One of the most frequent comments I get on my thrifting habit is “I’d love to thrift, but I only ever find really ugly clothes at my local stores.” Well… it’s true that I do have a few stores that I like, but if you’re going to do any refashioning you have to be able to see the potential of an item. Look beyond dowdy hemlines or ugly trim. Sometimes a simple change is all you need to make something fabulous again! Case in point: this vintage Doncaster skirt.
Sorry for the terrible before photo, but I was struck with the refashioning urge in the middle of the night, so I pulled this out of my basket. The length was terrible, and it really didn’t work with the fullness around the hips – it makes me look much larger than I am! But I knew that Doncaster is a really nice, expensive brand (they’ve been around for about a million years,) and the fabric of this skirt was gorgeous. As it turns out, all that was required was a new hemline – after chopping 6 inches and hemming, the pleats around the waistline started to hang gracefully rather than like a sack. I’m wearing it today, and I love the bright colors!
It’s some sort of rayon suiting, very drapey and soft. I believe this skirt to be from the 80s based on the color scheme, but it’s hard to tell for certain. It’s definitely not a modern size – the label reads size 8, and this is smaller than a modern 8. I usually wear an 8 in clothes from that time period.
Shortening vintage is controversial – some people really don’t think you should. There are some garments I won’t touch, mostly really nice gowns from the 50s – but you notice that I never wear those! I like this length. I didn’t have to adjust any other measurements.
When I shop I go by color and pattern – I will always buy plaids and polka dots, and anything brightly colored draws me like a moth to a porch light. Think about what colors and textures you wear, and when faced with a thrift store full of clothes, focus on finding those pieces that match what you already have. You don’t need to look at every item (though I usually look at every single dress, just in case.)
I love my new skirt – and it took maybe an hour to fix. Give it a try!
Green apples - Stitchywitch Creates 
What an improvement! It’s hard to teach people to see potential in thrifted clothing, it takes practice and a good eye, which you definitely have! Being able to sew definitely helps – you know when to bother and when it’s just too much work. (Hemming – yes! Altering a blazer – no!)
Lovely skirt and way to see good value in castoff clothes!
What a fun little skirt! I’ll have to keep this in mind the next time I go to Goodwill.
I cut into 50s vintage today and felt a little bad about it. But better worn than not!
Love this outfit and how you combined patterns! What an improvement of the skirt…
I can’t believe the difference a new hem makes. I want to give this a go as soon as I find some time.New clothes cheaply what a winner .
Awesome refashion. At first I was thinking…why is shortening controversial? People tailor to fit all the time. What if you’re just short? But then I realized I would probably have a problem with someone shortening a beautiful 1940s swing dress to make a micro-mini.
Then again…if it makes us wear the clothes, isn’t that better than them lying around in someone’s attic and dry rotting?? yes! I’ve got 2 pieces myself that I plan on refashioning and one is going to be controversial. So be it. 😉
Nice series of posts — until about 3 years ago, I used no imagination when shopping at the thrift store, beyond simple fit alterations. It’s amazing the wealth of fabric and possibilities in the standard neighborhood thrift store!
You hit one a key thing to look for – quality items. That makes refashioning thrifted clothes much more worthwhile, imo. I’m not going to bother with Wal-Mart or Target brands, for example. By the time they hit a thrift store, the clothes have been worn enough that they don’t have much life left in them (I’ll wear them new, of course). Higher-end brands have quality fabrics & stitching, so they’ll last for decades. Those items are worth my time to refashion.
However, it *can* be hard to find quality at thrift stores. It will depend on where you live & where you shop, plus how much patience you have to hunt. The time of year can even affect thrifting — around Halloween, you can find more truly vintage items & anything in black, & at the end of year/January, you’ll find higher quantity bec. people donate for tax reasons.
I love the plaid, so bright and cheery but still winter feeling.
I love how you wear skirts and boots even during the winter. Any tips for staying warm in the frigid temps we have been having lately? I always tend towards skirts in the summer and pants in the winter because of the tempturatures, but would like to expand a little.
Sure! I absolutely think it’s possible to wear skirts in the winter and be warm. I wear a lot of boots with thick socks, which helps a lot. Sometimes I will wear leggings instead of tights, which are warmer, and I’ll even layer two pairs of tights sometimes. There are also fleece lined tights – not cheap, but really great in the cold weather. I also usually wear at least one, and sometimes two extra layers – cardigans, scarves etc. I don’t have a commute where I have to be outside for a long time walking anymore, but back when I did I would buy one of those really long puffer coats and wear it – I don’t like them, but it was worth it to be warm when I lived in Indiana! I hope that helps. I don’t find that I get really cold, and I’m pretty cold natured.
I too am an avid thrift shopper, and I’d say that easily 95 percent of my whole wardrobe is bought from thriftshops. I have refashioned many things, and yet I am still fascinated in how others do with it. 🙂 I am not sure how I found your blog, but I love it !