On The Mend: Getting the Most Out of Fav Goodwill Finds

Good news, dear gentlemen readers: we’ll be featuring a weekly column by GoodwillNyNj Style Icon David Morgan all about secondhand fashion and DIY style. This week: how to save your fav thrift finds (and even enhance ‘em) after the wear and tear sets in…Enjoy!

My one-of-a-kind Goodwill favs may have been priced a dime a dozen, but that doesn't mean I'll be able to find them again. What to do, then, when there's a tear? Repair!

A few weeks ago, I made a promise to myself: every time there is a rip in one of my clothes, I’m going to hand-sew it back together, and I’m going to sew it with a completely different color thread. There is no reason for this, save for my own quirkiness.

I saw a video a while back where this guy had a pair of jeans for years that he refused to throw away, even as they repeatedly ripped and teared. These were his favorite jeans, and he loved the history he had with them. When he showed the jeans on camera, they were literally covered with colorful lines of mended tears. They were awesome and genuine, and I promised myself that I would do something similar one day.

Clothes certainly contain memories, don’t they? Repeated washes can never really wash away the trips and falls we may have experienced with them, or the fallen tears, or the victories and triumphs. Their flaws are a reminder of our lives. I’m actually excited to see how many more tears will accumulate on the clothes I just mended. Hopefully there are at least a few exciting moments upcoming in my life that will warrant another sewing fix.

Your new secret weapon in mending.

I recently discovered the amazing creation that is the embroidery hoop (a truly ingenious invention) and used this to create clean stitches on my clothes. Hand-sewing is a really therapeutic and practical skill to have. Keep a small needle in thread in your bag in case of a mending emergency, or discover the world of embroidery to create cool designs on a drab garment. Learn a few basic sewing stitches in this great tutorial from Coats and Clark, and learn embroidery at Sublime Stitching.

Hiya cowboy. A contrasting stitch will both save your beloved item and add a playful flair to your look. Yee-haw!

What is your favorite piece of clothes that, in spite of its rips and tears, you refuse to throw away? Share it with us on our Facebook page or tweet us a pic on Twitter!

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