This Woman's Upcycled Wardrobe Is So Dang Inspiring

    She’s saving money and the planet and also looks AMAZING while doing it.

    Terri Pous
    by Terri Pous

    BuzzFeed Staff

    This is Sarah Tyau, and her outfit — and pretty much every one she wears — is upcycled. That means she bought a used or deeply discounted garment and refashioned it into a custom, original design.

    Sarah Tyau / Via Instagram: @sarahtyau

    Tyau combs through thrift stores, clearances, yard sales, and her own closet to find clothing items she can reimagine into unique items for herself and her family.

    Sarah Tyau / Via ourlifeisbeautiful.com

    And yeah, she's pretty good at it.

    Sarah Tyau / Via ourlifeisbeautiful.com

    Her knack for reimagining clothes into new, original ones is so impressive that she's turned it into a popular blog, YouTube channel, Instagram, and Facebook page.

    Sarah Tyau / Via ourlifeisbeautiful.com

    She also plans to launch her own clothing line soon.

    Tyau started refashioning using her old clothes from her closet 10 years ago to save money and not have the clothes go to a landfill.

    Sarah Tyau / Via ourlifeisbeautiful.com

    According to the Council for Textile Recycling, the average person throws out 70 pounds of clothing annually. Tyau and her family try to be eco-conscious in other ways, too, by avoiding buying disposable water bottles, reducing their hot water usage at home, turning off all lights and electricity when not in use, insulating their home properly, and eating local foods. "We can all make changes instantly in our lives to make a difference," she said.

    But Tyau's design passion extends beyond sustainability. It's just one part of her philosophy of “look good, feel good, do good."

    Sarah Tyau / Via ourlifeisbeautiful.com

    "Refashioning or altering the clothes to fit the body I have right now helps me appreciate and love my body, just the way it is now, instead of putting a pause on body acceptance and healthy body image," she said.

    "And once you are wearing clothes that you love and you know makes you look good, you're able to stop worrying about what you look like, forget about yourself, and start focusing on helping others."

    Sarah Tyau / Via ourlifeisbeautiful.com

    Tyau is proof that you don't have to be an expert seamstress to be able to refashion — her design background is actually limited to one home ec class in junior high and high school.

    Sarah Tyau / Via ourlifeisbeautiful.com

    "Refashioning takes way less skill than making something from scratch because it's mostly just straight-stitching, while keeping the button holes, zippers, darts," she said.

    And if refashioning isn't your cup of tea, Tyau suggests buying more timeless, classic, high-quality pieces and mixing them with a few trendy pieces here and there, and not the other way around.

    Sarah Tyau / Via ourlifeisbeautiful.com

    "That way, you're not buying constantly to stay in trend, and constantly throwing the old, out of trend clothes away," she said. "Also, throw a clothing swap exchange with your neighbors, friends, or other groups!"

    And when being sustainable looks this cute, how can you resist?

    Sarah Tyau / Via ourlifeisbeautiful.com

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