Repurposing and reusing old clothes and other items in your home is hardly a new invention. In fact, people have been resewing garments for centuries prior, tweaking the silhouette and the detailing of vintage garments when they would go out of fashion and passing the same garments to their kids and grandkids! In the past, this practice was driven by the extremely high prices of garments and fabric in general - a luxury at the time.
Today, we have polyester, elastane, viscose, and other artificial fabrics that enable the production of clothing at a much lower cost, so most of us have no idea how to mend or sew clothes at all. However, the tradition of recrafting and reimagining old clothing is alive and well, and it’s becoming ever more popular as more and more people are becoming ecologically-minded.
One of the people who popularize this tradition is young Caitlin Trantham, who posts fabulous dress transformations on her Instagram page. She takes the oldest, most unfashionable vintage clothing from thrift stores and gives them new life, and she says that anyone else can, too! “Just start! Flipping clothes is cheaper than buying fabric and not as painful if it doesn’t work out. Start cutting, start sewing, and don’t be upset with how many times you have to use the seam ripper!” Trantham said in a statement to Mymodernmet.
So, if you have some old clothing left in the closet, why not try to make them more modern and wearable? But before you do, take a look at 15 of Caitlin’s garments below to get some inspiration.
To see more of Caitlin Trantham's nifty clothing transformations, visit her Instagram Page.
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