Altered State of Mind

Take a trip with me back down memory lane…Picture it Decatur, IL 1993 a young T gets dressed for Head Start in an outfit handmade by her Mom. Ok, so that was a really short trip down memory lane but what we are focusing on is that when I was younger my mom uses to make/sew a lot of clothes. I had an aunt (may she RIP) also sewed a lot of my clothes. Those memories have had a big impact on my style and how I shop today.

Knowing that my family has the sewing gene, I figured that I also must be able to sew right? Well, not so much but I can sew enough to alter pieces to fit my personal style or to make them what I want them to be. When I see a piece that might be too short, too long, too big, or just needs a little altering I take it upon myself to do just that.

*Insert this black dress*

This black accordion dress came from H&M last year and cost me a whole $4! Yes, sis $4. If you remember for the TCF Style Expo 2017 I wore a blush colored one. I received so many compliments that I decided to go pick up the black one. Once I got the black one home I didn’t want to belt it like I did the blush one so I decided to alter the black one and that’s what I did.

I decided to cut the dress and make it shorter so that I could get a shorter, edgy look. I paired the dress with my thigh high boots, a camo jacket and a beanie making this super edge and grungy look.

So I have three tips for you if you want self-alter a piece of clothing. This is for my non-sewing girls out there even though I have the sewing gene. Here we go:

Do not try to alter anything that cost a whole bunch of money. Most things that I alter were less than $20 or even thrifted so that if I mess it up I won’t be disappointed. Plus if it’s cheap you can buy two them and if you mess up you have an extra. I may or may not have two of those black dresses.
Buy yourself a pack of no-sew tape. This can be found at your local craft store or fabric store. It basically makes hemming things a breeze. All you do is cut the piece of tape you need and iron it to the hem.
Before you alter, try to physically set the item up how you want. Sounds crazy, let me explain. I knew that I wanted the dress to be shorter so I laid the dress out and folded the bottom up to the length I wanted it. I then pinned it and tried it on to be sure that wouldn’t be too short.

And that’s all folks! Just a few tips and tricks I use when deciding to alter a piece of clothing. Now if you can sew then, by all means, do you boo but these are my lazy girl/no sew hacks. Let me know if you can sew or not in the comments sections!

Toodles!