How often do you alter your RTW??

Happy February, Friends! So far 2018 has been a bit of a whirlwind so I don't have any finished projects to show, BUT there are a few things I have been thinking about that I wanted to discuss on the blog. I don't want to just be a show-and-tell blog, I want to interact as well!

One of the things I was thinking about relate to the RTW clothes we still have in the closet. I notice that with the things I've made, I will refashion them and repair them until I can't anymore, THEN I decide to do away with them. But when it comes to RTW, as soon as it stops fitting or a closure stops working, I tend to hop at the chance to donate it or give it away.

For example, I have this beautiful maxi dress that I got from Ann Taylor back in 2013 (as seen in this post). A few months ago, I realized the side zipper wasn't zipping all the way up anymore obviously because I had gained weight. I definitely got tons of wear out of it over the years but I didn't immediately put it in the donation pile because I knew I'd be getting back in the gym soon. So now, I can fit it again, but the maxi length isn't quite maxi enough for me anymore. I'm 5'9.5 and this dress hits me somewhere right at or a LITTLE above my ankles. While I was purging my closet, my first thought was "OUT" but then I took another second and thought "Maybe I can just shorten it".

Would it really take that long? Probably not. But still, I have this weird "is it worth it?" feeling. Like, should I invest my creative time into making changes to this already fully finished dress.

Then I have this absolutely beautiful wrap dress that was passed down to me from my mom. It's a lovely feeling crepe fabric and the shape of gives a gorgeous hourglass silhouette and tulip hem. Even the button is pretty with perfect angled double welt pockets.

It was given to me a year ago but I haven't worn it because the button on the inside to secure the wrap has been ripped out. And it had to have happened years ago because there is a safety pin there that shows how my mom remedied the situation when she was wearing the dress. I haven't work it with the safety pin because it doesn't fit quite right and I don't really know where it is supposed to be fastened to when I put it on.

So during my closet purge, I was about to put this dress in the donation pile smh. But why would I give away such a lovely dress, that I fully believe I would enjoy wearing, JUST because it is missing a button?! Would it take that long?? Absolutely not! But for some reason I still feel like I could be making new things with the time I'm taking to "fix" this dress that I technically do not have any investment in.

I am going to make the changes on these items so that I can wear them, but how do you feel about the RTW in your closet? Do you feel like you are more connected to your me-mades?? How easily do you let the RTW in your closet go??

Talk to me down in the comments!

xoxo,
Tasha