The Quarantine Forced Me To Take My Outfit Apart

When I am left alone with my thoughts creative ideas start to emerge. There's a reason that I am a jewelry designer. But that's not where my creativity ends.

My mind is like a series of disconnected tunnels that are looking to connect. In each tunnel, there's a stack of images and ideas that I stored for later. When my vision sees something interesting it may trigger the mole in my brain to dig for and connect the ideas I had stored in those tunnels.

Lately, it's been on designing my own wardrobe. I'm not a very typical girl, but according to my husband, one thing that is stereotypical about me is that I love shopping too much.

You bet I have a collection of questionable clothing that I bought on a whim that later I second-guessed myself. Like my idea tunnels, I stored them for later.

Something happened during the lockdown...

It was March 2020. I kept seeing an ad for an online dance website that provides tutorials from world-renowned choreographers. Intrigued, I joined the free trial. Physical exertion has been one of my interests too.

To my surprise, I enjoyed dancing too much. As soon as the free trial ended, I purchased the yearly subscription. Who knew dancing was so much fun? I learned so many new things from great dancers in the US.

What's next? I shared my dance videos on their Facebook group for peer feedback. Getting better and getting bolder, my wardrobe needs an update! Although I am a self-proclaimed fashionista, I had very few items in my wardrobe that looked cool enough for dancing hip hop!

When I shopped my focus shifted, "Can this be used for dancing?" It was the lockdown, where else am I gonna go?

Online shopping was not enough.

I had a thirst for uniqueness. I'm an advocate for authenticity and personal style. Mass-produced garments are great and all but I want something better, something that nobody else has.

Snip! I saw the light! I dug through my less-than-stellar purchases and my brain worked extra hard to connect the tunnels. My mom taught me how to sew when I was a kid but I didn't take much interest in it. I never learned to make my own patterns.

BUT! I'm a master of modification and I never back down from challenges! I knew some of the basics and the rest was just a matter of figuring things out.

Snip Snip! Sewing machine here I come!

My first project was to turn the black long sleeve shirt that had a PU leather panel on the neck and shoulder area into something new. It always fit me a little weird anyway. A few cuts later with my trusted Fiskars fabric scissors, I turned that uncomfortable shirt into a cute crop top with a hoodie. All the materials came from that shirt.

Next, an army green parka from Forever21 made it onto my butcher table. I cut the torso in half, added a drawstring at the bottom, and shredded the long sleeves. They made a tangled mess in the washing machine with the raw edges and loose threads. Oops. But no worries, I sew straight lines alongside the perimeter of the shredded sleeves to stop the raw edges from pulling out any further.

Watch the video, don't they make the cutest curls? I won a dance challenge with this top on. Score!

Those Capri jeans that kept pulling down on me? Now distressed shorts.

Next in line, two of the skinny jeans and jeggings that I no longer wear. A multicolored checkered pair of stretchy pants from Princess Vera Wang line and a purple pair of jeggings from Mudd. Hip hop dancing has a lot of level play and it's more comfortable to wear looser pants. The colors match, why not combine these two pants into one?

I think these pants are my best creation to date. And they have pockets! What I most proud of is the fact that I flipped the purple pant legs upside down to make the flare legs where the pockets are hidden. I used 90-95% of the materials to make it happen. Almost none wasted. I even repurposed the back pockets of the purple jeggings to balance out the design.

I used the lockdown to improve my well-being. Dancing made me happy. Creating made me happy. My house may be a mess but my mental health is rising. Give me a pair of scissors and a room to create and I'm a happy girl!