2003 called, they want their flared jeans back.

Well, I'm sorry 2003, but I'm keeping these jeans. I tried my hand at a little ReFashionista-ing today, and I'm really pleased with the results.

The Before

I've had these jeans for years. I can't remember for sure when I got them, but it was definitely late high school, early college. So sometime between 2002 and 2005. Which explains the flare.

Why do I have 10+ year old jeans in my closet? I have reasons.

First of all, they're still in really good shape, mostly due to the fact that they haven't been worn that much. They were a little big on me for a long time (more on that later), and the embroidery made them more difficult to pair with tops than other jeans. So while my other jeans were worn to threads, these have been "gently used."

Another reason they're in such good shape is that the denim is really sturdy. Most jeans I see in stores now are such thin material that I don't feel like they would hold up for very long. These jeans are made from really nice, thick denim. Every time I went to clean out my closet I always kept these because I thought it was such a shame to get rid of good denim.

And it's a good thing I kept these jeans hanging around, because as I approach 30, my ass just keeps getting bigger. I wear these jeans now and wonder just how freaking baggy they used to look on me. Why didn't anyone tell me?!? So with my expanding size, I'm down to just a handful of jeans in my closet. And yet I still hardly wore these because of how flared they were. Every time I put them on I thought "God these are so flared" and then put them back in the closet.

Taking some inspiration from the ReFashionista and Pinterest, I decided to do something about those flares. [Sorry, I didn't take any pictures during the refashioning process. Use your imagination] I turned these jeans inside out and ironed the inside seams flat. I laid these jeans flat on the floor and laid another pair of jeans that were the right shape on top. This gave me a guide as I pinned. Most tutorials on Pinterest show the seamstress taking the pants in from the outside seam, but because of the embroidery on these jeans, that wasn't really an option. But since the inner seams on these jeans weren't top-stitched it didn't really matter. After I had each leg pinned I quickly tried the jeans on again (inside out) so I was sure they fit right. Then I just ran the jeans through my sewing machine, trimmed off the excess, and voila! New straight-legged jeans!

Now, I probably could have taken them in a little more. I could have gone for more of a skinny-jean look rather than straight-legged. But these already feel so much more modern that I'm happy with the transition. In fact, I'm wearing them right now, getting ready for a Froyo date with my cousin Morgan. I love that I was able to give new life to something that has just been taking up space in my closet for way too long. 

Stay tuned for more refashioning news!