The "Make It Work" Game, Inspired by Tim Gunn, A fun thing to do with clothing you buy, but never wear

Every Fashionista knows that you have good purchases and bad purchases. You know, that one item that looked fabulous in the store, but when you got it home it looked, not so fabulous. You really want to like it, you have good intentions on wearing it, you even try it on from time to time, yet it never ends up in your outfit. Sometimes our wardrobe can get filled up with items like this, items you only ever contemplate wearing on laundry day or a few days past when laundry day should have been, and even then you dig up the dirty equivalent instead of wearing this bad purchase. No judgement, we've all been there.

My favorite thing to do when I get a closet filled with clutter is challenge myself to a game of "Make It Work" which involves taking these not so fabulous articles and creating fabulous outfits with them... the goal is to "Make It Work" and actually wear this bad purchase item at least one time. The idea is, if you dont fall in love with the item during that day, then you can freely give it back to your local thrift shop without any guilty feelings of, "I spent money on it and never even wore it."

I always have a get rid of bin, and after the "Make It Work" game, if I didn't "Make It Work" that day I will throw the item in the bin. This is a lovely way of supporting your community by donating your unwanted items to thrift shops that support local charities. I personally choose to not donate to Value Village, they are a for profit business that is currently suing Bob Ferguson the Attorney General of Washington  read more about this in the Seattle Times. From my understanding, Value Village has been falsely advertising to its customers, giving the impression that they are a non profit. They are a for profit business that pays a bulk price for items that have been donated to local charities. The charities receive a tiny percent compared to the huge profit gained by Value Village,  they are angry at the attorney general for requiring them to be transparent about their practices. However I believe that Bob Ferguson is trying to protect Washington citizens who donate to Value Village believing that their donations go to support charities, they do not! I happily support my local thrift shop or Goodwill as they provide job training and education for people in the community, which is a fabulous way of giving back locally.

Today I played the "Make It Work" game with two bad purchases. A dress I got recently, but when I got it home I realized it was too short and the sleeves are to baggy, ugh I just don't understand why I bought it. I also wore this maroon snowboarder hat I bought last winter. Today was the first time I have worn it. I actually ended up rescuing both items from the condemned clothing pile because my "Make It Work" outfit was fun, warm and comfortable.

Layers Save the Day

Fashion rescue kit... Long drapery sweater for added layers, black tights with yoga shorts to manage dress length issues and also to keep my tights up (fashionista secret), Matching legwarmers, and my inspiration piece for the day Juicy Couture mittens that I found brand new with the tags on for $5.99 at goodwill.

Inspiration Piece of the Day, juicy Couture Mittens found at Goodwill for $5.99