Secondhand shopping can be a really nice way of saving a good amount of money and getting your hands on some really nice and prized, designer pieces. You can sometimes find beautiful old clothes that just need a little tailoring before they assimilate seamlessly into your wardrobe. Secondhand shopping can be like looking through a haystack to find a needle. If you have your mind on one particular item, you’re going to probably have a hard time finding exactly what you want, but if you go into it with an open mind, you may just walk away with a steal.
However, there are times when you need to make something special, where customizing something is the only way to go. Whether you’re hanging out with some very fashion conscious friends, or just want to show off your DIY ability, take a look at wide leg trouser pattern. They have some really nice printable sewing designs that you can use to revamp that boring old pair of trousers.
Now almost as good as making your own patterns is doing secondhand shopping, so what are the guidelines for that? 1) take your measurements. Not all secondhand shops allow you to try clothes on. And the sizing’s vary very drastically from shop to shop and brand to brand, so what do you do in this instance? Simply take your measurements and take a measuring tape to the shop as well so that you can measure the clothes before you decide on buying them. Generally, if something is too big it can be resized quite a bit, but if it’s too small it can’t be resized all that much. But beware, you’re likely going to be faced with plenty of options at a secondhand shop so it’s not always necessary to buy something in the hopes of resizing it. Tailoring can get a little expensive depending on where you’re from, so unless you have great stitching skills, or want to spend a good amount of money resizing the garment, you had might as well put it down and keep looking.
You will also want to ensure that the clothing doesn’t have any major rips or tears. Secondhand clothing stores aren’t exactly the place to go if you want the most pristine apparel. They are literally secondhand clothes, so you will want to do a check on the clothes before you buy them. Bear in mind if it’s a small tear, you can very easily learn to stitch and do it yourself. For example, if a suit jacket is ripped a little in the armpit or somewhere most people won’t notice, you can easily patch that right up.
You will also want to learn a little bit about brands and materials. You will likely find plenty of well-recognized brands at the store, just don’t pay extra for them without knowing their authenticity, Some fakes are very good these days and can easily pass as the real thing and you don’t want to spend more money than you need to.
