Lynch's first transformation on November 27, 2009

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—There are a scant few of us who don't get a little bit of a high when we put on a new shirt, dress, or pair of pants. But let's face it, in this economy, new clothes are an indulgence few of us can, or want to, spend money on.

Unless you're Marisa Lynch, a blogger living in Southern California who decided to put her sartorial skills to the ultimate test. For the past year, she's been spending $1 a day on thrift store dresses, some of which are truly atrocious, and turning them into chic, trendy outfits that look nothing like the originals. Not only has she managed to get hundreds of new outfits for mere bucks, but she’s also kept a lot of clothing out of landfills and chemicals normally applied to clothing out of waterways.

Lynch has been chronicling her experiment on a blog titled "New Dress a Day", and on Day 311 of her experiment, with 54 days to go and $56 left to spend, she talked with Rodale.com about her project and how even the least-experienced sewer can learn how to alter clothes to turn them from secondhand cast-offs into fashionable garb.

Rodale.com: Where did you normally go shopping before you started this project?

Marisa Lynch: I've always been the bargain-shopping type. Marshall's, TJ Maxx, that's where I had the most fun, scouring through the aisles and trying to find the things that suited me most. I was never the type to spend hundreds of dollars on things, but I loved going shopping.

But vintage has always been a huge part of my wardrobe. Part of what I loved about this project was the whole process of going to thrift stores, going to garage sales, and taking pieces that people are ready to toss and giving them new live. That element is very exciting for me, plus the idea of using pieces that might not look like anything you'd see in a store now. And for other people to see they can do this too is really cool.

Rodale.com: What gave you the idea to do this?

Lynch: The whole thing started in the summer of 2009. I got laid off from my job and was getting ready to turn 30. So I was sort of in this "what am I doing with my life?" crisis. One day, I went to see the movie Julie and Julia (a movie about a woman who cooks her way through the Julia Child cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and blogs about it), and I left feeling like this woman had brought happiness and inspiration to her life through food. I wanted to feel that inspired.

Sewing was always something I'd done for fun but I never made it priority. And having just gotten laid off, I wanted to put myself first and do things that made me feel creative. But knowing that I'd be on a fixed budget with unemployment and wouldn't be able to go shopping—I didn't want to live feeling like I couldn't do things that made me feel good about myself. So I got the idea for this project. I'd still feel good while still being completely budget conscious.