Fashion Gold at the Bargain Barn

I recently took a trip to the Goodwill Bargain Barn.  It is a room full of troughs containing Goodwill castoffs, sold for $1.45 a pound.  It's a place where ugly clothes go to die.  ReFashionista has a hilarious recap of her experiences at the Barn.  Mine were quite similar, and although I didn't run into any hypodermic needles, I did run into a barn bully. 

Let's just say I witnessed nearly all of the Rules of the Barn being broken, namely aggressive behavior. A woman tried to steal my coat, as in the one I was wearing. Thankfully a fellow shopper came to my rescue. So if you go, be wary of barn bullies. 

All in all, I'm not craving to go back.  It was crowded and smelly and claustrophobic and you had to sift through A LOT of crap to find one item that might have a modicum of potential.  I spent a grand total of $1.72 and got a few items for refashioning.  There was another positive outcome though.  The barn made the regular Goodwill feel like Neiman Marcus. What? The clothes are on racks? And a dressing room? I must be in fashion heaven. 

Item #1: Drab periwinkle sweater
I have been wanting to make a basket weave shirt for some time, and I found a sweater that might do the trick. And for ~50 cents, what did I have to lose? 

 

I paired it with this cardigan from my closet.  I've worn this guy since high school, and after 13 years, I decided it was time for a reincarnation.  Based on this sad picture, it clearly agrees with me. 

This is the final product.  What do you think? 

Item #2: Indian-inspired tunic
No before picture, but it was looooong, down to my knees long. So I took off the decorative trim on the bottom, hacked off about a foot, and then resewed the trim. A simple afternoon project, and I've already worn it to school. 

Item #3: Men's flannel shirt
With aspirations of a sleeveless dress.

Result: As of now, it's a fail.  Refashioning was going great, until I got overzealous with the scissors and made the arm holes less like a dress and more like a basketball jersey.  I'm putting it on the back burner, while I kick myself and promise to measure next time. (Wait, who am I kidding?)

Check back later for the rest of my refashions. These are going to be epic. What remains to be seen is whether they will be epic successes or epic failures.