From color-your-own and converted-umbrella dresses to hoodies-turned-tote-bags and color-scanning sewing machines, a simple, clever and clearly-executed design concept can be as brilliant as the most fashion forward runway piece. See some cool and colorful prototypes first, or skip ahead to learn simple tricks and tips to turn your most ordinary, disused and abused clothes into one-of-a-kind wonders.

Inside the Lines: Self-Colored Convertible Outfits

Consider Berber Soepboer, who started with the most obvious of blank slates: a black-and-white base made to be filled in by the wearer with colored markers.

From that baseline, she has gone on to incorporate buttons, snaps and folds that allow each outfit to convert on the fly.

Wash, Rinse, Recolor: Color-Changing Dresses

For those afraid they might color outside of the lines, Fernando Brizio has an even simpler alternative. A series of simple pockets in these modest white outfits provide the basis for custom color schemes.

You can choose how to arrange the results by deciding which colors to slot in where, and watching them bleed outward to form patterns … then wash them out and start again.

Upcycled Apparel: Old Shirts to New Tops & Skirts

But what about your existing wardrobe? It turns out there is lot to be done on that front as well, like this series of old baggy shirts turned into stellar new tops and dresses by Mari Santos.

Step by step, she takes clothing items that would normally be destined for the dumpster (or at best: the thrift store) and makes dynamic new outfits from them.