Threadflip.com

What I like about threadflip.com is it has style.  The way it is set up makes me want to browse through the  photos of cute high end current clothing that is not inexpensively priced, but affordable, compared to shopping new.  Also, the photos give you ideas of how to put outfits together with the clothing each person is selling.  And you can sell, too!  Or try to before you hold your own Bitch and Swap, which, let's face it, is probably still a lot more fun...

RE-Fashion

My cousin Kim sent me this amazing article that has pretty much everything you need to know about one of my favorite subjects: Re-fashion! It even has a link to a woman who made a dress out of a table cloth! Sound familiar?

Thank you, Fair Companies.com!

I Played My Drum For Him

Ask the Little Drummer Boy. He gave of what he had, and never gave up when he couldn't afford to go to the mall and spend hundreds of dollars for brand new gifts for the baby Jesus.

Ted and I looked around to see what we had this fall and saw things we've collected: Champagne and wine corks (no surprise there), leather scraps, and feathers from the birds in our neighborhood: wild turkeys, bluejays, Canadian geese, and tufted titmouse. After experimenting with a few different prototypes, little Christmas Tree ornaments emerged from our combinations and the Pocono Angel was born.

The next challenge was sending them in the mail without ruining the feathers and by using only recycled brown paper bags and cardboard.

Soon, we had over 30 made and our family and friends now had little personalized ornaments to hang on their tree.

Pa rum pa pum pum!

Reuse your T's

Happy Holidays, readers!

For your gift this year, I'm linking you to Huffington Post's list of reuse ideas, mostly for t-shirts. I want the book called 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt by Megan Nicolay!

Here's to a creative and eco-friendly 2011!

Thankful for Coats

This Thanksgiving I'm thankful for you, my faithful readers.

AND for my faux leopard swing coat and Ted's charcoal wool dress coat that I bought at last year's Salvation Army Coat Sale, both worn to the recent opening of the play Elling (starring Denis O'Hare and Brandan Fraser) on Broadway at the Soho House! (paired here with a winter white lace mini dress that I found for $15 at H & M and a long gold chain and pendant I bought at a flea market for $8)

AND for our friend Kelly (pictured here) who accompanied us to the opening.

AND for the coat sale that is coming up at 9:30am on Saturday, December 4th at the Salvation Army between 10th and 11th.

It's good to be Ren!

Three Coat Sales!

No, I haven't posted in a while, but yes, I want you to know about the upcoming Salvation Army Coat Sales!

• Saturday, November 6th 9:30am to 5pm
• Saturday, December 4th 9:30am to 5pm
• Saturday, January 8th 9:30am to 5pm

Check back to my first Coat Sale posting for my tips to navigating these hectic and hilarious events.

And I promise to post again soon!

More Divawear...

Another performance at Symphony Space with some amazing celebrities (I performed between a video of Stephen Colbert and Leonard Nimoy!), another reason to create another "Divawear" design.

This was a top I made from 2 identical silk scarves that I found in a ten cent bin at a thrift store in California (I bought 10 of them, stay tuned for the gown...) and then sewed together. I added a draw string and my Divawear tag... et voila! "Wow" comments from Jane Curtin, Carmen de Vavallade, and Eugenia Zukerman!

p.s. Strappy sandals from Payless, dark wash skinny jeans from H & M...

Second Annual Bitch and Swap

It's a small world in this big city.

I was doing a reading of a new musical and met two marvelous new actors who had just come from a hike upstate: first clue that we probably had tons in common... But then I found out that Anna (who has a blog, too!) is also from Missoula Montana! Next (drumroll ladies and gentlemen) I invited her to my Bitch and Swap.... and she couldn't come because she was already having one that week! What?

But we did compare notes afterwards on Facebook. Seems more people are into purging than acquiring and we both had huge piles to bring to Sally's (thank you Renee for filling up your car the next morning!) and varying sizes of donated clothes are inevitable and everyone has more fun if none of that matters.

How was your Bitch and Swap Potluck?

Swapapalooza!

You may need an NYU i.d. to get in, but why not try? Come next weekend to the grandDaddy of all Bitch and Swaps!

Swap-A-Palooza
Sunday, April 25, 1pm-7pm
Kimmel Center, 8th Floor
Swap-a-Palooza is a clothing swap and celebration that lets you reduce your environmental impact by exchanging gently used clothes and accessories. Take advantage of the ultra-stylish NYU community's fashion sense and harvest a new look without putting pressure on your wallet - or the planet. Admission price is one bag of clothes. The Swap will feature do-it-yourself design stations to make your new wardrobe one-of-a-kind.

Bitch and Swap Time

Okay Ren People! It's that time of year again.

Spring, though little more than a tease right now, is truly around the corner and it's time to trade out winter clothes for warmer togs. Re-read my posts about purging in Lady Godiva for tips on what to get rid of during this transition.

Also, start organizing a Bitch and Swap now! Not only is it a good excuse to gather your stylish-but-bargain-savvy friends together for a party, but you'll get new stuff for the price of snacks and beverages! And with all those around the world who are newly suffering lately, why not make it a fundraiser for a Charity? Multitask, I say...

T-Shirts Re-Mix

T-Shirts. One symbol we'll leave behind as our legacy, punctuating our lives with events and eventually fill up the bottom of our drawers in faded piles of our history.

According to the PBS documentary, T-Shirt Travels, literally tons of our discarded clothing is shipped overseas to Africa where their sale has put the local clothing manufacturing out of business. In this striking documentary, African children were shown wearing oversized t-shirts depicting M-TV and brands of beer. It made me think that there must be a way to reuse and recycle our T-Shirts in a less destructive way.

In my previous post, Your Own Gypsy Robe, I wrote about a way that I can still wear my Show T-Shirts.

But now, new (and often overpriced) t-shirts have the look of old, worn favorites so why not make your old, worn favorites into wearable fashion? Or take your husband's/boyfriend's/brother's old white t-shirts and dye them to the color you want? (See you earlier post, Do or Dye)

The first example pictured is a North Shore Animal Shelter t-shirt that we got when we adopted Maya. This was the easiest fix as it was a size Medium and I shortened the sleeves (cut at an angle with the longest part at the top of the shoulder), cut out the neck, and then cut off the hem and turned it into a belt. One of the best things about t-shirt material is that it doesn't fray, even when washed. This means hems are optional.

To make an oversized shirt into a more form fitting tee, cut off the sleeves right at the hem. Leave the bottom hem, neck, and sleeve hems intact. Then take a shirt that you like the fit of and lay it over your favorite. (see photo below) Fold the sleeves in along their hem and cut along one side of the old t-shirt about an inch outside of the line of the t-shirt on top. Fold it in half and cut the other side to match. Shorten the sleeves by cutting parallel to and in from the cut that was the seam. Make the bottom part of the sleeve the shortest. Pin the newest sleeve cut right sides together to the shoulders (over the shoulder seam) and sew (the most difficult step). Then turn the bodice right sides together and stitch up the new side seams, making sure that hems match.

Now you have remaining fabric that can be used to create your very own design. Shown here is a leaf design that I hand sewed diagonally across a purple tee, a t-shirt that my husband was getting rid of that I dyed yellow, used the above process to make it more fitted, and created a long wrap-tie from the remaining material, and my favorite, a self-dyed tee (red) that I made into a fitted tank, skipping the sleeve step, and then machine-sewed the remaining material in a design on the front and shoulders. (rock and roll under a black pinstripe sportscoat)

Now cutting up your old t-shirts isn't reserved to the fringed and beaded looks of the early 90's (Yikes! What were we thinking?). With a little imagination and minor abilities with a needle and thread, the sky's the limit.

Get your own!

Just letting you know that I'm LOVING my new fur/suede reversible vest and swing faux leopard! Don't be jealous, get your own!

Go this Saturday, November 7th at 9:30 am to the next Salvation Army Coat Sale of the season (check out my previous posts...)

Coat Sale Redux

BAD NEWS: You may have missed a great coat sale at the Salvation Army this last Saturday.

But two close friends, hundreds of New Yorkers, and I didn't!

Kevin and Sarah of We Click Photography and Kevin Fox Photography are spending more time in the Great White North and wanted to stock up on winter coats so they met me there early, following all of my advice (Except for bringing their own cart. Difficult on a motorcycle...).

I knew I was only looking for a fur vest (to pair with skinny jeans and a blousy top with long necklaces and high boots) so my pile of coats at checkout paled in comparison to theirs. But how could Sarah resist 2 long embroidered suede jackets, a hooded shearling, a thoroughly hip skin colored short fitted car coat with a long collar, an adorable shearling vest, and two coats for Kevin to replace decade-old favorites? She couldn't. And she didn't!

Some highlights of the morning:

Leenya: Wow! This is a gorgeous coat, but with purple and green embroidery, I don't know if Sarah will go for it.

Kevin: You never know. Some people's "loud" are a belly dancer's "blah". (Sarah is a fabulicious belly dancer)

Kooky Mirror Hogging Lady: Oh, you again! Just buy the coat! How much can it be? $25? Just buy it!

Leenya: I know, but do you think it actually works on me? I mean, do I really need a medium length fake leopard swing coat? (answer: yes, I did.)

GOOD NEWS: There's another one Saturday November 7th at 9am!

FIRST COAT SALE (of the season)!

Yes! It's coming! Just in time for you to replace coats that you've purged during your Fall Clothes trade out!

The Salvation Army Coat Sale! Dum Dum da Dum! (It should have a theme song...)

On Saturday, October 10th, at 9am, head to the Salvation Army on 46th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues in New York City and read my previous post about tips and suggestions to make your shopping spree the most successful.

Coats to look for this fall:

• short leather car coats
• fur or faux fur vests
• oversized black 80's trenches to belt
• fitted blazers to wear with jeans

See you at 8:30am!

(pictured here: me staying somewhat warm and dry in the freezing rain of Boston, all because of my Salvation Army puffy coat that I bought 3 seasons ago!)

Yay! Fall Clothes!

Does anyone else love fall? Or am I the only one who catches the "Back To School" bug and look for any opportunity to lay out your clothes for the next day?

Well, nerd or not, it is time (or perhaps past time) to put away your summer clothes and get out your yummy sweaters and boots.

And, it's the perfect time to take stock of what you should keep and what you should throw away. In 2008, I wrote to a follower that we know as On The Verge Of Being Lady Godiva with tips about updating your wardrobe the Ren Girl way (of course). Check it out toe help you get motivated (and focused). Let me emphasize to that post that before you store your tank tops and short shorts, make sure they've been washed/cleaned to avoid any yellowing or odors.

It can all seem overwhelming at first, but before you know it, you're honing your style, focusing your identity, and finding excuses to go thrifting (with your list of needs, of course!).

Happy Fall!

Recycling in Urbanopolis

If Suspended Cirque can create an entire costume plot for their Aerial multi-media Circus at Galapagos out of reused, recycled, and found items, we can all find ways to incorporate such creativity into our own daily lives.

I'm playing violin as the character of the dying Phoenix in their spectacle Urbanopolis this weekend (to sold out shows!) and I am amazed each days at the attention to detail that Joshua Dean has put into his costume design (FYI he is also the co-creater, director and a lead performer/aerialist/dancer). Using newspaper, feathers, toille over exaggerated hoop skirts, Suspended Cirque incorporates leotards and mixes and matches from previous shows to create new looks. They bring renaissance living to a new level!

I just play the violin...

Maya and Leenya's Potluck Bitch and Swap

In a cozy New York apartment, combine a dozen great friends and coworkers,

...delicious homemade baked goods and nosh, a great mix of wines under $10 (see earlier post),

...bags and bags of gently used clothes, shoes, and accessories, 

...one kooky host who LOVES putting together new outfits for no money,

...one fuzzy cohost,

...and mix! 

RESULTS:

• closet purged of never-worn-clothes
  
• fabulous new items to spruce up wardrobe
  
• new friends
  
• donations to the Salvation Army or Goodwill
  
• lots and lots of fun and laughs
  

money spent:  $10 for the wine + a few dollars for snacks

Write about yours!

Framed

Do you have stacks of interesting prints, artwork, or old photos and sad, empty walls? 

  You're not alone.  Frames are expensive!  And who knows how to make mats and cut frames to size?  Not me.  But you can get creative (and get rid of the stacks).

When you're at a yard sale, antique shop, or thrift shop, look for fabulous worn old frames with or without paintings or prints.  They don't have to be the exact right size or have glass intact.  I had a stack of amazing black and white photographs that my Grandfather took on his travels in the 1950's.  I found this amazing collection of old frames at a yard sale (all for about $20) and added them to a few I had already acquired over the years.  I don't recommend cutting the photos to fit the frames, but in this photo, you can tell I got creative with how they stay in the frames (strings, even leaving the backing visible).  Notice they are all different, but have a similar color palate (gold, earth tones, and terra cotta).  The black and white travel theme helps make them a unified collection as well.  

Once you get your prints in the frames, lay them out on the floor first and experiment with different arrangements.  Put the most striking pieces at eye level and in the center of your wall and then think creative cluster, not spreading out to fill the wall.  

Don't let your walls be sad!  It's time to frame.

Do... or Dye!

Sick of your clothes?

Or did you find the perfect blouse but it comes in only white or off-white?

Here's the answer.  

Don't pass them over.  Dye them!

A box of RIT Dye or Tintex Fabric Dye (available at most drug stores, grocery stores, or everything stores like Target), costs less than three dollars.  The only tricky thing is finding a large enough pot in which to dye your clothes without dying your kitchen at the same time!  Once you've tackled that obstacle, you will be surprised by the possibilities!

The dress pictured here (bought at a thrift store in Washington State) was a strange 80's bright blue that I knew I'd never wear.  After dying it in a vat of Wine colored Tintex (and adding a beaded belt high up on the natural waist), it became this amazing purple that had a wonderful sheen to it.  At the same time in the same batch, I dipped dingy slips that I've since worn to weddings, for performances, and as a raspberry sundress on a summer day.  Great tip:  Favorite used-to-be-white t-shirts can be salvaged and given a new life by dying them.

For the truly adventurous, try mixing and matching colors.  In general, it works like water colors and the color wheel:  blue and yellow make green, red and blue make purple, yellow and red make orange etc.  but it's definitely not an exact science, which I sort of love!

When it comes to dying, fabrics are like men.  If they're synthetic and fake (polyester and spandex) the love won't stick (color will be light and inconsistent).  Natural weaves (cotton, wool, nylon, silk, rayon), however, fall quickly and deeply and a tumble in high heat (the dryer) will set them forever.

Follow directions on the box and go ahead and choose a bunch of stuff in your house to dye at one time.  Why not see how color can spruce up your life... and for a mere three dollars?

My Ikea Hack

Most people don't guess it, but about fifty percent of the furniture in our New York apartment is from Ikea. 

The reason people don't guess it is that our style isn't ultra-modern with geographic shapes and bright solid colors, typical to the European apartment look.  

One of my favorite pieces of furniture is our computer desk, which I fondly call "the office" because it can be closed off to hide our computer and files when we don't want to be reminded of work.  

Now, Ikea makes a desk that fits this description (ALVE), but it angles out from a corner and in our apartment, it would reduce the amount of room for our dining room chairs.  Plus, we wanted to customize it in our own way.

My husband and I bought the LEKSVIK armoir instead for $299, $100 less than the computer desk.  It only comes with one movable shelf, but he easily cut two other boards down to fit and then attached the rolling computer keyboard shelf that I think is available in the IVAR shelving line (for about $30) under the shelf that was included.  Below, we set a drawer unit that I already had that provides two storage drawers and a surface on top on for additional storage. 

The computer monitor and speakers are on the main shelf with the printer one shelf above.   Any of the magazine files that Ikea sells are better than a file cabinet in my opinion and hanging inside our LEKSVIK armoir door is a basket caddy that I found at a yard sale and attached with screws.  It holds our pencils, pens, and other utensils.  Phones and lights are easily attached inside and with the doors closed, you can almost forget about the trappings of the twenty-first century.  

Until you feel compelled to share your Ikea hack with other like-minded re-mixers and stay up all night posting about it!  

Check out ikeahacker for more fabulous ideas...