Welcome back to Tubular Thrifting, I hope you have embraced the fact that the fall season is ending and winter is quickly approaching. With the weather getting colder, flannels are becoming more popular for people of all ages, but unfortunately they become more expensive as well. The easiest solution? Buying thrifted flannels for one-fourth of the price of regular flannels.

Flannels are by far one of the easiest and most interesting things to shop for when going to thrift stores. They seem to come in every color known to man and then some.

When I am styling a flannel, I typically center it around the color scheme. For example, if I have a green, red and white flannel, I will try to wear colors that are similar. Flannels can be worn buttoned up, unbuttoned, tied around your waist and sometimes as a dress if large enough.

Thanks to my dear friend and musician Simon Couch, my new personal favorite way to style a flannel is by not wearing it at all. Oddly enough, it is by transforming the flannel into a guitar strap. The best part is that stains and holes that you turn your nose up at do not matter because the only thing you truly need from the flannel is a sleeve and the portion where the buttons are slipped through. Now at first it sounds a bit far-fetched, but it is one of the most exciting things I have done with thrifted items.

If you are a musician that happens to need a strap for your instrument, you are well aware that the strap of your instrument is the main place you get to express yourself without playing music. It provides an opportunity for you to put some color into your performance, especially if your instrument is a generic tan color.

When choosing the flannel color to go along with your guitar, either stick to a theme or stand out. Since the guitar I have is a dark cherry red color, I decided to stick with the red and allow my guitar to draw attention to itself along with the flannel. However, if I felt the need to add more color, I could have used a green flannel with red undertones.

Turning a flannel into a guitar strap is one of the many ways to express yourself during your performance outside of the actual music. Do not be afraid to get creative with how you express yourself.

Stay thrifty,

Claire Boone