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Urban Outfitters-Renewable Outfits

You might know Urban Outfitters for its eclectic clothing collections aimed at skinny-jeans teens or for its kitschy-cool home furnishings. But mixed in with the outspoken T-shirts and the bright Bohemian bedspreads are trendy pieces made from found metal and vintage garments. The Urban Renewal clothing line for women includes denim bags made from overalls, dresses made from fabric discovered in a London warehouse, and babydoll tops stitched from vintage Western shirts. "For fall, we are focused on lots of plaid, using old men's shirts to make women's dresses," says company spokeswoman Kiley Baun. "We even use the scraps of fabric that are left over to make jewelry."

That thrifty yet stylish aesthetic also pops up in U.O.'s home furnishings collection. Magazines get new life as colorful mirror frames; scrap metal and tin are transformed into lanterns and picture frames. Last year, the company moved its headquarters from Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia to a group of historic buildings in a decommissioned navy yard. They recycled and repurposed much of what they found, including cubbies where engineers once kept blueprints. Now, they hold a new generation of hip designs.

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