Remake: Vintage Black Floral Dress

I gave a little teaser of this dress yesterday - the waist is loose and it just doesn't fit well. It also had a very musty scent, which is never pleasant, even after a thorough washing!  Everything else was perfection, though. I loved the print, the draped V neck, the length... New Dress A Day - DIY - thrift store shopping - vintage black dress

I couldn't let this one leave my hands! (And on the scent front, after another more serious soak/hand washing/more soaking combination, the smell vanished! Thank goodness.)

I love easy fixes that take a piece from an "eh" status to one that puts them in the front of the closet! For this, the elastic needed to be adjusted, so I started by opening up a few stitches at the waist with my seam ripper.

New Dress A Day - DIY - thrift store shopping - vintage black dress

The elastic was still in good condition, which meant no need to replace! If it was completely stretched out and starting to crumble (old elastic is not my fave) I would have just done a full, new elastic routine.

I measured the amount of elastic that needed to be removed and made a knot to secure its place. I snipped the excess elastic and then restitched the seam that I opened.

New Dress A Day - DIY - thrift store shopping - vintage black dress

That's it! One basic tweak and I've got a brand new dress!

New Dress A Day - DIY - thrift store shopping - vintage black dress

It's really amazing to see how much the shape changes just by removing a few inches of elastic.

New Dress A Day - DIY - thrift store shopping - vintage black dress

It was the perfect little dress to wear on this bright and shiny day to enjoy a bit of vino with some friends. It's still Earth Month and one of my favorite California vineyards, Estancia, is one that is committed to sustainability. I had NO idea until I started doing a bit of research, but 75% of the winery's energy demand comes from solar panels which is basically the equivalent to planting 27,000 trees. Because of their efforts, 1.5 milion pounds of greenhouse gases stay out of California's air. I'll cheers to that!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - thrift store shopping - vintage black dress

Or cheers to that by myself while I wait for everyone to arrive! (I promise that I didn't finish the entire bottle...)

New Dress A Day - DIY - thrift store shopping - vintage black dress

One of my favorite parts of the dress are the cute little ties at the end of the sleeves! The little details are the icing on the cake sometimes.

New Dress A Day - DIY - thrift store shopping - vintage black dress

I paired the dress with a pair of Moschino heels that I scored at Crossroads along with my Urban Outfitters sunnies to complete the look.

New Dress A Day - DIY - thrift store shopping - vintage black dress

This is made from a thin, sheer polyester, so wearing a full slip, or half slip and cami is necessary, fyi. I must say that it's super breezy for being polyester! That, however, has no bearing on how much I'll still sweat :)