My name is Amanda and I upcycle.

I love wearing other people's clothes.

I do. I know it's odd, but I love it. Other people's clothes always fit better, feel comfier, and just generally seem better than my own duds.

Friends of appropriate size who leave items in my car or loan me something to sleep in or... you get the idea... should consider themselves very lucky to ever see those items again.

I'm a black hole for your clothing. You've been warned.

I'm not sure that I've ever told April about this, but she must have picked up on it at some point. Because one day while she was doing laundry, she crossed the hall to the kitchen where I was loading the dishwasher and said, "I brought you these pants."


Immediately, I knew I loved the blue, white, and black striped pants. I washed my hands, picked up the pants she'd tossed on the kitchen table and began my inspection. They were broken in without being ragged. They were within my three size range. They reminded me of an old Southern gentleman's suit.

As she continued to sort the wash - jeans over here, undershirts over there - she interrupted my musings to add, "I used to wear those to church."

Well. That did it. I tried them on right then and there in the kitchen.


And they fit.


From the back, one might even say they fit well.

But there was a fly in the ointment that both April and I noticed right away. The hand-me-down pants were... too short?! April's got several inches on me... so... my April-in-church mental image shifted to include extreme highwaters, or at least a shorter, younger version of April. I'm purposefully sticking with the latter.

So... hmm. The pants are comfy enough that they could be lounge-around pants, but they are cute enough that they should see a larger audience. What to do? What to do?

I've been thinking about this predicament for over a month. Probably two, actually.

Well... this morning, it hit me like an Oprah Aha! moment.

Shorts. Shorts are hard to buy, hard to fit, and just generally... not my favorite thing. So what do I have to lose by making pants I can't wear into shorts I just might?

Answer: Nothing!


After trying on the pants again and doing some figuring, I hacked off one pant leg, just above the knee.


I used the reject part of leg one to cut leg two to be the same length.

I tried them on again...


and started to get excited! It was working!

But while Bermuda shorts are nice and have their own time and place, I had something a bit... fancier in mind for April's cast offs. I cuffed them a few times...


and hit them with the iron.

I tzsujed the look by adding jewelry, red lipstick, nude heels, and a coyly sheer white tee.


To say that I'm deliriously pleased with the result would be pretty accurate.

Pin up style shorts from my soft butch bff's church pants. I've been smiling all day.

Now... since April is in basic training at the moment, she has no idea that I took the scissors to her pants. You, um... think she'll mind?