Tips for Turning Old Clothes into New Fashion

Series Summary

Humans have always used clothing as a means of expression. In today's world where fashion tends to be rather limited by mass production standards, some of us may wish to reach out to different styles and unique looks. While you may not be able to find the hottest trends at your local thrift store, you may be able to find hypnotic clothing pieces to create your own look. Whether you are looking to spice up a t shirt or dress down a wedding gown, you can learn how to take clothing and make it all your own!

In this free video series, learn how to recycle old clothing into new fashions. Our expert, Julia Barbee, shows you how to take old parts of clothes and transform them into works of art. Learn how to sew patches, buttons, and beads to old clothing. Also, learn how to deconstruct a wedding dress. Julia also gives advice about ironing graphics onto your favorite article of clothing. So, what are you waiting for? Learn how to unleash the creative designer in you!

Video Transcript

"My name is Julia Barbee. My clothing line is Frocky Jack Morgan. On behalf of Expert Village, this is a tutorial on recycling and deconstructing old clothes. In this first clip, we're going to talk about what deconstruction is. I do a lot of wedding dresses, so I would start with something like this and remove the elements that maybe I don't like as far as the design is concerned. I would end up with something more like this where I've removed the sleeves, added straps, and just embellished with bead work. I used a lot of old slips because I like the way they fit and I'm able to dye them really easily. I go to antique stores and buy old bead work and just embellish wherever maybe some stains are or holes. I just try and make the garment as beautiful as I can and recycle as much as I possibly can. Who's really going to be interested in deconstruction? I would say someone who wants a really unique look that they want to tailor to their own personality. If you're interested in fashion design but you're not a tailor, you don't want to take sewing classes, this an easy way to embellish clothes without having to construct a garment from scratch. I'm going to be showing how to deconstruct clothing, which is creating one of a kind garments that you can kind of principally see the artist's hand in. Everything is a little bit disheveled. You can see threads hanging off, it's raw edges, but it's really purposeful and it creates a unique garment that's beautiful."