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5 Ways to Up-cycle Your Closet

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at American chapter.

Come springtime you are begging for a makeover, but your wallet begs to differ. Here are some simple ways to upcycle your closet this season. Wikipedia defines upcycling as “the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or for better environmental value.” This term can also be used in reference to recycling clothes and accessories for new life in the next fashion season. Take these items that you already have and turn them into a whole new look for the spring and summer!

1. New Daisy Dukes

Do you have a pair of jeans that are feeling a little tired? Feel free to shape them into some new shorts for summer. Cut the long legs off the jeans to whatever length you would like your shorts to be. Use sand paper to fray the edges of the cut. To accent the jeans you can look up tutorials on Youtube about bleaching and painting them for some added flare. 

 

2. Vintage Tees In Half The Time

Is your closet packed with old club T-shirts that never get worn anywhere because they are just too stiff? Soften up those tops with a vinegar rinse. Brine your T-shirt in salt water for about three days and then wash and dry like normal for a new look with an old time feel. 

 

3.  Upcycle Some Old Flats

Have you gotten your fill of those plain black flats? Add an accent to the toe with some simple rhinestones and a hot glue gun. Apply glue to just the first three inches of the shoe and press the stones into straight rows on the shoe for a little sparkle

 

4. Bejewel Collars

Need to update that old button down in your closet? You’d be surprised what you can do with some old scratched CDs. Cut the CDs into varying geometric shapes and press them to the collar of the button down with hot glue. This edgy new look will have all your fellow collegiettes’s heads turning.

 

5. New Kicks

There is an easy way to update any old pair of shoes with just two ribbons. Replacing the laces with a thick ribbon is a practically zero cost way to gain a some refresh your old Keds. A soft pastel ribbon is a great way to add some spring to your wardrobe.

Don’t break the bank this spring, upcycle your closet instead!

 

Photo Credit:

Cover Image Collar Image Keds Image Shorts Image T-Shirt Image Flats Image

Mikala Rempe is a sophomore at American University in Washington, D.C., originally from Omaha, Nebraska. She is a literature major with a minor in creative writing. In addition to writing for Her Campus, Mikala is on staff for the AmLit, AU’s premiere literary arts magazine. In her free time she loves to read, and cook. She spends most of her days accidentally spilling coffee on her own poetry. She hopes this isn't a metaphor.