Any problem can be solved with a little ingenuity
- Macgyver
Before I left for Germany in 2010 I knew that I would be attending a wedding during my stay. I was on a very strict budget but had to find an appropriate outfit to wear.
I bought a pair of Ben Sherman pants on sale for $30 and the next step was finding an appropriate shirt. A visit to my mother's house led to the "borrowing" of a white shirt from my step-father. Sorted.
The downside to my $30 pair of pants was that they were slightly too long, but at the time, tailoring wasn't even a consideration. Things changed once I arrived in Europe and exposed myself to the men's fashion industry. Becoming aware of the rules of proportion, I came to the quick conclusion that my trousers needed hemming. But what could I do as an emergency short term solution?
I had no idea about tailoring, nor access to a sewing machine. Luckily I did know how to Google. Researching how to hem without using a machine or needle and thread gave me nothing, but like Macgyver, I came up with the idea of using double sided tape and blind pinning the hems. It wasn't ideal but it was the best that I could come up with at the time. Now I know better and these trousers have tailored professionally. Learning what proportions work for you makes a big difference.
