Making Something Old, New Again
By: Katrina Irwin
Updated: October 26, 2012
Every bride knows they need something old, new, borrowed, and blue.
Jill Bates has got the "old" part covered. "I had a person come to me 25 years ago and she wanted to wear her mom's dress and I said sure why not," says Bates.
That's when she started re-purposing old wedding gowns so that modern brides would wear them. "I just really enjoyed it, appreciated it, loved the fact that what's old is new again and started promoting it a little more," says Bates.
Jill Bates Fashion really took off after that.
"I do a lot with accessories too. Even though it doesn't take a whole lot of fabric, it's special to think oh that's a part of my grandma's dress and she's wearing it in her hair," says Bates.
"I've created quilts out of t-shirts. A lot of people are familiar with that. I've created a program to show people how to make scarves out of t-shirts," says Bates.
She likes the idea that she is helping to preserve something sentimental. But at the same time knows all of the scraps that are saved, can really add up. 12 million tons of textile waste is generated in North America each year.
"Will one dress make a big difference, no. But will a lot of them, yes," says Bates.
