Second-Hand-Made

What is "Second-Hand-Made"? It's the term I'm using to describe the outfits I put together that are made up of all or almost all hand-made and second -hand items. Over the last year I have had a major change in my income and a significant change in my body shape that has left me with little to wear and even less money to spend on new clothes. In addition, I have had a lot of spare time on my hands that I have filled with knitting and other crafts. All these factors have led me to develop a wardrobe composed of mainly second hand clothes (either purchased from thrift shops or free) or clothes I have made myself, like knitted sweaters or skirts I've sewn. I'm really loving the "new" style that is starting to develop. So, occasionally I'm going to show off some of these outfits and share some of the details. I hope you enjoy.

This week I attended the annual Denali Center Prom, a formal dance for the residents of Denali Center. This is my absolute favorite event that they do and I love getting dressed up and having a wonderful time with those who call Denali Center their home. This years dress was a score I found at Value Village. It's a 50's style shirt dress in a classic floral pattern of sea-foam and peach. I'm in love with this dress, I think I felt a tear of joy in the dressing room when I tried it on and it fit. Even if the belt is on the very last notch.

I paired the dress with a cute spring cardigan. I'd love to say that I knit it myself, but that would be a lie. Again, this little ray of sunshine came from the thrift shop and has quickly become a staple in my spring wardrobe. It fits perfectly and goes well with jeans, skirts and dresses.

So far this outfit is all second-hand and no hand-made. Well, we have to change that. So lets add some accessories. As you can see, the shoes don't exactly match the dress. In order to help them fit in, I knit up some small bows in a coordinating minty color and attached them to the tops. Ok, that's a little bit better, but something's still missing. Hmmmmmmm, oh yes a hair bow. How could I forget a hair accessory? I ALWAYS have some sort of hair accessory. So, a matching knitted hair bow was added and now it's an outfit that can be called "Second-Hand-Made".

Cupcake, my adorable little fur-baby, and I were both surprised how cute and thrifty this outfit was.