Clothes - Making Them Last or Enhancing Their Style

I always heard that boys were rough on clothes. What I didn't consider is that girls are equally rough.

My daughter loves to run and play, and I love for her to run and play. Problem is, she always seems to find a way to fall down. The result is a skinned knee, a tear in her pants, mud/snow/water all over her clothes, and in one unfortunate event a baby tooth that had to have the kid's version of a root canal and is now known as 'my gray tooth'. She even has a knack of being able to cut her clothing with her scissors while doing art projects.

She has a definite style sense, all her own. I affectionately refer to her as 'my Rainbow Brite' on many a morning, when she comes down wearing a multitude of colors and patterns. Despite her affinity for diverse patterns, she simply can not wear clothes that have a tear or a stain. So, when, as it frequently occurs, she manages to make a mess of a new pair of tights, pants, shirt, or other, the article of clothing is typically toast. It will be passed over or placed back in her laundry. As a mom, it is rather frustrating to see that new article be worn but once or twice.

In the past, some of these holes have been small and I have been able to apply a sneaky patch or whip a few threads through it and all is well. But, that is not always the case.

When she managed to get holes in the knee in two pairs of pants within a week, I knew I had to find a solution. I simply can not go out and buy new clothes every week. I decided that I would embellish the pants that she has holes in. When I left home to look for the perfect patch, I had visions simply of a colorful, shaped patch. I was thinking a star or a heart. Unfortunately, at the store, I didn't see these - I simply saw standard, rectangles of patches like I had used in the past. I knew that I could cut a shape, but that wasn't what I was after. I was after 'fancy'.

So, I kept wandering and luckily, I did, because just a few short steps away, I came upon exactly what I was looking for. Decorative patches. We chose cupcakes for this first project. The close second was butterflies.

To mend her pants, I used a small patch on the inside. This might have been unnecessary, but I wasn't sure how well the decorative patch would do at mending. Then, in order to up the style and not make it look like it was just a repair patch, I stacked two patches - one big, one small - over the hole and set them with the iron.

To complete the embellished looked, I also added another small patch on the pocket.

I was planning to put it on the back pocket, but their were no back pockets on the pants.

The end result:

I am happy to say that not only was she excited to wear them the day that I patched them, but the embellished pants are now often requested by name. In fact, she recently asked if I had any more of those cupcakes and could I put them on some of her other pants.

I feel that I have succeeded. For a couple of dollars, I not only rescued a perfect other than a hole in the knee pair of pants from never being worn, but I turned them into fashion!

This post shared at Frugal Friday.

Seamless Camis

I will admit, I am not the most fashion conscious person. Probably explains, in part, why my daughter has no qualms about dressing like Rainbow Brite, mixing patterns and colors without concern. It's not that I don't want to be fashionable, it's mostly just that since I have had children, taking the time to shop for me really has taken a backseat. I used to love to linger and try things on, now, if I'm with kids, I just want to be done with shopping and if I am alone, I'm usually still racing the clock to get everything squeezed in. When I finish losing the weight that I would like to lose, I would love to self-nominate for 'What Not to Wear'. I know that I have things that really don't work for my body type, but yet, I still don't make the effort to get rid of them and find something that does.

One thing that is fashionable that I have decided that I absolutely love are seamless camis. I had a couple of lingering camis from my maternity wardrobe. They were the stretchy kind and they still fit, so I just kept wearing them. Then, this past year, as I picked up a few new sweaters, I grabbed some camis to go under them. I loved them so much, that when I had a 30% off coupon at Kohl's this past winter, my main concern was to get to the store and pick them up in other colors.
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After wearing them with a few items, I realized how versatile they were. First, I have issue with some button down items (blouses and cardigans alike), where an improperly placed button causes a shirt that otherwise fits to bulge open. With the addition of the cami, I no longer have to worry about exposing myself if it does, or, with some of the fitted button down shirts, I just leave that top button undone and you see just the top of the cami and no embarrassing bulge. Second, I love them for underneath things when I am wearing my jeans and certain dress pants. By wearing the cami, I no longer have to worry that if my shirt is too short and I lean forward that my underwear are hanging out. Third, although thin, and only on my torso, they do provide an extra layer of warmth under thinner shirts in the winter time.

I may not be the most fashionably conscious, but my seamless camis work for me!

This post shared at Works for Me Wednesday.