My wardrobe is dying

I made a pledge in September 2012 not to buy any new clothes for a year. We came back from a trip to Africa and I wanted to get off the consumer trail. Since then I’ve only bought two new t shirts and one skirt. The year is over and I’m keen to keep going with not buying it.

Any other additions have come from second hand shops, friends or donations. I’ve also taken to changing my clothes.

This coat falls into a number of categories. It was given to me by my mothers friend. The plan was I'd wear it as is.

Unfortunately I'm not a gynaecologist.
It's a John Roche coat. I'm not into labels but it sounded fancy.

So what to do.

I tried to give it away but the size, colour and style weren't working.

I'd dyed plenty of clothes before. So I started thinking about the options. The coat was shiny and that seemed to me that it was coated with something.

It was 100% cotton though. That's always better.

I sought some advice. There's an amazing blog for changing clothes by a clever Refashionista called Jillian. I sent her a message about the special coating.

Refashionista

Her response was basically:

What have you got to loose?

Good point; well made.

The coat didn’t work. Non one wanted it. If the dye didn’t work then I’d loose nothing.

Below you can see the result. I think it’s pretty good. The pale circular pattern is still there and adds texture to the colour.

I used a Dylon Burlesque Red colour with half a kilo of salt in our washing machine.

I also switched the buttons with some others I already had.

I think dying clothes is a fantastic way to rethink your wardrobe.

I wore this coat right through spring and early summer.

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