May 18, 2015

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Remake: White Strapless Lace Dress

May 18, 2015

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Hey friends! I'm here, I'm here :) There's been a lot going on which I'll fill you in a bit on later... But in the interim, I have a FABULOUS new piece to share. Take this lace dress:

See how pretty it is close up??

I scored it at a swap party for nada, but it was originally $25 from Forever 21. So, for a chic cocktail dress, it's really quite budget friendly.

And I loved the look, but just wasn't that into the color. My skin is SO fair and as a short dress, this color wasn't doing it for me like I wanted it to.

So, now comes the change. New color, check!!

I took a brand new shade of Rit Dye's new polyester friendly dyes - Blaze - and got my dye pot going!

(PS, my new dye pot was a score at Goodwill on half off tag day :) I think I ended up getting it for less than $3 bucks. Total. Score!)

I filled up my pot, brought it to a boil, added my dye and about 1/4 of salt, and put in my pre-wet dress. (Just make sure whatever garment you're dyeing is saturated in water before dyeing. This ensures a smooth color job!)

New Dress A Day - DIY White DressNew Dress A Day - DIY White Dress

I LOVE that first part when the piece just starts to absorb the colored liquid!

I was LOVING the color as it look just a few minutes in! I left the dress in to hang out for another hour before I took it out, rinsed it through, and let it dry.

In ONE EASY STEP (sounds totally infomercial, doesn't it??) this dress became something so much better than it was.

I shot this dress in front of LACMA at the "Urban Lights" exhibit by Chris Burden. He just passed away, so the museum has been keeping the lights on all night. It's one of my favorite spots in the city - I turn into a kid swinging on the poles and running through them.

But it's incredible seeing how color can change EVERYTHING!

It started off a fine cocktail dress that I would have never worn. Now, it's a dress that I can't wait to wear to the next formal event.

Seriously. That color...SO GOOD!!

December 23, 2014

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White Lace 80s Dress

December 23, 2014

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This lacy dress was always calling out for a little color.

When I bought it for a buck a few months back, I knew that it had serious potential. The entire top portion of the dress was lace, however it was a bit tricky to really see it all!

I just loved the back of this dress - it was a little too chilly to wear it without a tank, but you can see how deep it goes...

...and was ready to get to a little color changing.

For the holidays, I went with...

RED!!

However, the dress turned out a dusty rose color which was totally pleasing! After the piece was dyed, I removed the shoulder pads...

...then went on to adjust the neckline just a bit. I snipped an extra inch below the bottom of the original neckline...

...and pinned the raw edges underneath.

I grabbed the sewing machine and stitched down my new neckline...

...and had a dress ready to ring in the holiday season!

The draping is so much clearer now with a little color.

I paired it with a short black biker jacket for my annual holiday party with all of my bestest college amigos!!

TT was the perfect hostess! And, you can actually see all the fabulous texture on this dress!!

It's a big potluck meal, and we all cram around a 20 ft table catching up, clinking champagne glasses, enjoying each other's company, and...

...taking LOTS of photos.

Be it standing, or sitting at the table.

We goof around and pretend that we're in Twilight. In a room where the majority of friends are actors, the dramatics come out in full force. I just play along!

Another year to be grateful for all the amazing people in my life!!

Hope everyone has safe travels - I've been a little MIA because of the holiday travel hecticness, but am back in action for the rest of the week! There's even fun holiday goodies to giveaway on Christmas Day, so stay tuned!!

December 15, 2014

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Peach Lace Dress

December 15, 2014

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The Gone With the Wind-ish dress was the highest voted piece and I couldn't wait to get started on it!

Peach just isn't my color. It totally washes me out, so the first thing that I was excited to do was change the shade!

There are some other issues we'll have to handle as well...

...but color changing was first up on the agenda. Making the lace work was a close second :)

What color would you have picked?? I went with...

PURPLE!!

I washed. I dried. I turned the dress purple.

Next up was fixing the neckline. The lace was SO big because the elastic that used to hold it in place had worn out. I decided to replace the elastic to keep the essence of the original dress. Nothing like a lace-dripped neckline!

I took my seam ripper and opened up a few stitches at the lacy neckline, pulled out the old elastic, added the new elastic with a safety pin, and fit it to my liking.

I pinned the edges of the elastic to each side of the dress to prep for sewing it in place.

I removed the bow that was in the center of the dress because I knew that I was most definitely not going to make a bow with it.

After the ribbon removal, it was time to adjust the length. I wanted to get rid of the crazy ruffles at the bottom of the piece, so I cut it off!

Lots of leftovers to be played with down the road...

I trimmed the lining next...

...and then sewed everything in place - a new hem and the new elastic at the neck.

For just a little piece of flair, because I removed the ribbon that once was stitched in this place, I added a little patch with a safety pin.

This patch came from one of my dresses I wore at South by Southwest two years ago.

I really saved the leftovers! (Click here for a little flashback posting!)

With my dress completed, it was time to hit the holiday party circuit!

My birthday twin, LC, hosted the loveliest of holiday parties complete with a taco truck!

It's the best when friends come in from other states to ring in the holidays!!

It was cold for Los Angeles, so there was definitely jacket action happening. I just took my coat off for a few photo ops, including this one that makes me feel like I should be in the Blair Witch Project.

The rest of the outdoor pics turned out much nicer. AKA, less Marisa-disturbing-face.

JS kept calling his sweater the "Andie" as it was literally the same sweater that Anne Hathaway gets called out for wearing in The Devil Wears Prada.

I mean...

We couldn't stop laughing about it!!

Such a fun night to celebrate the holidays with some of my favorite people.

More holiday ensembles to come this week... Stay tuned!!!

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