Seeing outside the box

The thrift store can be a treasure trove for a costumer on a budget, but you have to learn how to shop.  The more I do it, the better I get at finding what I need.

You have to go in with a very open mind and be prepared to see something as more than what it appears to be.

There was a lesson I learned a long time ago when I was working as a designer at a toy company named AmToy.  I made the patterns for My Pet Monster there.

One day I was working on a rag doll with a frilly lacy pink satin dress.  I wanted her to have an old fashioned bonnet and I had made a couple versions that weren't really working AND they were too complicated, meaning too expensive, to make in a factory.

My design director, Elaine Heigl, came in to see my progress.  She didn't like any of the hats I had made yet.  Sitting on my desk happen to be one of these ponies. 

Elaine, in a stroke of genius!, took the little felt saddle and cupped it around the doll's head.  It look really cute and it was just one pattern piece.  So, this doll got a horse saddle hat.  To this day, I think of that.  Things are not always what they seem.

So, when you go shopping let your mind be very creative.  I made a frock coat once using the trousers from a two piece man's suit for the lower portion, sewing it on to the jacket after trimming if off at the waist.  Always check out the sheets, curtains and tablecloths for possible fabric.  Don't be afraid to use women's stuff for men and the other way around.  And always have a tape measure with you.  The sizing is all of the map, because older clothes were sized differently than modern clothes are.

AND, Elaine Heigl also designs for Simplicity now and has a website and blog ... check it out.
Elaine Heigl Designs