lace lips and heart dress

Remake: Valentine's Day Ensemble - Stella McCartney Copycat

I posted a little teaser of the dress that my Valentine's Day outfit is coming from. New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

Fab, yet falling apart, appliqué...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

Big ole, wide skirt...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

Shoulder pads and mixed skirt lengths...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

I've been obsessed with this Stella McCartney dress for forevah or since seeing it as part of her Resort 2014 collection.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique - Stella McCartney

I ripped out the page from Marie Claire that featured it last month...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique - Stella McCartney

...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!

New Dress A Day -DIY - vintage dress - lace - interfacing

I removed the skirt portion from the dress with a seam ripper...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

...and had this pile o'fabric leftover!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

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.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

Unfortunately the ruched part was made with two different pieces of the top (big slit down the center)...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

...so I made alternative plans and decided to create more of a cropped style in the front...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

...and a little mermaid dip in the back.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

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 :)

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

With the pieces ready to go...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

I cut interfacing to match the shape of both pieces...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

...ironed the interfacing to the lace pieces...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

...removed the backing of the interfacing...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

...and then ironed both pieces down directly to my new shirt.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

Now how's that for a copycat??

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

I failed to mention that the Stella McCartney piece is $2180.  Yep, you heard me correctly.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

My piece with the dress ($1), the lace ($2-ish for both), and the interfacing ($1) cost me $4 total.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique - Stella McCartney

Pretty rad, eh?

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

Now I can go take a vacation with the $2176 leftover!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

I paired my top with a red camisole underneath, a pair of red Guess heels, a vintage tapestry purse, and my pink Wayfarers.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

I am SO rocking this again and again.  This piece is totally not going to be a Valentine's Day only garment.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Vintage 80s Dress - Sequined Applique

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!!