Janet's Wardrobe 101

A disgruntled self-claimed stylist who didn't make it to the local edition of Dec 2004 Harper's Bazaar's list of 10 most stylist women in KL, decided to start a campaign of `fashion flair', to prove herself right, to the world...read on, this is her first fashion article:

Getting bored of your wardrobe?
Dread spending a fortune on new clothes?

Janet Lee shares her ideas on ways to create new items without burning a hole in your pocket:

Sister Act: Trade clothes with your girlfriends or sisters

Host a barter-trade party in the weekend, invite your girlfriends to bring along clothes they are bored with, can’t get into anymore and etc. Have a little fashion show trying on each other’s items, chances are you will find things you like in your friends’ wardrobe and they will like some of yours. What better way to foster closer ties and to save some moolah?!

Accessorize This

Pick out those items that you have but have not been wearing and don’t want to throw out, design a new look for them by considering adding sequins, lace, beads, ribbons and etc. Go shopping at the cloth accessories section in the mall and see what materials go nice with your wardrobe.

Ideas:

·Your favourite shirts/blouse/tee got stained/colored? Sew sequins and/or beads in matching colors to the item, the beads will make the mistakes less noticeable and your old items will now stand out in a crowd!

·Tie or sew ribbon bows to the sleeves of your boring sleeveless tops.

Cutting Edge

All you need is a pair of scissors.

Ideas:

·Sick of that black three-quarter-sleeve-tee? Also that Linkin Park black tee? Cut away those sleeves and turn them into new items. You can cut the sleeves into fringe/tassels, add in those plastic hair beads for a touch of style.

·Consider turning old jeans into denim shorts.

·Cut away the waistbands off the jeans you can’t get into anymore and I bet you will get in this time. If the waistline now hangs too low and your undies keep showing, sew a matching scarf or shawl (make it’s long enough to go round your waist/hips) to the jeans’ newly cut waistband and wrap the scarf round your waist.

Go Boho

Visit your neighbourhood flea markets or that once a quarter jumble sale and comb the rare pickings on offer. If wearing second hand clothes is not a taboo for you, you can get quite a collection by just shopping at flea markets! I got my perfect-fitting-RM 5- rhine-stone-black-dress from flea market and all my girlfriends just hate me for that!

Where to go?

·PJCC (Petaling Jaya Community Center) has a few stores that offer wide selection of second hand (at very affordable price) clothes, shoes and bags at their regular Sunday store in Amcorp Mall, PJ and their shop Community Link in Atria Shopping Center.

·Second Charm in Taman Tun sells some really funky clothes and shoes. I got my made-in-Italy-utra-chic-80s-dress for only RM 8 there.

·SPCA Jumble Sale in Ampang is held a couple of times a year so look out for their announcements on radio and in papers. You can find treasures like Saris, jackets, skirts, dresses, cardigans amidst the truckload of clothes donated by residents of Ampang and others. My good old short suede jacket is from there.

·Overseas trips/vacations – Don’t forget to spend one day on your trip to ask the locals to point you to the nearest opportunity shops (Salvation Army, Cash Converters, etc) or Sunday flea markets. I got my Jigsaw linen blouse for two Australian Dollars and a mermaid tail black gown for eight Aussie Dollars!


60’s Attack: Seize Your Mom’s Wardrobe

Remember going through your mom’s photo album and gasping at the clothes she used to wear while dating your dad? Well, don’t wait; ask her where are those sleek hipsters, cotton sundresses, and psychedelic-color blouses kept today! Be creative, modify them to suit your style, turn a floor length dress into a demure knee length one where you can even wear to work or crop that bell bottoms into a manageable length.