Today's piece comes from the fantabulous Cara who is 16 and a master dyer. Seriously, her project is super fierce and I think you guys are going to enjoy!
Hi Marisa! I adore your site and decided to give a nasty dress from our local Goodwill a fixer-upper that it was begging for. I went with my mom (the one who showed me your website - I'm forever in debt to her!) and we found a typical “third-grade teacher from the 80’s” long, denim dress for $4 that had an existing seam perfect for a first-timer like myself.
So, I decided to try my hand at vintage-vest making!
Let's see how Cara's vest turns out!
I took the dress and cut right under the existing seam around the waist and found I was already halfway through! Then, after deciding instantly I hated the cheap-denim color it already was, I bought a darker denim-colored dye (Hallelujah Rit!) and well, dyed it!
It came out a beautiful and vibrant blue, but I wasn’t done there.
I had been wanting a bleached ombre vest or jeans for some time and decided this was a perfect time to make one myself for way cheaper than I ever could have bought one! So, I mixed 1 part water to 1 part bleach and dipped my vest in the concoction twice to really set in the bleach (excuse the nastiness on the outside of the bucket I used).
Then, after waiting for it to whiten to my preferred extent, I washed it quickly and let it air dry. I can honestly say I squealed like a maniac at the result – I love it!
I have worn it out already and get compliments everywhere I go, and I never would have done it without your inspiration.
Thank you so much, and keep on inspiring!
P.S. It really shows my laziness in that in the time it took me to post this, i got my hair hacked off! Also, totally forgot to take a pic of the vest from the back outside, so, everyone gets a lovely view of my blurry TV playing "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"
Yay for an amazing ombre vest, Cara!! I love this project and it's SO on trend. You look simply adorable and I know that this is going to work just as well for a fall piece as it did for the summer. And I love that you were watching Oh Brother in the background - one of my favorites!! Keep the remakes coming!!
