Don’t let the title fool ya! This week’s Q&A Monday has nothing to do with these guys:
If you were hoping some mean skunk-haired lady and her fay cohort were going to show up and berate you for your fashion choices, I’m sorry (and I think you might have something wrong with you).
Nonono. This week’s question is:
Q: “What don’t you buy when you go thrifting for future refashions?”
A: There’s very little that I won’t consider as a future refashion.
But here are a few common clothing maladies that I won’t mess with:
Stains
Stains make me all sorts of squeamish and grossed out, especially if they’re of the food or biological variety.
There are plenty of tricks one can try to remove a pesky stain, but they don’t always work. Unless I’m just absolutely in love with a piece of clothing or I know I’ll be removing the stained part in the refashion, I treat those stains with extreme disdain.
Pilling
You know what I’m talking about. Don’t you just hate when your sweaters get those nasty balls of lint all over them?
So do I. If the item is really nice other than the pilling, I’ll just take an old razor and shave the pills off (electric clothes shavers are a waste of your time and money, friends). But usually when I see pilling, it means the garment is of poor fabric quality, overwashed, or both. Best to stay away from these unless you want to spend hours with your razor and a lint roller every time you want to wash the thing.
Weirdo Smell
Whoa! What’s that smell????
It’s normal for thrift store duds to smell a little weird. But if your chosen future refash reeks of White Diamonds, gasoline, or some other overpowering stench, you might want to take a pass on it. Some strong odors are just impossible to get rid of, no matter the number of washings.
Worn Out
This one makes me sad.
Sometimes I stumble upon something that could have been absolutely PERFECT…except it’s just completely worn out.
Unless there’s a part of the fabric you know you can harvest to make a trim, a pocket, or some such, it’s best to move on. I’ve turned down really well-made designer pieces that were lovely at some point in time, but were just too worn out to save.
It’s okay. It fulfilled its destiny.
What are your thrifting dealbreakers?
