Fashion & Beauty
Forget Those Boots with the Fur!
By Aubrie Pagano
Photography by Aubrie Pagano
April 23, 2008
Follow these quick and easy steps for a new, unique top that is totally you, and totally sustainable!
Sites like treehugger.com mention reusing clothing as a great way to cut down on the fashion industry’s large footprint. All you need is an old tank top: it can be one of your own, one of your friend’s (that you received at a clothes swap), or even one from your local vintage store (help out that ailing economy, folks). Just make sure that it has straps at least ½ to 1 inch thick!
1. Cut the tank top along its shoulder seams, so that the straps hang loose in four pieces, or “tabs”.
2. Cut your favorite ribbon into four, 6 inch pieces. Try and make sure that the ribbon is the same width as your tank top tabs.
[Hint: If you don’t have ribbon, many craft stores sell it by the yard for a dollar or so. You can also go to a local flower shop, which will often have leftover scraps that you can swipe before they get tossed in the trash.]
3. Fold each tab under itself about 1 inch, and with a needle and thread (save on the sewing machine wattage), sew each piece of ribbon under each tab, leaving about ½ inch at the end of the ribbon so that it does not wiggle loose from the seams.
4. When all four ribbon pieces are sewn onto the tank tabs, tie the ribbons together to make new straps (adjustable, too!). Voile!
5. Try it with different and unexpected color combinations, or four different ribbon pieces, for a fun look.
