Wah! While getting dressed this morning, I discovered a big hole in my favorite linen top. The fabric disintegrated where my right arm rubs against the side of my body. I’m not surprised given how frequently I wear this top. I bought it pre-owned about one year ago. It’s been an every day staple in my closet since. I wore it on it’s own in the summer and under sweaters in the winter. Sad to see it go, but it lived a good life. I hate the idea of wasting precious linen fabric though… trying to think of ways to repurpose the material. Any ideas?
I kept my color palette light today. I was initially hesitant about pairing a cool toned white with a warm toned white, but after snapping this OOTD photo, I think it actually looks OK.
So I emailed Everlane to complain about the button on my winter puffer falling apart and they very graciously offered to replace it with the newer version. They are letting me keep my old puffer until the new one comes in after I told them that I only had one winter jacket and couldn’t go a single day without one. Once the new one comes in, I’ll send back the old one. I guess they want to inspect it. Overall I liked the old puffer. The design is good, but aside from the button falling off, I didn’t like how the loose fabric around the zipper would get jammed into the zipper. This happened a few times and resulted in me crawling out of my zipped up puffer to take it off. Then I had to yank at the fabric to free up the zipper. This never tore the fabric but it caused me to be very slow and cautious whenever zipping up which became a daily annoyance. It looks like the new version has the fabric stitched down flat around the zipper to prevent this from happening. My old puffer was the first generation winter puffer made by Everlane, and it seems like the newer versions have a lot of upgrades, like a larger hood, fleeced lined pockets, better insulation, etc… so I’m looking forward to being able to compare them.
When I logged onto the Everlane website to make the complaint, I found out I had $125 in store credit that I had forgotten about! I hadn’t logged in for many weeks. I combed the entire website looking for something to buy with that credit, but honestly I didn’t want anything. I did want a more functional wallet though, and spent a lot of time debating over the zip up square wallet. It isn’t exactly what I want, especially since the black one was sold out, but it’s good enough, so I went ahead and bought the silver colored one with store credit. Silver is a little crazy for me. But we’ll see… I’ll let ya’ll know what I think when it comes in. Stay tuned!
[outfit: old zara knit sweater (5+ years old), pre-owned black crane corduroy carpenter pants, arizona birkenstocks]
Dr. it girl 
Maybe you could fashion a few handkerchiefs out of the shirt? I don’t use them too often, but I like a hankie for my occasional allergy induced watery eyes, or to dab my mouth after a meal. Linen on the face feels so very cooling.
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that’s a great idea! I always wanted linen napkins.
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Can you try to darn the hole and thinning area with an interesting pattern? Maybe with gold or silver thread? I’m thinking applying the wabi sabi theory could be pretty cool. 🙂
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great idea.. only problem is I wouldn’t want to draw attention to that area (it’s around my side boob/arm pit).
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I like the handkerchief idea! When I decommission cotton or other soft fabrics, I usually just cut them up to use for cleaning around the house… but now I have an entire drawer full of “rags” that should last for several years. I need to figure out something else to do with non-salvageable clothes.
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impressive rag drawer!
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Yay! So glad Everlane is replacing your puffer. Do you ever pull your hair back with a headband? You could repurpose the top into a cute hair wrap. There may even be enough fabric remaining to make a pillow or tote/produce bag.
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i like the produce bag idea! instead of using the plastic ones in the produce section. especially since the fabric is so delicate and breathable. this might be a winner!
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Oh no about your top! I also have a beloved old piece I want to repurpose (in my case, a floral-printed dress), though because I have only the super-bare minimum of sewing skills, I might not be able to do anything useful with it.
It’s good that Everlane will replace your puffer! My first down jacket that I bought when I moved here, during my first year of law school (I thought, for about half of winter, that I could make do with layering under a wool-blend coat, but I was so wrong) had the fabric-stuck-in-zipper problem, and in hindsight, I’m not sure how I endured it! Every time I zipped it up I felt like I was playing Russian roulette, whether this time I’d get stuck in my coat need to crawl out, and be unable to get back into it. It only actually got stuck maybe 3-4 times a season, usually when I wasn’t paying attention while zipping up, but the danger felt real every time. Someone online suggested applying chapstick to the zipper right above where it got stuck, and then working it up and down a bit – that usually worked to help get me unstuck.
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my sewing skills are non existent too.. i’ve debated learning how to sew but the idea of buying a sewing machine and all those tools was overwhelming.. i’d probably not do it enough to make it worth it. I freaked out the first time the zipper thing happened to me and tried all sorts of ways to remove it, but i found that yanking the fabric perpendicular to the zipper was the best way (even though this seemed like the most risky technique).
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Have you thought about doing a cute patch in a similar palette over the bare spot on your linen top? Sort of like the Japanese idea of ‘boro’ that bridge & burn have going on right now. Also very cool that Everlane will send you a new puffer. I reviewed a couple and loved them, though I don’t really need it living in Cali so I sent it back.
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that’s a good thought, but I don’t think I could wear anything with patches to work.. that would be something I’d do for denim though. i liked your review.. When I move back to Cali, I’ll probably keep the puffer but never wear it.. for the rare occasion that I might travel somewhere cold like Alaska or Canada. If I had more than one though, I’d only keep one.
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Yea you definitely don’t need more than one puffer here!
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My mom especially buys linen to store beans, lentil etc. She says it’s good for them to breathe, and she hates the plastic packaging. You can cut off the sleeves, sew the bottom and use clips for the top. Produce bag to bring to the shops is also a good idea.
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that’s true a lot of produce do need to breath.. especially to keep the moisture out
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I love the different white on white tones in that outfit. It looks great.
That’s really impressive Everlane is going to give you a new jacket. Maybe they’ve stepped up their customer service.
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Perhaps. I did a lot of explaining in my e-mail. I don’t think they would have replaced it without the level of detail I went into. But generally the customer service has been nice and responsive in my experience.
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