Watched a friend's jacket go from thrift store find to runway piece in one afternoon

My buddy Lisa snagged this oversized 80s denim jacket at a Goodwill in Portland for $8 last Saturday. She spent about 4 hours cutting off the shoulder pads, adding some hand-stitched patches from her grandma's old quilts, and cinching the waist with a leather belt. The before was just a faded mess and the after looked like something from a small designer collection. Anyone else ever transform a basic thrift item into something way cooler with just a few simple tweaks?

2 comments

2 Comments

mason.margaret29d ago

I mean I get why people love that kind of makeover and it sounds like your friend did good work, but I honestly think we romanticize thrift store transformations way too much. Half the time people are just cutting up perfectly good vintage pieces that had their own charm and history, and now they're just another trendy item that'll be out of style next season. The jacket your friend bought was probably someone's favorite thing in the 80s and now it's been chopped up for a look that'll be dated by 2026. Doesn't it bother you that we're always trying to "fix" old clothes instead of just appreciating them for what they are?

angela_kelly29d ago

I had this exact argument with my friend last week about an old 90s bomber jacket she found. She was so excited to turn it into a crop top and I was like, "You're literally removing the sleeves that make it a bomber jacket." lol. Honestly I think there's a middle ground. I've been thrifting for years and I only alter stuff if its already damaged beyond repair like a massive stain or a tear you can't fix. I keep a box of pieces I won't touch because they're perfect as is. Once you mess with something you can't undo it so I always tell people to sit on it for a month before cutting anything. If you still want to chop it up after that then go for it but at least you gave yourself time to appreciate the original.