Friday Finds Aug 6th

While I may be on a spending diet I do need a few new things. Mainly new jeans. My old jeans give me "muffin top". Not something that I like to have. So I have searched around for new jeans and I think I may have found some that are budget friendly and are figure friendly as well.









Nice and dark with a bit of a flare.









A basic bootcut.










Tom hates the deconstructed look, but the these are kind of cute :)

I have also been drooling over this lovely dress on Modcloth.



So will these fit into my budget? Do I really need them? I know the dress I really, really WANT. *sigh* It will be a great addition to my wardrobe and look wonderful with a little black shrug I have. But do I need it? Oh the agony of being on a budget!

Pel

Straw into Gold- 80's Dress Slashed!

I know the title sounds a bit scary. And I admit that what I did was a bit scary. I took an old 80's dress that had been found in a bin in the garage and that I showed to you earlier in the article "Spinning Straw into Gold" and I cut it up! As it was, it was outdated and screamed old, fusty and maybe a little dicked in the knob (an old English phrase that means not quite right in the head!) So to remake this I had to go all slasher film and cut it in half. What I ended up with was a very nice blouse and a skirt.


Measuring from the shoulder to the hip to make my cutting line in chalk. This line is slightly curved due to the volume at the hip. I chose 23 inches as the length. Dress is carefully folded in half to make the marking and cutting easier.



The cut has been made! There is no turning back now. I evened up any unevenness in the edges and made the front a little more curved upward as a design element.

The finishing now is surprisingly easy. Just a simple shirttail hem for the top. Press the edge up 1/8 of an inch twice and stitch in place. Done! For the skirt I serged the top edge and then folded it over elastic I had stitched together. So easy and done in about 10 minutes.

I am thinking I may still add elastic to the sleeves of the blouse. I haven't decided on it for sure.


New blouse. I like it with my skinny jeans.


New skirt. It has lots of styling options. I think it looks great with my silk skirt worn under it as a petticoat.

I can think of many other ways to wear these two new additions to my wardrobe. And to think that I was going to give this dress to Goodwill!

Pel

A New Purpose

I love it when I find a new purpose for an everyday item and when I also find a use for something I might have thrown away. Especially when that use saves me money! Here are a few things I have repurposed. I hope they give you a few ideas too.



I was going to buy drawer organizers at the container store when I noticed that the inserts that held these little strudel cookies was perfect for organizing items in my drawers and on my vanity tray! What is even better is they stack so they take up so little space. So I've kept plastic out of the land fill and saved myself a few dollars in the bargain. I am pretty happy about that.



At Target I saw this adorable bathroom set that was so cute. The wheels started turning in my head and I realised that the toothbrush holder would be better off as an earring holder. It holds my longer earrings tangle free.


The soap dish keeps my large "knuckle duster" rings close at hand.


This hand soap dispenser is waiting to be filled with my favourite body lotion.


They all look so beautiful sitting on my vanity.

So tell me about the things you have repurposed. I have just started and it is fun!

Pel

Fall's Plaids- Style Them From Your Closet

We have all been hearing how big plaids are for this Fall. Now you may have been tempted to run out and buy something new, but if you are on a budget this isn't going to happen! A much better idea is to interpret what you already have in your closet to make it look new and on trend. I am going to show you how I do it starting with this plaid top I bought last Summer.



How to make it fresh for Fall? I started by pairing it with a denim pencil skirt, bright tights and a cardigan. Both Fall trends gave it a new look.



The classic wool plaid skirt, I made this years ago. This can be a big yawn. Paired here with platform boots and a short sleeve mock-turtleneck it looks anything but dowdy!



Plaid pants in a high waisted cut I bought on ebay about three years ago. Topped with a little sweater vest this bridges the plaid and menswear trends quite nicely. I used a velvet ribbon as a tie to complete the look.


Three key pieces for three unique, on trend looks and the only new items were the sweater vest I bought on clearance for $4.99 and the stockings for $2.98. Not bad for a day's work. Now look in your closet and see what plaid items you can restyle!

Pel

New Features

There are a few new features here at Style on a Shoestring. I will be searching out coupon codes and posting them when I find them and I will also post sales when I see them Hopefully this will help us all save a little money in these tough times. No one likes to have to forgo their fashion even in bad economic times! So look for these items in the left sidebar. I will post them as often as I can.

Beth