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Tight collars

You paid a lot for that good dress shirt and now the collar's too tight. No, you haven't put on weight. “It happens to every shirt,” says Nick Fazzari who, with his father, Salvatore, runs Toronto's Collar Magic. “There are millions of shirts out there that can't be worn because the collars shrink over time,” he says.

But there's no need to throw out a perfectly good shirt. Send it to a specialty business such as Collar Magic (www.collarmagic.com) that can restore the collar to its original size. Fazzari won't say how they do it; that's a secret, but he will say it's a “tailoring procedure.” For $15.75 a shirt, the Fazzaris will adjust the collar, launder and hand-press the garment.

Chair caning

That old chair frame is good, but the woven seat is toast. A seat weaver such as Toronto's Donna Kim (www.eoyseat.com) can help. She specializes in restoring cane, rush and wicker chair seats.

“I weave to perfection,” says Kim, who describes her work as a “craft” and charges $76 and up.

If yours doesn't seem worth that much, consider fixing it yourself. Lee Valley Tools (www.leevalley.com) sells an array of seat caning materials. And books, such as The Complete Guide to Chair Caning by Jim Widess ($24.95), are available through www.amazon.com.

Dented silver

With the price of silver soaring, it's time to consider fixing those battered platters and dented urns your aunt left you. A silver expert is the place to go. Lorne McGowan, manager of Birks in Toronto (www.birks.com), says the store will replate, hammer out dents, solder and repair everything from old trophies to silver salt cellars. “Some people are doing very well selling in the secondary market,” he says. One caveat: McGowan says the silver replating process is not environmentally sound.

Foggy crystal

If your best crystal has gone cloudy from hard water and the chemicals in your dish detergent, it can be salvaged by soaking the glass in undiluted white vinegar for an hour and then washing by hand in warm soapy water, say the experts at ehow.com. If that doesn't work, try rinsing the interior with fresh lemon juice and rubbing the exterior with a lemon half. For narrow-mouthed decanters and vases, pour in white vinegar and uncooked rice, then shake gently. Birks' Lorne McGowan says the cloudy appearance does not mean the crystal is abraded. “Crystal is very hard to scratch,” he says. And remember, the best way to keep it crystal clear is to always wash it by hand.

Broken luggage

If you've got the travel bug, your luggage has probably been treated even worse than you by the airlines. A luggage-repair shop, such as Evex Luggage Repair (905-236-7900), can get it airworthy again. The Toronto company repairs handles, wheels and zippers and replaces panels and straps on all kinds of bags and baggage. Similar services exist in most major cities. Evex general manager Alex Schlosser also let us in on a secret: If your bags get damaged, make a claim with the airline. It will probably pay for fixes.

Mirror resilvering

When the silver backing on your best bevelled mirror begins to dull or chip, your self-image will suffer, too. A resilvering business, such as Fricks Glass and Mirror Resilvering in Vancouver (www.fricksresilvering.com), will restore the shine using a process that has been around for more than 100 years. Resilvering costs about $25 a square foot and Fricks is one of the few places that offer the service these days because of the complex chemistry involved. Mirror lovers from across Canada can send their antique mirrors to the outfit for repair.

Chipped china

Unless it's made of potato, a chip is never a good thing. Especially when it's a chip in your Calvin Klein Cargo Raisin saucer. Jackie Chiesa, manager of William Ashley China (www.williamashley.com) in Toronto, advises that many art restoration businesses repair china and crystal but that, once a chip is fixed, the piece should not be overused; relegate it to home decoration.

If you're a DIY type, try this: Get some epoxy glue, pastel chalk, a knife and some toothpicks. Squeeze a thumb-sized portion of glue onto a sheet of paper and shave the chalk of the desired colour onto the glue. Mix with a toothpick and apply carefully to the chipped area.

Leather goods

The more you wear high-quality leather, the better it looks. So why toss away your perfectly weathered MO851 computer bag simply because the pocket is torn when a leather fixer can make it all better?

One such expert, Toronto's Sandalman (416-533-6335), affectionately known as “a guy in a store that fixes leather,” can fix your treasures right up. He reconditions, mends and dry-cleans all types of leather garments and handbags, relines jackets and reupholsters furniture. And he does it using an environmentally friendly cleaner.

Broken heels and soles

Throwing out shoes is a sin – the enviro fans think so and so do the fashion folk. In other words, vintage is in, baby. Fortunately, there is no need to kick your stilettos to the curb. Broken heels, worn down soles, scuffs, wear and tear – whatever the problem, a shoe-repair shop will make your shoes like new again.

“Broken heels usually have to be changed completely,” says Mustafa Ali of Kaner's Handbag and Shoe Repair in Toronto (416-920-9982). “We carry a lot of different styles and sometimes we can match one to the other but if not, we will change them both.”

New heels and a rubber front half sole will only set you back about $35 at Kaner's; a set of rubber soles, perfect for restoring winter boots after a rough winter, are about $30.

Book rebinding

Love re-reading War and Peace, but loathe the idea of replacing your mangled old copy with a new one? Try rebinding it. If you can't bring your book into a bindery to assess the damage, send in some digital photos so the bookbinder can determine how much work is needed to fix it and how much it will cost, says Paulette Thomson, manager of Rasmussen Bindery in North Vancouver (604-985-1912).

A new cloth cover for a book will cost in the neighbourhood of $40 to $65, while a leather cover will cost around $150. Rebacking a book requires a bit of surgery, so it costs roughly $80, or more depending on how much work needs to be done.

If it's a rare or valuable book, it's best to store it in a protective box, to retain its value.

Wood refinishing

Shabby wooden furniture needs only a facelift to make it fabulous. Sand down the surface and make sure it's clean. Then, depending on how porous and distressed the wood is, apply a coat or more of a polyurethane and turpentine blend to stabilize it, says Ross MacMillan, owner and designer of Vancouver's Industrial Artifacts (604-874-7797), which transforms old industrial materials into fashionable furniture.

To finish it, try applying an eco-friendly linseed oil mix. Let it dry, wipe it down and sand between coats. And if it's scratched, don't worry, MacMillan says. “I like seeing a few blemishes on the wood. I think it adds character to it.”

Getting suits/fur coats recut

“We can pretty much make anything smaller,” says Natalia Petrova, general manager of Vancouver's Stitch International chain (604-689-2429), a mainstay on the Rolodex of every fashionista in the city. “And if you need to go bigger, as long as there's enough fabric inside the seam, no problem.”

For fur coat recuts, head to a specialty store such as Vancouver's Ace of Suedes (www.aceofsuedes.com): veteran seamstresses Vicky and Gisela can remodel an old jacket into a more current style. In Montreal, Harricana are the experts (www.harricana.qc.ca).

Relining coats and purses

“If you've spent a lot of money on a jacket, paying $85 to have the lining replaced is worth it,” says Natalia Petrova, general manager of Vancouver's Stitch International chain (604-689-2429), a mainstay on the Rolodex of every fashionista in the city. The service is available at most tailors. As for purses, it is usually no problem to reline simple designs, such as those without too many “connections or pockets” or where the material is too thick.

Replacing zippers

A broken zipper is no reason to toss an otherwise fine article of clothing. According to Petrova, zippers on jeans are the most expensive to replace, due to the double topstitching most designers use to secure their zippers and the fact that the waistband and crotch often have to be opened to facilitate the repair. Regardless, the service costs only $25; having the zipper fixed on a pair of dress pants is $18.

Frayed, ripped denim

Fashion-wise, there are few things worse than a U-shaped fray at the heel of a $250 pair of jeans. If you're lucky, your tailor will offer a “special service” like the one provided at Stitch International (just hand over the incriminating pair of jeans and the ladies will know what to do).

In a nutshell, for every pair of jeans hemmed the traditional, non-Euro, non-original hem way, there's a leftover hem. “We have a box of extra hems, categorized by colour, that we can try and match up to the ripped jeans,” Petrova explains. Patched on top of the destroyed hem, with frayed edges “blended in,” the result is a hem that is literally as good as new.

Ripped elbows

Depending on the fabric of the item, this can be a difficult fix – particularly when elbow patches are out of fashion. An invisible hem is needed, and few seamstresses and tailors still know to perform one, and training someone to learn the process can take seven years. In Vancouver, for example, only a handful remain (and one of them, a seamstress at Townline Tailors, recently retired). In that city try Kerrisdale Cleaners (604-261-2912), but be aware that the service is pricey: Mending a small hole starts at $80. Weigh this against the price of a new suit, though, and it may be worth it.

Wood rings

If you're a coaster-averse family, rings can show up on coffee tables with regular frequency. Banish the marks by rubbing Circa 1850 Terra Nova Liquid Pumice Stone (a Canadian-made, non-toxic product) into them using a gentle circular motion (the label says to use a cloth, but fingers work better). Next, smear more product onto a cloth and go over the entire surface, this time following the wood grain. Finally, wipe it all off with a fresh cloth, again following the grain. $3.99 for a 250-millilitre bottle at hardware stores.

Refinishing hardwood

Never give up on hardwood. “We can salvage almost any floor, even when you're convinced it's toast,” says Tyler Jerger, owner of Woodstock Ont.-based Revival Flooring (revivalflooring.com). Flooring companies such as Revival make decrepit floors gleam by sanding through scratches, scuffs and stains, smoothing the surface, and applying protective low-VOC, water-based polyurethane. Refinishing starts at $2.50 a square foot, a smidgen more for stain.

Reupholstering a sofa

Is your settee molting velvet? Turn to a furniture fixer such as Hamilton's Lulu and Lavigne Home Studio (luluandlavigne.com). Owner Heather Coward will take it on for $850, which includes upgrading the seat foam. You can source fabric elsewhere for an additional cost, depending on the size of your piece. Is your sofa worthy? Lift it: Heavy equals hardwood. “Wiggle the arms and see if they're tight,” Coward says. A wobbly sofa may be structurally damaged and beyond repair given the difficulty of correcting spent particleboard or softwood. Does it pass the test? Budget two to eight weeks for repair time.

Jewellery repair

Repair, restring and revive We all have an old jewellery box filled with broken gems that simply need some tender love to shine again. Say no to the trash and take your loose pearls and broken clasps to a repair shop such as Jeremy Workshop (905-893-1153), a landmark in the quaint Kleinberg, Ont. community since 1977. Owners and sisters Tania and Nadia Saccoccio do everything from restringing pearls (approximately $3 an inch) and replacing clasps to soldering together broken links and chains for gold and silver.

By Cecily Ross, Laura Serra, Wency Leung, Rebecca Tay and Yuki Hayashi

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