfect for a day dedicated to op shopping.  Here it is, filled with my loot from the day (more on my purchases later): 

Being a group of 14, we engulfed some of the smaller op shops, but not without success and good cheer from the op shop staff.

The day ended in blue skies and happy spirits, as 14 op shoppers walked away with plenty.  As always, I rarely go looking for treasures when I'm leading an op shop tour myself, but sometimes, I just can't help it, temptation is too great.

My first find, a beautiful canvas Mediterranean scene oil painting for 50c, that I can't wait to get into a frame:

I can't help but feel sad for the artist, how did her/his fabulous piece find its way into a small church run op shop?  A similar thought with this little piece of artwork found a few years ago.

A couple of skirts with elasticated waists, perfect for an expanding waistline, here is one:
 

A $2 woven leather fabric belt with a distinct South American feel, and a lovely piece of fabric for $4:

Fabric found in this trolley in Vinnies:

Trolley o'fabric

What I have come to realise when running an op shop tour whilst pregnant, is that I'll quickly seek out the furniture section, and have a sneaky sit down on one of the second hand chairs in-between shopping!

My next tour will be Saturday 13th July.

Recycled Fashion Finds # 67

Hi Readers, have you been on a thrifty fashion escapade recently?  I'm off on another op shop tour tomorrow morning, introducing 13 op shoppers to 6 op shops across 3 suburbs in Melbourne South East, fun!  I sincerely hope the weather holds, its been raining for days, and being that Melbourne Op Shop Tours are super sustainable, we travel on public transport.  Umbrella - check!

Speaking of op shopping, in a different part of the world, I spotted Franca's super write up: Guide to Edinburgh vintage and charity shops on her blog Oranges and Apples.  Look how quaint Scottish vintage and charity shops are:
 

 Edinburgh's Charity Shops c/o Oranges and Apples

If you find yourself in the Scottish Highlands, do bookmark her very useful guide.  

What about you lot?  Been thrifting?  Bought something second-hand new? Or perhaps made or repurposed an existing garment?  Worn an outfit consisting of second hand purchases?  Do share!

Link up your recent thrift store finds or creations in this week's Recycled Fashion Finds, and check out the last RFF link up right here for inspiration.

If you do link up, don't forget to grab yourself a Recycled Fashion Finds blog badge for your blog post or side bar, or link Recycled Fashion Finds in your blog post.

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Link up your thrifted finds or upcycled creations, into the inlinkz link below.  Feel free to share more than one project or thrifty find, it's always great to see what you've been up to.

Expanding the Waistline of Jeans or Trousers

Maternity jeans or trousers cost a small fortunte, in some retail outlets, you'd expect to pay a couple of hundred dollars for a pair.  Expandable waistlines are probably needed for approximately 6 months of a pregnancy, so really, such a high cost for a short amount of wear, isn't worth the investment.

There is a company, denim therapy based in NYC, that offers a maternity service, inserting an expandable side seam into a pair of your existing jeans, the cost of doing so is $60.

Now, while $60 is cheaper than a few hundred dollars, and the service would probably help those that cannot sew, it is entirely possible to adjust a pair of jeans or trousers yourself, inserting a triangular jersey patch into each side seam.

I recall seeing a clever little trick earlier in the year, how to expand the waistline of a pair of jeans that are too small, I can't actually find that link, if I do, I'll update this blog post, but the same idea applies to maternity jeans.

I've adjusted a pair of my own jeans to fit, sewing two panels of t-shirt jersey fabric into each side seam.

Here's how:

You may recall I chopped the bottom away from a thrifted t-shirt to make my t-shirt grocery bag, seen here.  This cut away fabric is the jersey I have used for my side seams.

I've cut two triangular shapes, double width fabric (folded) for each, then hemmed the top of my jersey triangles, by folding over, and using a zig-zag stitch:

Next, I've measured my triangles up against the side seams of my jeans:

And cut a straight line down each side, leaving approximately 5cm from the bottom of my triangles:

The next part is a little tricky, pinning my jersey triangle panels underneath each cut side seam, particularly as I'd cut very closely to the belt loop (which I could've removed and reattached, but didn't!):

I've then zig-zag stitched all the way down my cut away side seams, over the top of my jersey triangles:

Here's what the triangle side seams look like on the inside, a little messy, but that's OK:

I've made my side seams larger than I am right now at 12 weeks pregnant, as I still have a way to go.  So for now, they are slightly loose fitting, but, with a belt, they fit perfectly.  In the coming months, I'll no doubt eliminate the belt!

Worn with a top and jacket, you can barely see the side panel, plus, most importantly, they are comfortable to wear.  It cost me less than a dollar worth of material to adjust these jeans, the jeans were also originally purchased for $5 from a trash and treasure market about 2 years ago:

Readers, do let me know if you'd tried this, or try it out in the future.  You can use the same technique for adjusting a pair of trousers, jeans or a skirt, where the waistline is a little bit snug.

Maternity Recycled Fashion Inspiration

Speaking as a blog writer and for the blogging community in general, the content we decide to publish on our blogs can at times be a tricky matter. Some writers choose to publish everything that happens in their life, the ups and the downs, the loss, the sorrow, the joy and the sadness. Others may decide to keep personal topics close to their chest.

Some blogs are purposely written about the everyday, others, which I think to be true for Recycled Fashion, are written without too much focus on the personal, but more-so the topic of it.

As much as I have contributing writers on Recycled Fashion, I am the sole writer for it, and as such, there are times when I feel some matters going on in my own personal life, should be shared; matters that may reflect the content of the blog.

So here I share some news, I’m expecting another baby.  It’s such a huge yet very welcome surprise. We have battled many, many years of infertility, been through countless tests and fertility specialist appointments. Just at the time we’d come to the conclusion we’d be a family of three (plus cat!), we are going to become a family of four, and I can’t tell you how exciting that is.

Why might you think, is this a topic to share on Recycled Fashion? Well, mainly, due to the fact that I have an expanding waistline, quite quickly this time around, and that I have zero maternity clothes to wear over the next six months. What this means for Recycled Fashion, is that for a time, I’ll focus a little bit on ways to create wardrobe essentials for an expanding belly, using recycled fashion pieces and refashioning existing garments.

I’ve already started to add to my maternity wardrobe, in fact the skirt refashion I made last week, was purposely made with an elasticated waist!



I look forward to sharing some more recycled maternity fashion pieces with you in the coming months, but I promise you, that I will not flood this blog with baby news!

In the meantime, I'll show you a couple of projects that I’ve found on the internet which may come in useful, not just for myself, but for other expectant mothers that might be maternity clothes shopping on a budget.

Stretchy pocket DIY maternity jeans 

 As seen on See Kate Sew

Shirred men’s shirt tunic top 

 As seen on diymaternity.com

Maternity skirt pattern 

 As seen on Elle Apparel

Also readers, if you're waiting for this week's Recycled Fashion Finds, it'll be back next Friday, thanks for all of your link ups on the last one!

 

The Gatsby Winter Soirée - Melbourne Event TICKET GIVEAWAY

And so, roaring twenties fashion is back, reinvented and revisited with the upcoming release of the much anticipated movie adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's best selling novel; The Great Gatsby.  Set during a time of beautiful Art Deco architecture, of flapper dresses, pearls, headpieces and dapper suits.

The iconic novel-tuned-movie, has inspired many lavish champagne and vintage cocktail laden parties around the world, with one such event happening right here in Melbourne.



Astor Productions have arranged a ritzy night of hot jazz and chilled champagne, due to kick off at 8pm on Friday 31st May, at the grandeur Malvern Town Hall; The Gatsby Winter Soirée
 
"Dust off your wingtip shoes, get those flapper dresses out and take a step back to the roaring twenties with The Gatsby Winter Soirée."  

There will be jazz, New Orleans style brass band music, and modern funk/soul repertoire from the 20's and 30's to get your feet tapping, plus classic cars, market stalls, a vintage photo booth and swing dancing performed on the night.

The dress code:  "Dress to impress, swanky and spiffy. Think The Great Gatsby and Boardwalk Empire".  

An opportunity to embrace the elegance, glamour and style of the era, from Flappers to Fly Boys, Dames to Dapper Dans, and all that is celebrated with 20's fashion.  

Here are some ideas:

Headpiece by :: alofashion ::

:: Vogue ::

:: Books Brothers ::

:: Books Brothers ::

 :: vintagetextile.com ::

Tickets for The Gatsby Winter Soirée are $30 (plus booking fee) through www.oztix.com.au, or $35 on the door if still available.  However, I have a set of two tickets to giveaway to one Recycled Fashion reader.  To enter, you'll need to pop over to Astor Productions facebook page and hit 'like', we'd also like you to leave a comment below, with an idea of what you'd wear to the event should you win.


The competition will close on Wednesday 22nd May, (please provide a way for us to contact you) and the winner will be asked to provide a name + 1 which will be added to the doorlist.

Good luck Melbournites!

 

Too tight dress to maxi skirt refashion

I found an incredible dress in my local op shop for $5, such a fantastic fabric print, but I have to say it was absolutely tiny, probably a size 6 Australian.  Having unpicked the top stitches with my seam ripper, I am left with quite a substantial amount of fabric left to make a maxi dress for winter, to wear with boots.

Fabric leftover after unpicking top seams 

Using the same technique as the starboard skirt, as seen in this tutorial, which I also used for my bed sheet skirt, I've elasticated only the back of the waist, the front I've stitched into a pleat.

It is exceptionally comfortable, and I'm loving its bright colours

Shared with Thrifters Anonymous and Refashion Co-op

Carnaby Street, London in the 60's

In my early career, (before migrating to Australia) I worked in the heart of the London, commuting into Oxford Street on the city's infamous underground system, the Tube.  Despite daily experiences of horrendous peak hour human traffic on public transport, countless train delays, and the occasional bomb threat, I have such fond memories of this time.

I reminisce a work hard / party hard lifestyle in one of the most happening cities in the world, in my early 20's, London was the place to be.

During my lunch break, I'd meander through some of the back streets of the West End, browsing boutique shops and department stores, partake in a spot of window shopping, and stop by Marks and Spencer for my takeaway sandwich to take back to the office.

One street that stands out in particular, the pedestrianised shopping street, Carnaby Street, in the district of Soho. The late 1990's was probably not the most memorable time to visit the iconic street, but one of the reasons I'd enjoy exploring this particular parade of shops and eateries, was to imagine reliving a time when this street became the place to be in the 1960's.

 :: Wikipedia ::

My parents, living and working in central London in their late teens and early 20's, have colourful memories of the fashion scene in Carnaby Street during the 60's.

:: GC ::

Mum tells me:  "It (Carnaby Street) was very colourful and a happy place to visit.  There were all the little side streets that transformed the area into a buzzy place to be.  I can remember a friend of mine buying an electric green mini dress, with bat wings sleeves.  The colours were so vivid  - lemon or electric lime green, and it cost a fortune at £9.19s 11p, (that's old money, pounds and shillings) that was more than 1 weeks wages at the time!"

 Interview with photographer Philip Townsend

Dad remembers:  "High collared tab shirts that were floral and also satin, and all very colourful.  Hipster trousers with very flared legs, and huge bell bottom trousers.  The men wore high healed Cuban shoes. Also very popular were military jackets of all description (if you could find a real military jacket you were god!).  Kipper ties with made from the same fabric as the shirt; paisley.  Anything colour floral or stripey was worn.  Look at the cover of Sargent Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles, you will see the style of clothes at the time.  It could also have been the first time loud music was played from all the shops.. happy days" he says.

 :: Wikipedia ::

 

Carnaby Street, Christmas 1964 

:: friendsreunited ::

 Love in Carnaby Street :: Solo-Vintage ::

 

Carnaby Street, illustrated book by Tom Salter and Malcolm English

:: harrington books ::

I'll leave you with a snippet from fictional character Austin Powers, and his reenactment of London's swinging 60's:



If time travel were possible (ha, ha!) which era, and place would you like to go back to?