Lately, I have been tweaking things left and right. It’s been great, adding to my wardrobe and saving many things I thought I really needed to unload. I am never financially in a place to buy a bunch of new clothes, so this has been a perfect way to have different things to wear without the hefty price tag. Thrift stores have always been my best friend when it comes to the dilemma of needing a closet revamp. Take these pants below:
I have almost these exact pants, but mine do not have the side pockets. I loved them when I first found them years ago at Goodwill. They cost about $5.00, could be worn long or rolled up and held at the sides by loops of cotton that snapped in place right around my knee. The problem with these Sonoma cotton cargo pants/capris is that no matter how cute they looked on the hanger I always found they gave me a sloppy look when I put them on. After reluctantly (oh, I have nothing else to wear today. Or, oh, I’m just hanging around the house…) wearing them I finally tossed them in the “Donate” pile. (Honestly, the pic above does not accurately show how these looked on me. I would say these have been altered to fit perfectly. On me, the waist was right, but the legs were almost twice as wide.) Luckily I moved them to the “Let’s Experiment” pile before letting them go, because I went to a friend’s CAbi show and saw these…..
The Traveler Pant with it’s top stitching immediately reminded me of my coral pink Sonoma cotton cargo pants that were just waiting to be reshaped. The CAbi pants above were cute with the tight ankles. A couple of friends snagged a pair, but I opted for some other items and decided to forgo spending the almost $100 in order to see if I could make my cast-off pants work instead.
Fit had always been the problem with my Sonoma cargo pants, they were just too baggy for me and the length when undone was a little too short. However, when I rolled them up the finished cuff landed at that bad part of one’s leg giving the calf a tree trunk appearance. So, I reshaped them by tapering from hip to hem on the outside seam and from the crotch to the hem on the inside seam, about 1.5 inches each area. I then made the hem slightly deeper than the original, at 1.25 inches and threaded 1 inch elastic through before stitching it up.
I think the end result looks so much better.
They now have a much more slim overall shape, but the bottoms with the stretchy hem give them a bit more funky or even sporty feel. I’m not sure how to describe it I just know I like it.
Essentially I have a new pair of pants in one of my favorite colors and I didn’t spend any extra money to make that happen. I just altered and used what I had on hand. So far these have looked great with old-school flat bottomed tennis shoes and sandals with heels for a little more dressy take.
Have you refashioned, or tweaked any items from your closet lately?
Erika
Chic Tweaks Alterations & Crafts 
