DIY: Tropical Shorts with Purse by ReBag

Karen

Sustainable Daisy: thrift shopping upcycling sustainable fashion eco friendly recycled clothes ecofashion picture imageSustainable Daisy: thrift shopping upcycling sustainable fashion eco friendly recycled clothes ecofashion picture imageThis week I’m excited to share a couple gems I came across, one being a pair of tropical shorts that I snipped up and re-hemmed for $3. The other is this inventive bag that’s been repurposed from a pair of pants!

First let’s back up; last week a really creative company called ReBag approached me to try out and feature one of their repurposed bags. I’m all about repurposing and upcycling, so I was excited to try it out! Yi Wang, designer and founder of ReBag, explained to me that factories often overproduce their inventory leading to surplus supplies. Her company takes the inventory (in this case, brightly colored jeans), and repurposes them into bags. Since the bag is obviously repurposed, Yi explained that using these secondhand fabrics in your wardrobe can help inspire people to yield unique perspectives towards fashion.

Sustainable Daisy: thrift shopping upcycling sustainable fashion eco friendly recycled clothes ecofashion picture imageShe explained that refashioning is a transition to current fashion, not a compromise. By rocking a repurposed bag you’re making a statement and impact in the fashion world. It’s a conversation starter, an eye-catcher, and it definitely has a story behind it.

I think it’s fun too, because you might turn some heads or get a smile from it. It’s a great way to spark an interest in others towards the value and imaginability of repurposed fashion.

Additionally, ReBag collaborates with Friend Shanghai, an international group that runs hand-crafted projects to build kitchens and schools in rural China, who in return help make ReBag clutches. You can also give ReBag a follow on Instagram and Twitter to stay updated with their mission and upcoming styles.

The bag is very well-made, spacious, and comes in lots of bright colors and florals. The lime green bag matches perfectly with my newly purchased shorts, so I thought together they’d make a great pair.

These shorts were originally long in length, but I loved the 6 button detailing and the pleated front, so I decided to pick them up for an easy three bucks and tailor them to fit my body. Follow along for a quick and easy DIY:

Sustainable Daisy: thrift shopping upcycling sustainable fashion eco friendly recycled clothes ecofashion picture image
Materials: Scissors, thread, needle, fabric glue, trim, clips.
DIY tropical shorts
Step 1: Cut desired length from the hem. You can use a ruler, but I eye-balled it to the approximate length I wanted. Don’t cut as much as your ideal length, because you will fold the hem which will take off an additional 1/2 inch (i.e. Steps 2-3). After cutting both sides, I folded the shorts to make sure the cuts were even.
DIY tropical shorts
Step 2: Turn the shorts inside out and fold over about a 1/2 inch of the hem inside. Sewing this hem will give the shorts a clean edge and reduce likelihood of fraying. To make sewing easier (and to avoid using pins), iron the folded hem flat.
DIY tropical shorts
Step 3: Sew the hem!
Sustainable Daisy: thrift shopping upcycling sustainable fashion eco friendly recycled clothes ecofashion picture image
Step 4: (Optional) Add trim. I decided to skip this part, but if you’d like to add some pazazz, line up a trim! You can sew it or use fabric glue and use clips to help hold the trim in place. For clarification, take a quick look at my Betsey Johnson post. 🙂

Sustainable Daisy: eco friendly sustainable fashion upcycling recycled clothes blog

83 thoughts on “DIY: Tropical Shorts with Purse by ReBag”

  15. Lovely shorts, I like the bag too, ao pretty. My daughter just got a sewing machine from her grandma, so I’ll be sharing this post with her to see if we can make a pair of shorts together. Thanks for liking my post on the home made Calamine After Sun.

    Reply

  16. Lovely shorts, I like the bag too, ao pretty. My daughter just got a sewing machine from her grandma, so I’ll be sharing this post with her to see if we can make a pair of shorts together. Thanks for liking my post on the home made Calamine After Sun.

    Reply

  29. Hi! I nominated you for the Liebster award because I absolutely adore your blog and love your sense of style and commitment to sustainability. Im sorry if you’ve been nominated previously, but check it out at tomorrowliving.me. You’re rad, keep up the awesome blogging! Aimee xx

    Reply

  30. Hi! I nominated you for the Liebster award because I absolutely adore your blog and love your sense of style and commitment to sustainability. Im sorry if you’ve been nominated previously, but check it out at tomorrowliving.me. You’re rad, keep up the awesome blogging! Aimee xx

    Reply

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    Reply

  32. Hi friend, I just nominated you for the Love/Hate tag. Please check out my post for more details! Enjoy!

    Reply

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