Make it new, make it do,

Wear it out, do without.

This credo of thrift, popularized by Yankees from Maine and the comedy team of Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding, is becoming especially true for cash-strapped consumers today.

To wring the most wear out of what they own, people are visiting auto mechanics, cobblers, tailors and computer repair experts as they haven't in years.

When autumn arrived, Anita Fagnilli, a tailor at Master Tailors in Upper St. Clair for the past 16 years, noticed that regular customers came in with clothes they already owned.

"Usually in the fall, it's all brand new clothes. People are out shopping and bringing in brand new stuff," she said.

Instead, customers asked her to put new linings in old winter coats. One woman who lost weight had Ms. Fagnilli take in three pairs of lined wool slacks that are part of her suit wardrobe.

"It's cheaper to have their pants recut than go buy new. I take them down a few sizes. Once they buy new, they have to spend money on alterations," said Ms. Fagnilli, who studied at Clarissa School of Fashion Design.

Farther south, Donna Uhrig and Amy Fornear are seamstresses who run Stitchers in Tony Center plaza in Peters. Ms. Fornear can turn wedding gowns into baptismal dresses, hem jeans and even sew flags for Confederate re-enactor units.

"We've been extremely busy," Ms. Uhrig said, adding that one customer insists on having his favorite shirt repaired repeatedly, regardless of how it's going to look.

Repairs also are up on cars. Keeping your car on the road can cost the equivalent of several car payments, but it's usually cheaper than buying a new car.

At Chuck's Complete Auto in Upper St. Clair, Chuck Belliotti's goal is to keep his customers' cars running for 200,000 miles. He's proud of having kept a tow truck running for 300,000 miles, then selling it to someone else, who's still driving it. And those were hard miles, he says.

"We have noticed that we're doing a lot more repairing that people would not have done in the past," he said.

"If they needed a lot of little things that added up to $1,000, they would trade it in. If their car was getting older and it needed a lot of repairs, they would just trade it in, but not anymore. People are keeping their cars longer."

If you're not driving, you may be wearing out your shoe leather. Bill Wells, who runs Charles the Cobbler in Peters, is being bombarded with repairs of ladies' fashion boots, as many as 50 to 70 pairs daily.

"A lot of the younger girls don't know they can be repaired," he said referring to women 20 to 35. "They can't even believe that it can be done. I don't know what we teach these people on the way up."

Women who spend $150 or more for a pair of boots, Mr. Wells said, can have them repaired for $15 to $20. Owners of high quality leather shoes are steady customers.

"That base customer is always here. I have guys who have gotten shoes repaired 15 times. I'm talking about a wing tip type dress shoe that costs $650. They're trying to protect their investment and make it last a little longer," he said.

Rex Streno, who runs Ullrich's Shoe Repair, Downtown, said moving his shop from Sixth Street to Liberty Avenue in January caused a boom in business; he began getting 100 pairs of shoes daily. Last month, about 50 pairs arrived each day.

But unlike Mr. Wells, he doesn't believe the souring economy will help his business.

"There's a certain percentage of the population that gets their shoes fixed," Mr. Streno said. "The rest of the people aren't geared to fixing their shoes. You don't see younger people coming in to get their shoes fixed too often. They're a throwaway generation. They grew up with Payless Shoes."

Now that so many people rely on computers, Brian Valen, a 27-year-old computer repair guy, has earned a living running BQV Consulting out of his Squirrel Hill home since 2003.

He's fixed computers since he was 14 and says his business is recession-proof, up to a point.

"A lot of people might think twice about calling me for the little things. If I can fix it for $400 and they can buy a new computer for $1,500, they'll buy a new one," Mr. Valen said, adding that his customers are not eager to pay for expensive Band-Aids on old pieces of machinery.

"Nowadays, everybody lives on their computer. A lot of times you uncover the problem and it's a lot more expensive to fix than the customer thought. The hard drive is about to fail. Your average computer repair is probably about $200."

At Phil's TV in Bellevue, Don Polito repairs modern televisions as well as vintage radios and TVs. Interestingly, the older models are keeping him in business.

Consumers who pay $600 to $2,000 for a modern TV are willing to pay for a repair, he said, but electronics that cost $100 or less are typically thrown away.

"We're here doing the old vintage equipment such as radios, guitar amplifiers, anything with vacuum tubes in it and vintage hi-fi gear," Mr. Polito said, adding that he works on electronics from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He even fixes amplifiers for jukeboxes, musical instruments and Hammond B-3 organs.

"If I had to rely on the new technology," he said, "I'd have to close up."