So, I scored this fab polyester dress a few months back and finally decided it was time to get to work!
There was a fun sash going on 'round the neck...
...as well as some big n'baggy sleeves.
How shall I SUMMERize this dress?
I began by trimming the pleated portion of the dress at the waist.
What I found after I removed this ruffled portion...
...was this extra dress layer!
However, the fabric of the top portion of the dress was facing wrong side out. To amend this situation, I thought I'd turn this into a ruffle to hang over the top of this new shirt!
Before getting ruffle-y, I pinned a new section of the waist to add elastic into. The current waist was SO stretched out that it needed a little help. I pinned...
...I sewed...
...I added new elastic...
...and then folded over my new ruffle.
From too big dress to fun, cinched waist, new top!!
I think this could work as multiple garments. A very short dress, perfect as a beach cover up, could be next on the agenda!
I added a pair of my favorite worn in Gap jeans, a pair of BCBG pumps that I've had for years, and a vintage frog belt.
I was surprised by a quick sprinkler party in the neighborhood as I was shooting...
...which was actually super surprising because we're supposed to be cutting back on water usage because of the drought that we're in, here in SoCal!
I have more plans for this piece. I'm going to try to see how many times I can repurpose this guy!