Giving old clothes a second chance

I spent last week cleaning out old clothes from high school, college and the last year or two. They went into this big garbage bag I was going to drop off for donation.

I went through the bag again today and gave some of the donations a second chance.

What changed my mind? A lot of the items were tops but I couldn't find much at the time with. At the time I was wearing faded denim jeans that were too big and old. But when I bought dark Banana Republic bootcut jeans - some of the clothes including this dress came to life again.

Before you throw your clothes away for free or donation, try a few things:

- Examine the condition of the item. Are there holes or tears? If it's still in good condition, hold onto it before tossing. The top or bottom could go well with another item in the throw away pile.

- Try pairing the top if that's what going to the trash pile with a darker bottom such as black or dark rinsed jeans. Dark rinsed jeans are versatile enough with sweaters and other tops for a great outfit.

- Think in layers. This probably works for females more than males. If a top is slightly bigger than you expected, try layering it with another tank top inside. The layering gives the outfit a bit more edge.

- Sometimes it's also the psychology of your brain and how it reacts to that item. I pulled out a funky colored dress from high school and instantly it went into the donation pile. But I analyzed it some more - looked at the pattern, the fit and the style and soon it was back in my closet again.

- If the top or bottom doesn't go well with something you have on, try a different item. Try mixing and matching before deciding to throw the item away.

- Use accessories. If the top doesn't look right, try pairing it with a funky necklace or a funky belt. Sometimes all it takes is something bolder and different to make the item work.

How much did I spend updating an old dress? I had all the other accessories except for the jeans which I paid $30 for. Not too bad considering it could've ended up on some Goodwill store neglected.

I wore this dress several different ways:

For work - I wore it with black dress pants, a yellow cardigan and black sandals. No accessories because I was trying to keep it conservative.

Going out - Instead of black pants, I wore dark denim jeans, an orange cardigan, gold hoop earrings and black flip flops. Sometimes I'd wear it with a red patent belt for a dressier look.

Graduation party - It was sweltering outside my sister's graduation and wearing pants only made it worse. So I chose to wear it as a summer dress without pants and black heels.

Potluck - I also went the summer dress route but with flip flops.

For an old dress I wore it four different ways. And each outfit was put together with less than $50. The dress pants were $20 on sale, the orange cardigan $10 (bought it at one of those night markets during a study abroad trip in Asia), earrings were free (while in Austin during SXSW I found a postcard good for $25 to use at an upscale boutique. So I bought 5 earrings in different colors and styles.), the flip flops were $3 at Old Navy.