Have you ever noticed the distinct regional differences in certain words, phrases and sayings? Of course you have, and it’s probably no big deal to you.

To me, it’s fascinating.

Soda vs pop (it’s all Coke to me), standing ON line vs standing IN line, and my all time favorite, button-up shirt vs button-down shirt.

If I’m correct (which is doubtful), I think the correct shirt terminology lies in each individual’s actual habit of buttoning the shirt. Apparently East-coasters button their shirts starting at the top button and proceed down, and West-coasters start at the bottom button and proceed up.

I, on the other hand, start somewhere in the middle, and then proceed in a haphazard process from there. Usually resulting in several rebuttonings of the shirt due to that dreaded skipped button thing.

Moving on.

My life has been dominated by button-ups lately. I bought four of them at the thrift store last week, including a single chambray from 1970 that fits like a glove….and is light and breezy…and (get this) doesn’t need ironing…EVER! Whatever toxic material that 1970′s shirt is made from is pure heaven.

The reason I’m swimming in button-ups, is that I’ve taken on a very special project. After stumbling across this pin, I became a bit obsessed with repurposing oversized button-ups. It started with flannel, and has moved to pearl snaps and some real interesting (read: ugly) oversized women’s wear.

Check out the transformation:

This pretty puppy was a 3XL Timberland flannel. I don’t recommend trying to resize a men’s 3XL to a women’s small, but the result wasn’t terrible.

Here’s another flannel transformation, but no before photo. Sorry I’m a terrible blogger. This shirt was a men’s medium and was a much easier transformation. It literally fits like a glove. And the best thing about repurposing oversize clothes? You can make the shirts as long as you want, in case, like me, you’d like to cover up some of that junk in the trunk.

A full tutorial to come on this process! Also, some tips on where to thrift a chainsaw and workboots to complete the look. I swear I can see trends coming from a mile away.

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