I have been on a mission to upgrade the way I dress in the winter when I work at home. I am all about warmth and unfortunately that had resulted in flannel pants and not so attractive fleece pullovers. In the summer I wear colorful tops and crop pants. I always feel comfortable walking out the door to do errands or have an informal lunch with friends. I want to stay warm in the winter and still achieve this level of comfort with my daily outfits. To that end I have been shopping for things I can hack to achieve both goals.
A few weeks ago I bought this purple wool Chico’s jacket at Goodwill. I was attracted to the felted wool and the delicious color. When I tried it on – it was not flattering. Really boxy. Long in the sleeves and torso and the collar was long and pointy. I planned on cutting some off the bottom to start and go from there. First step was to wash it even though it was clearly marked ‘Dry Clean Only’. I knew it would shrink some but there was a lot of room for shrinkage and I didn’t have much to lose. If it shrank to much to be a jacket I could make a vest, use the fabric for a great scarf or redonate for a smaller person to find.
I washed in cold water and hung to dry. When I tried it on – it was just right!! It was about 4 inches shorter, the sleeves had shortened about 2 inches and the collar had become quite petite. And the best part is it almost developed a shape. It seems to be smaller at the waist and the hem flares a little – probably due to uneven shrinkage. An extra advantage is that the shrinking made the wool even denser and it is really warm. It is great to wear with jeans or black velveteen pants which are my current replacement for flannels. Add a scarf and earrings and I am ready to go out.
I forgot to take a before picture, but here is the after.
When you are out at the stores look for fabric and color first. Buy the things you like and be creative with your finds – it almost always works.
