Today we're in The Dressing Room with Sarah over at The Unique Bird - a master repurposer who also shares our love of vintage!  Read on to learn about her journey into repurposing and some of her amazing creative projects!

GLAD RAGS: How did you get into repurposing and how long have you been at it?

Sarah: I have always loved searching for vintage treasures, especially vintage fabrics and clothing. About four years ago when I started my online business, The Unique Bird, I was trying to figure out a way to enhance my selection of vintage home décor pieces with different prints, patterns and textures. My collection of vintage fabrics and clothing were not doing anyone any good just sitting in a pile on the shelf. I started pulling from my collection and repurposing the vintage into a few pillows at first. I really loved how the pillows turned out, but wanted to find another way to make use of so many great vintage fabrics! I was trying to come up with a smaller giftable item though, that could be used again and again, and eventually my reusable vintage fabric wine bottle wraps and coffee cup cozies were born!
 
What's your favorite repurposing project you've worked on?

Honestly, I can’t think of just one favorite project. I get really excited whenever I find a new vintage piece and can’t wait to figure out different ways that I could use the fabrics in my designs. I think I fall in love with a new project about every day.
 
Tell us about your most exciting find and what you did with it.

One of my most exciting finds was a late '60s early '70s quilted maxi skirt. I fell in love with it basically because the print was so fantastic. I knew that I wanted to add it to my personal vintage clothing collection to wear but it was miles too long and I am kind of short. I bought it anyway and knew that I could hem it and use the extra fabric to make something eventually. Luckily I had a customer fall in love with the skirt fabric also and I ended up using the extra fabric to make a pillow for her. In the end I got a really fantastic vintage skirt for myself and the customer got a handmade pillow that she really loved!
 
Why do you love repurposing?

I love that I can find a piece of vintage clothing that is made of fantastic fabric, that may have been well loved and have some holes or stains and give it a new life! Another great reason for using vintage clothing to repurpose with is that there are some times so many usable elements in one piece of clothing! Not only can you use the fabric, but often there are trims buttons and notions that can be used as well.

Do you have any advice for people who want to make more positive choices when it comes to consuming?

My advice to folks is before they run to the store to snatch up the latest trend, be it clothing or home décor, take a look around their own home or in their closet...there are so many ways that someone could transform a tired piece and make it new and trendy again. Just type “repurpose” into a Pintrest search. It is amazing how many ideas are floating around out there and they aren’t all rocket science! I
 
 


What's the most unique instance of repurposing you've seen?

Recently I saw a listing on Etsy for a handmade café curtain that was created from a patchwork of vintage handkerchiefs. I was so light and airy and absolutely unique!

What do you think can be done to make vintage and sustainable products more accessible to the average person?

I think that buying vintage and sustainable products has already become very accessible, especially in the last five years and it just seems to be gaining strength. With websites like etsy and ebay, these products are available to about anyone around the world with internet access. There are also many retail shops popping up in communities (even in malls) that offer customers the opportunity to purchase locally made sustainable products. Even customers that are heading to the mall to shop at the national chain retail stores may find themselves wandering into a store offering them unique sustainable locally made goods!
 
What are your favorite sources for materials? Do you have any favorite thrift shops, etc.?

My favorite sources are tag sales, estate sales, garage sales, flea markets and of course thrift shops! My absolute favorite local thrift shop is Ohio Thrift.
 
If you could choose any fashion era to live in, which would you go with?

My choice for fashion era to live in would be the mid to late 1960s. I would love to be very Mad Men fabulous and transition from the more feminine conservative full skirts into the groovy mod miniskirts!

Erica's blog Reycled Fashion is a magnificent resource of all things sustainable fashion - for everyone from the hardcore DIYer to the casual fashionista looking to go a little greener.


Glad Rags: How did you get into refashioning and how long have you been at it?

Erica: I started writing Recycled Fashion, and soon discovered a community of clever, talented people creating their own clothes from existing garments. Soon after, I found Wardrobe Refashion, which really inspired me to start sewing. 

When I started thrift shopping, I couldn’t sew.  I say I couldn’t sew, but really I hadn’t tried.  My first sewing machine arrived as a birthday present two years ago, and the doors to a whole new world of thrift shopping opened.

I now look at second hand clothing much differently; I’ll filter through menswear, not dismiss torn or damaged clothes, and start scouring thrift shop linen for pretty patterns.  No longer will I limit myself to second hand clothes which are only in my size, as I’ll be able to adjust garments to fit my frame.  I’ll cut up sheets and pillowcases, and make them into fashion pieces, and upcycle old worn out pieces into something new.

What's your favorite refashion or repurposing project you've worked on?

My Hawaiian Muuumuu!  My choice of dress was for a friend’s Hawaiian themed wedding.  I found a second hand muumuu on Etsy, and got to work on refashioning it into a suitable dress.

How do you feel mainstream fashion impacts our environment?

Mainstream fashion can be very damaging to our environment. The never ending cycle of fashion brings new garments every season, which very soon become out of fashion, and can quickly end up in landfill.

We also need to take into account the chemicals used to dye our clothes, the use of cheap fabric, water usage, air travel miles to shop new clothes, and the production of garments made in less than ideal working environments.  There are many damaging environmental factors involved in producing quick fashion for the world’s large retail chains.

Do you have any advice for people who want to make more positive choices when it comes to fashion?

Many of us would prefer to look more unique and individual to our own style rather than succumbing to fashion trends and becoming a high street clone.  For this reason alone, I would recommend choosing recycled pieces, which make fashion more sustainable and fun.

This need not be limited to refashioning and sewing; simply by choosing vintage or second hand means we are using and wearing what is already in existence, alleviating the necessity to buy new.

What's the most unique instance(s) of repurposing you've seen?

I am constantly amazed by people’s creativity, a few examples of some incredible repurposed fashion projects would include:

Kazz the Spazz and her Plastic Trench Coat made from laundry bags
Geneva from A Pair and a Spare’s DIY Rug Skirt
An Aussie bride that made her wedding dress out of bread tags
A dress I made using $1 thrifted upholstery patch sample book

Tell us about your most exciting fashion find and what you did with it.

I liked this tweed skirt I picked up at a thrift store, which I made into a cape .

Also quite a simple one here, a vintage dress I found at a vintage clothing clearance centre.  A simple sleeve removal was all it needed to make an ordinary dress into a great dress.

What do you think can be done to make refashioning, vintage, and sustainable fashion more accessible to the average person?

What would really help I think, is more opportunities for people to learn to sew.  For example, informal workshops and classes for beginner stitchers that are affordable, fun and encouraging. 

I am also an advocate for vintage and thrift shopping tours, where groups of people are encouraged to shop second hand together, making it a fun, enjoyable, inspiring experience.

What are your favorite sources for materials? Do you have any favorite thrift shops, etc.?

Favourite sources would be any op shop (Australian thrift store) or flea market.  I don’t really have a favourite, but do prefer smaller stores where a good rummage is needed to find a gem.

How do you think the cultural consciousness of fashion's environmental impact differs in Australia from the U.S.? 

Hard to say being that I don’t actually live in the U.S, but from what I read with my own blog research, fashion consumers in both countries are becoming a little more environmentally aware.  Having said that, the majority of fashion lovers will still choose to buy new over second-hand – we still have a long way to go before we really embrace ethical fashion.

If you could choose any fashion era to live in, which would you go with?

This might sound odd, but I like living in the fashion era we are in right now.  Why?  Because really, we can wear whatever we like, and have decades of awesome fashion to mix with.  We could wear a '20s cloche hat with a pair of '70s flares if we wanted to, a '50s dress with a pair of modern day flats, a '60s mod dress with vintage cowboy boots if we wish - anything goes, and I think that’s great.

Do you have any current projects you'd like to plug? :)

I’ve recently been making things out of a great piece of fabric that I picked up for free from a Freecycle member that no longer wanted it.  It is a huge piece of knit fabric, and so far I’ve made quite a few items; two baby onesie’s, two child bunting decorations, and a pair of leggings for myself.  I’m not done with the fabric yet, and plan to do a few more fashion projects, so do keep an eye on the blog for more!