I posted a little teaser of the dress that my Valentine's Day outfit is coming from.
Fab, yet falling apart, appliqué...
Big ole, wide skirt...
Shoulder pads and mixed skirt lengths...
I've been obsessed with this Stella McCartney dress for forevah or since seeing it as part of her Resort 2014 collection.
I ripped out the page from Marie Claire that featured it last month...
...and couldn't wait to craft my V-Day dress just like Stella's!
With the $1 dress in hand, I got a few supplies (blue and red lace with some interfacing) and got to work!
I removed the skirt portion from the dress with a seam ripper...
...and had this pile o'fabric leftover!!
With the skirt gone, it was time to tweak the ruching. I thought that once I removed the stitches that made this part of the dress ruched, I would have extra fabric to work with in the tunic that I was hoping to make.
Unfortunately the ruched part was made with two different pieces of the top (big slit down the center)...
...so I made alternative plans and decided to create more of a cropped style in the front...
...and a little mermaid dip in the back.
I pinned down the front and back of the piece and stitched everything in place before getting to the lace portion.
I printed out two stencils of a heart and a pair of lips and trimmed the lace around both templates. (I taped the lace to the paper stencil to make the trimming easier.) I trimmed the wrong color at first - I wanted to match the McCartney piece perfectly and go with a blue heart and red lips - so now I have some extra lace bits :)
With the pieces ready to go...
I cut interfacing to match the shape of both pieces...
...ironed the interfacing to the lace pieces...
...removed the backing of the interfacing...
...and then ironed both pieces down directly to my new shirt.
Now how's that for a copycat??
I failed to mention that the Stella McCartney piece is $2180. Yep, you heard me correctly.
My piece with the dress ($1), the lace ($2-ish for both), and the interfacing ($1) cost me $4 total.
Pretty rad, eh?
Now I can go take a vacation with the $2176 leftover!!
I paired my top with a red camisole underneath, a pair of red Guess heels, a vintage tapestry purse, and my pink Wayfarers.
I am SO rocking this again and again. This piece is totally not going to be a Valentine's Day only garment.
Keep your eyes peeled Los Angeles...this is my new go-to top!!
PS - For more fun pics in this from the day, head on over to Instagram and Twitter!!