In case you’re new here, let me introduce myself. I’m Anna, I’m going a whole year styling myself without shopping and I have a tendency to get words and phrases muddled up. This isn’t as a result of having two babies and a totally sleep deprived brain, it is something that I have always done. At times it has been a source of great amusement (derbis/debris) and also a source of embarrassment (inundated/unindated)…

My most recent muddled phrase wasn’t that far from the original – ‘make do and mend’. I thought it was the other way round. And to be honest, I still think saying ‘mend and make do’ makes more sense. Surely you ‘make do’ once the mending has taken place because it is only then that the object begins to serve? Anyway, I digress.

The reason I even considered the phrase ‘mend and make do’ (I’m sticking to my version) is because of my recent trips to a wonderful lady called Yvette who makes alterations to clothes.

In the spirit of Wear What’s There and in desperation to be able to make best use of the pieces in my wardrobe, I took a few items over to her to be transformed. Two pairs of ‘cropped’ trousers which quite frankly on my short legs were more ankle swingers than cropped trousers, my boyfriend jeans which had an unfortunately located hole and a dress.

The dress had been put on for many a hopeful moment only to be discarded because of the way the collar hung and gaped open. It was a cute charity shop find of at least 3 years ago but had only ever been worn once for a concert where I needed a slightly 40’s look on stage. However, after Yvettes handy work, I love it and it had it’s first outing other evening. The collar was sewn so it no longer has freedom to do it’s own thing and a button has been added, preventing gape and also making my boob accessible (for my baby, just to clarify…). I am confident it will go with trainers in the warmer weather, ankle boots and could probably be dressed up with the right pair of heels. Cue happy Anna because I feel like I have a new dress. Winner.

My jeans have been back into the wardrobe conveyor belt for a couple of weeks and I’m chuffed. They are versatile, only have appropriately placed holes and have also been taken up to accommodate my lovely short legs so when I roll them up, they actually reveal ankle rather than skimming the top of my trainers. The cropped trousers are now actually cropped. No more to say there really.

Ultimately, and in my normal honest manner it seems right to confess I think if I wasn’t doing my challenge I would have just sought out a new pair of jeans, never worn the dress and eventually grown frustrated with the trousers and banished them to the back of the wardrobe. A total waste of perfectly good clothes.

And do I feel like I’m ‘making do’? No. That phrase seems to ignite negative connotations (put that phrase it in the context of ‘making do’ with the man you married and it doesn’t fill you with confidence…) But why should it? In mending, you’re transforming something to serve a purpose, which is a good thing – it’s not settling for less.  There was a reason I purchased the items I had altered – I liked them. And now they fit, l like them even better.

So I encourage you, if there’s something you have that has never quite worked for you or that has become a little worn but can be loved back to life, go see your local version of Yvette (Seams Right). Relative to buying new things, it costs pennies, supports local business and of course applies the brakes on fast fashion and your part in it. It’s a win win.