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"Other than the move, and the amazing new thrift stores, my following on TikTok and IG has grown immensely. I went from about 10k on IG this time last year to 116k and from 100k to 850k on TikTok! It has been an amazing ride my and has opened up some great opportunities. I’m just trying to keep inspiring people to thrift and upcycle!" Caitlin detailed to Bored Panda exactly how much her following has increased in just a year's time.
I was curious to find out whether the Covid-19 pandemic makes it more difficult to go thrifting. Thankfully, things are looking up in Hawaii!
"Hawaii has really stringent Covid policies, so shopping is still the same as it has been. The biggest issue is that none of our dressing rooms have reopened!" the dress designer said.
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Caitlin also shared some advice for all of you Pandas who might want to follow in her footsteps. "Advice as far as social media: find your niche and stick with it! You never know what will resonate with people," she said.
Meanwhile, if you'd like to learn how to sew, you need to take into account that a lot of the stuff that you'll create at the start might not be up to your standards. "More than half of the things you make when you first start will be hot garbage, and that’s OK. It’s part of the process! Keep choosing projects that will challenge you."
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Caitlin is a mom to three kids and a military spouse. She’s always had a penchant for crafts and a passion for vintage clothes.
It was during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, when pretty much everyone was locked down at home, that she decided to do something new with all the extra time she had on her hands. That’s when she started breathing new life into vintage thrift store clothes. Fabulous? Crafty? Inspired? We think so!
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Her new project became a roaring success almost instantly. Currently, she has over 116k followers on Instagram, as well as a whopping 857.2k adoring fans on TikTok. That’s nearly a million followers put together! She’s also received a jaw-dropping 17.5 million likes over on TikTok so far. We’ve absolutely no doubt that this number’s only going to go up.
It’s no wonder her (re)designs are getting so much attention online: they’re eye-catching and they’re huge improvements over the base vintage dress models that Caitlin picked up thrifting.
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A bit over a year ago, my colleague Rokas spoke to Caitlin about her project. At the time, she told Bored Panda that she began sewing 7 years ago (just over 8 years ago if you’re reading this in the Autumn of 2021!) and had started with quilting.
"I just started really experimenting with clothing this year! When quarantine hit, I had a ton of time to practice and make a bunch of projects,” she shared with Bored Panda in 2020.
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Thrifting and vintage items have always been near and dear to Caitlin’s heart, for a variety of reasons. “Not only does it obviously save money, but being able to reuse and up-cycle things is great for our environment. Beyond that, I love the thrill of the hunt! I have found some really amazing pieces along the way,” she told Bored Panda.
Caitlins’s always keeping an eye out for unique outfits with transformation-friendly materials when considering her next redesign.
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"Embroidery, a fun vintage print, embellishments, or anything else that could make a garment special. Then, I analyze the material -- am I going to be able to manipulate this? Is it going to fight me? The last thing I look at is closures: buttons and zippers, all that stuff. I need to make sure they can be moved or altered to fit my ideas,” she explained her thought process while out ‘hunting’ for thrift store treasures.
The seamstress usually sets herself a limit of $10 per item when out thrifting. You might think it would be difficult to find something for that amount, however, thrift store prices are often very customer friendly.
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For example, Caitlin went into detail about how the dresses at the local Goodwill where she used to live were a mere $4 each. Evening dresses were slightly pricier, at $6 while skirts were just $3. However, prices were slightly higher at The Salvation Army.
After buying the dresses that she wants to transform, she then uses some of her budget on various other materials that she might need. From buttons and thread to zippers and closures. Then, she takes everything home and starts weaving her magic. The result? Stunning before-and-after photos that any seamstress would be proud to show off.
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