Hi Lindsey,

I’m glad to hear this challenge inspired you! Yes, dressmaking is a tedious task, but a great skill! Nevertheless, you’ll be sure to find some great tailors all around town – there are many in Orchard and Little India. All of them can do simple alterations like taking in the waist or bringing up a hem without charging too much. However, if you want to drastically transform some of your pre-loved clothes, you’ll need to go to someone more experienced (and more pricey). Just remember to bring some inspiration – like photos or even something you already own, and discuss with the tailor what is possible.

With the circuit breaker keeping us at home a lot of the time, you could even pick up a new hobby like hand embroidery to do visible mending. There are plenty of resources available online in the form of video tutorials or step-by-step how-to’s, as well as socially-distanced crafty workshops (we have a shoemaking one soon at ZERRIN).

Hope this was useful, and we’re excited to see your upcycling crafts if you post them on Facebook or Instagram – tag us @zerrin_com.

Cheers!

It’s our pleasure Susanna, thank you so much for letting us know your thoughts. Please share with anyone you think would find it enlightening!

I recently co-wrote a very similar piece on medium (account BacktoZero). I’ll definitely be looking out for more pieces by you, Durva. I love reading pieces by like-minded individuals! 😊