Make do and mend: how to successfully restore old clothes (there’s a website for that)
Photo: Claire Pepper. My leather jacket looking like new again after a trip to the Clothes Doctor
For my 50th Birthday Mr TNMA bought me this lovely Isabel Marant Étoile leather jacket in a gorgeous midnight blue. Unfortunately, after a few months the shine had well and truly come off my biker. I don’t mind leather getting beaten up and changing with age, that’s all part of the charm – I just wish I could go grey as quickly as the sleeves on this jacket (see below). Obviously the dye wasn’t colour fast and so I took the jacket back to the shop, to be told by an assistant that it was supposed to look like that. Er, what, like it cost a tenner from Camden Market? I don’t think so. Suffice to say, I wouldn’t recommend buying a more-shabby-than-chic leather jacket from Isabel Marant.
Anyhow. Even though the colour had faded beyond recognition and I no longer wanted to wear my birthday jacket, I couldn’t part with such an expensive piece. Particularly as it was a special gift for a significant birthday. So the faded biker has spent the best part of the last seven years languishing at the back of my wardrobe. I still hadn’t figured out what to do with it, when I received an email from the Clothes Doctor, a platform for mending, restoring and repairing clothes. Would I like to try out one of their services? You bet! The Clothes Doctor will see you now, I said to my poor biker….
That’s Not Midnight Blue
Founded in 2017 by Lulu O’Connor, Clothes Doctor aims to help customers extend the life of their clothes. Offering a range of services; everything from zip replacements and fixing tears or holes to re-lining old coats and jackets. The team are on a mission to give old clothes a new lease of life, to encourage the slow fashion movement and limit the amount of stuff that ends up in landfill.
Leather restoration costs from £42, I simply posted my jacket to an expert in Cornwall and it was returned ready to wear. The transformation is incredible. No more ‘fade to grey’. It’s a successful dye job. My jacket looks as good as new and now I can wear it again without feeling scruffy and disgruntled.
If you have an item that needs repairing, you can email the Clothes Doctor for a quote. The company sells eco-friendly clothing care products, which are all made in the UK, using all natural and vegan-friendly ingredients as well as zero waste packaging. Also available on Net-A-Porter.
Aged 50, in New York. Berfore the fade. Photo: Denton Taylor
There’s a feature here on other websites offering fashion repair and restoration services. Have you tried any?
Other ways to care for and repair clothes:
This is not an advertisement but the Clothes Doctor did restore my jacket free of charge. Please note that affiliate links used may gain a small commission for That’s Not My Age.
Discussion (39 Comments)
bev says:
Blimey – Isabel Marant not quite so ‘etoile-y’ with this jacket. Not good PR from them at all. Tant pis attitude won’t get them very far. So pleased that you now have the fab jacket back to rights, especially now that we are advised to look after, mend, repair etc. our clothing. (Yes, the Orsola de Castro book resonates hard with me!).
Evelyn Squadrille says:
You look fabulous in your “ new” leather jacket! What a clever, thoughtful , responsible idea to restore your jacket…you save money and our planet! You are definitely a SUPERSTAR!!!
Wilma says:
This is fantastic information thanks Alyson. Your leather jacket looks as good as new.
Lola says:
Cor! that’s awful (IM shop assistant). Hope IM gets wind of this and you get a new jacket and an apology. Still, Well done Clothes Doctor.
Love this service!! I’m gathering up details of anyone that does this type of thing.
I used the “Love Cashmere Care Service” to repair a moth hole in my jumper. I was going to post a reel on Instagram showing it but they’ve temporarily halted doing it!
I can’t bear that “couldn’t care less” attitude from shop staff – whatever happened to the customer is always right!????
Ciclochick says:
Be careful with Clothes Doctor. Their darning skills are second to none. They’ve darned a few items for me,nd it’s taken, quite literally, six attempts to find the area they’ve darned when I’ve received the item back. Absolutely brilliant. But they’ve shortened two dresses for me (I sent them both at the same time, otherwise, I wouldn’t have had two casualties). The stitching of the hemline on one was appalling, crooked isn’t even the word. I complained, they apologised, and redid it. But in undoing what they’d done, they tore the fabric and then tried to hide it with mending fabric. On closer examination of the other dress, the hem stitching was the same. I didn’t dare complain. So my advice is: don’t get them to shorten your clothes.
Oh dear, sorry to hear about your experience and your two ruined dresses and thank you for letting me know. Sounds like they have a good system for repairing clothes but not for alterations…
Nicola says:
That jacket looks fabulous. I wouldn’t really want the ‘before’ but I’m very envious of the ‘after’. Shame on IM for such poor service – apart from anything else, I wouldn’t want a jacket that loses dye like that. Imagine wearing it with white jeans or sitting on a pale couch in it- I’d be constantly stressed about it transferring marks. I have a once navy silk shirt that I missed the ‘dry clean only’ label on until after I had worn it. I weighed up my options and decided to hand wash it and have concluded the only reason it is labeled thus is because the dye is not stable. It is now my mid blue silk shirt. It’s still quite nice and spends more time on my back than languishing at the bottom of the laundry basket waiting to go the cleaners but it was expensive and I’m annoyed the maker didn’t fix the dye rather than lazily applying a dry clean only label and therefore passing the problem on to the consumer ( and the planet).
Jax says:
It’s abhorrent that your husband spent so much on the IM leather jacket for it to age like that (not in a good way).
On another note, love your long earrings! Fun and elegant.Betty says:
I have the same earrings!! (The ones in the newer picture). You have given me a whole new idea on what to wear them with. Good news about the jacket, terrible service from IM.
Angela Blair says:
I remember you posting about getting that jacket! I’m not surprised by the staff in Isabel Marant, the whole “Karen” thing seems to be invoked to make women think twice about complaining even when its totally justified. That colour should have stayed put for years, but it looks lovely now.
Isn’t it a pity that mending , alterations & repairs are not taught in schools? They were not even in my day . As a grammar-type school we concentrated on academic stuff but had token sewing & cooking classes (because we were girls) which were utterly useless . My mother wondered why we didn’t learn how to cut down on time by choosing simple patterns , a friend’s mother why we weren’t taught how to buy meat instead of doing endless cakes ! Anything I learned about mending etc. I learned from my mother or my experience eg darning is almost always a waste of time because 1) a hole which appears from wear will happen again , 2) socks/stockings/tights usually need darning where the darned bit will rub and give you blisters . Re-purpose them for other uses . As to leather , I recommend http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk . They do colour restorers as well as protective products not just for leather covered furniture but clothes and shoes as well . When I found them they were also doing a postal service but have probably suspended it because of the pandemic – of course they might have re-started it . In any case they have a very informative website .
Elizabeth says:
Jacket looks beautiful now it’s restored and the comment from IM that it was supposed to look like that is fatuous and unhelpful. However blue dye is very unstable and it may well have been designed to fade – which looks fine on a 25 year old but sad on more mature ladies. Luckily I have all the drsssmaking and mending skills so can take responsibility for my own clothes.
Helen Long says:
Love the before and after photos of you, Alyson – it is hard to spot that you have aged at all in 7 years!
Angela says:
I found someone fairly local who restores leather handbags. I had an expensive handbag ruined by water years ago but couldn’t bear to part with it (but too shabby to use). For £45 it now looks like new.
Elizabeth says:
Amazing difference in your jacket.. Well done Clothes Doctor.
Do you or anyone else know where one can buy cashmere elbow patches? My cashmere tends to go on the elbows.
Some of the more expensive makes, Brora and Johnston’s of Elgin, will fit patches at a price, but with other makes I have it is not on offer. Surely some enterprising person must have thought of buying charity shop cashmere and making it into patches?Try Nearly New Cashmere. They are a brilliant company based in the Yorkshire Dales.
https://www.nearlynewcashmere.co.uk/collections/accessories2/style_patches?sort_by=best-sellingYes! Try Nearly New Cashmere. They are a brilliant company based in the Yorkshire Dales. Look under Accessories on their website.
https://www.nearlynewcashmere.co.uk/P.S. They have cashmere elbow patches in lots of colours; also star and heart shapes in various sizes to repair holes in the body or sleeves’ of a jumper or cardigan.
Sally Nolan says:
Oh I’m so pleased to have read your post. I have a 30+ year old grey cashmere v-neck jumper – elbowless! I shall order some elbows staightaway.
theresa lasalle says:
Girl….smiling here…you look great….so very cool..and comfortable in your skin.
Be good to yourself.
TheresaRozzy says:
I have a much loved leather bucket bag which my husband bought for me at least 25 years ago. Because I have put everything , including the kitchen sink in it over the years, the crossbody strap wore through where it was attached to the bag on one side. A local cobbler repaired it cheaply but now the other side has nearly gone, I thought I would contact a specialist handbag restorer. I sent photos asking how much a new strap would be & was quoted £199!
I think I will try a saddler….Mrs Tonia says:
Such a useful article. I especially liked the before and after photos of the Isabel Marant jacket. And the new iteration of still wearing it now with dangling diamanté. A cool styling trick but useful for sprucing up older clothing to look more now. As in your Telegraph article today of adding necklaces and other costume jewellery or real stuff to enhance basic clothing.
I had a few pieces of IM clothing way back. A raw silk gingham tunic top shrank so much I ended up giving to my niece who was delighted with it.
I like the idea very much as is clear from
My writing earlier about mending and darning workshops of Keeping well loved and expensive special garments going. Loved Clothing Lasting Indeed.
Fortunately I can do my own repairs and alterations myself. But handy to know about this business for repairing leather.
I’m planning on fixing a leather handbag strap myself with special leather needles a thimble and extra strong waxed thread from my sewing kits.
Thanks for bringing this information to our attention.
Apart from the products show here I have had great success using Brora cashmere wash to hand wash all of my silk scarves and blouses and dresses. A light wash. Hung over shower on hanger to dry. A light press under a cotton tea towel. No chemicals, no dry cleaning bills, great results.Ali says:
Really interesting about blue dye being unstable and fading. In my motorcycle days I had a beautiful blue leather jacket from Belstaff, bought it in 1978! Had it for 30 years, it didn’t fade or transfer…..!!!
That’s good to hear, Ali. I’ve heard this about blue dye before but my jacket faded so quickly, they still had it in the shop when I went back…
K says:
IM attitude: so very Parisienne shop assistant. Usually you just have to laugh…not at those prices, tho!!!
This outfit really suits you Alyson , despite unfortunate outcome at the start.
I always rely on my local dry cleaners ( usually Cypriot) for repairs and alterations
to my clothing, and have been very satisfied with their skilled work, though I have not
had any experience of leather restoration yet.Sally-Anne Barrett says:
I recently used the Handbag Spa in Harrogate to repair and restore a mulberry Bayswater. I had been intending to give it to a charity shop as it had nearly 15 years of constant wear and travel. They repaired it, re did the leather piping , stiffened the flap , sorted out the stitching and handles and sent it back looking and smelling new. Yes it was approx£225 but I have a brand new bag and hopefully 15 more years of wear. The service was second to non.
Suryb says:
Thanks again for another brilliant tip! I am wearing an old leather jacket that I love and noticed how tired it was looking. I was just thinking about how I could spruce it up and just like that your email appeared like magic!
Helen says:
My Mum was a professional alteration hand so all me and my sisters’ clothes fitted beautifully. And she made everything because that was so much cheaper as well. But there were plenty of times when all I wanted was a dress from the market like my friends of course.
The other day I took a lovely Icebreaker Merino wool sports top to have the zip replaced and it was turned away. They couldn’t get long zips and it was a tricky job they said. I really miss my Mum. Think I’ll have a go…
Janie says:
I have a wonderful navy leather biker jacket from M&S. It’s beautifully made and the colour is still like new after several years of wear.
You’ve just reminded me that I have a beautiful navy leather shirt from Hobbs (last year) that hasn’t changed colour at all!
AK says:
It looks just beautiful on you.
I gained Covid weight and can no longer wear several of my leather jackets. They probably can’t fix that…
Danish Pastry says:
I get that some items are designed to fade, this should be clearly stated on the label (and maybe repeated at checkout), but there is fading gracefully, and there is fading beyond all recognition. Most of us don’t mind patina on our clothes, but in a good kind of way!
I have had my leather jacket for 7 years, and it is without doubt, my most worn piece! Is has signs of wear, but in a good way (apart from the edges of the cuffs where the colour has worn off slightly, but I’ll be able to rectify this myself). So great that you didn’t part with your jacket as it looks amazing after it’s revamp – hope it stays looking this good for many years and even more wears.
June Walton 
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Love hearing about a business that can help us keep our clothes looking good for longer. Terrible that it needed doing, not a great advert that it changed colour and tone so completely. Will follow Clothes Doctor on the ‘gram.
Also, yesterday I thought about you and the effect TNMA has had upon myself and others in getting older, stylishly. I passed several women around my age (57) I estimated, who looked so good. In terms of style, hair and confidence. What a game changer it is to know that we can look even better as we age. Thank you Alyson.