Stephen Libby’s Fashion Tips: How Your Local Dry Cleaner Can Transform Thrifted Clothes
We’ve all been there: you spot the perfect vintage jacket at the thrift store, you get it home, and the sleeves are wrong, the waist gapes, or the hem pools around your ankles. Most people just put it back in the donation pile. Stephen Libby, breakout star of The Traitors, has a different idea: take it to your dry cleaner instead.
The Realization That Changed How He Shops
Libby used to be strict about only buying secondhand pieces that fit him right off the rack. Then he discovered what a decent tailor (or even just his local dry cleaner) could actually do to a garment, and it changed everything. Take a pair of trousers he’d owned for years but never worn because they just didn’t sit right. A quick trip to get the hem shortened and the waist taken in about £20 and suddenly they were wearable again. Not bad for a fix that took less time than scrolling through another online shop. Once you stop treating “does it fit” as the deciding factor, thrifting opens right up. You can shop for the fabric, the cut, the colour, the feel of a piece and worry about the fit afterward.
Your Dry Cleaner Does More Than Press Suits
It’s easy to think of the dry cleaner as the place you drop off a stained shirt or a suit before a big event. But a lot of them quietly offer alterations too, taking in a waistband, shortening a hem often for a fraction of what a new garment would cost. This matters even more with vintage clothing, where sizing rarely lines up with how things are cut today. Libby points out that older trousers in particular tend to have generous hem allowances, which makes them easy to lengthen or shorten depending on what you need.
It’s Not Just Fixing It’s Restyling
Here’s where it gets interesting: alterations aren’t only about correcting a bad fit. Done right, they can genuinely reinvent a piece. A shirt can be reshaped, a jacket cropped, a jumpsuit reworked into something with an entirely different silhouette. Libby treats this as part of his styling process rather than a last resort. His advice is to find one alteration specialist you actually trust and stick with them, rather than bouncing between places or attempting a DIY fix that might ruin the garment.
The Sustainability Angle
There’s an obvious upside here beyond just personal style. Buying secondhand and actually keeping those pieces in rotation instead of letting ill-fitting finds gather dust cuts down on how often you need to buy something new. It’s very in line with Libby’s own relationship with clothes. His love of vintage, especially those loud 1970s-inspired looks that made him so memorable on The Traitors, comes from the fact that older pieces are often better made and more affordable than their modern equivalents; you just have to be willing to put in a little work to make them your own.
FAQs
Can a dry cleaner actually alter thrifted clothes?
Many do hemming trousers, adjusting waistlines though it depends on the shop, so it’s worth asking.
What’s easiest to tailor?
Trousers, shirts, jackets, and some dresses tend to be the most forgiving, depending on how they’re constructed.
Is it expensive?
Generally not. Simple jobs like hemming or taking in a waist usually cost far less than buying something new.
Why does Libby push this so much?
Because it frees you up to shop for what you love rather than limiting yourself to your exact size.
Does it actually help sustainability?
Yes, keeping clothes in use longer reduces the demand for constantly replacing them.
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