Melissa's Donation: Peach & Black Embroidered Shirt

I received this piece from one of my favorite people in the world - Melissa of Shoestring Magazine - and she outdid herself. New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

Now if a "friend" gave you this piece as a present, I might want to rethink the friendship, however Melissa is my thrifting kindred spirit and knew this shirty-dress-kaftan would be right up my alley.

New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

So not only did my sister from another mister give me this rockin' ensemble...

New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

...but also sent a Richard Simmons coffee table book in my package. This snail mail day was one for the records, because...

Vintage Richard Simmons Book - New Dress A Day

...Richard Simmons happens to be one of my best pals.

Richard Simmons - New Dress A Day

OK, well "best pals" probably is a bit of a stretch, but I did get my "sweatin' to the oldies" on at his class a while back and that's pretty close, right? So, want to see how this peachy piece turned out???

I started off by removing the sleeves!

New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

I have some fun leftovers that I'll be repurposing very soon :)

New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

The part of the piece that was most intriguing to me was the incredible embroidery! I just loved the detail up and down the front of the shirt. To make that stand out even more, there were a few things that needed to be done.

First, it was time to go shorter!

New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

Next, it was time to remove the stitches at the neckline. I wanted the collar to be separated from the rest of the top.

New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

Boom!!!

New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

As soon as I saw the neckline, I thought halter top!! After the collar was removed from the bottom portion of the shirt, I trimmed back some of the material and pinned it down beneath the vertical embroidery to form a T shape of sorts.

New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

I stitched a new hem...

New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

I stitched down the neckline...

New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

...and I stitched the body to make it fitted.

New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

Three major changes = 1 brand new look!

New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

I wanted to make this a top so the peach color next to my skin wouldn't wash me out too much!

New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

I pinched and gathered the material and stitched it at the bottom of the T shape (on each side of the embroidery) to give the top a splash of femininity.

New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

It feels super modern in a slightly throwback way. Paired with jeans and flip flops...

New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

... it was my outfit to wear to the Hollywood Bowl for a night of Hitchcock music!

Hollywood Bowl - Hitchcock  - Museum Nails

 

I even had Vertigo nails to match!

From one frockish before to a chic after...

New Dress A Day - vintage peach dress

I'm thrilled with how this piece turned out. Many thanks for my piece, Miss Meliss. xox Miss Maris