June 8, 2015

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Remake: Blue Checkered Ruffled Dress

June 8, 2015

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Hi you guys!! Today's piece is SO good. The dress looked like it was straight out of a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.

I went straight into musical theater mode and gave my best "I'm getting the vapors" look.

But, look at those SLEEVES!

That collar too...

This piece needed some serious help to turn it into something that you don't need to be on a stage to wear!

Before we start, I saw this lovely little tag inside the piece - love when there are little hints of who wore this before me!

If I only had time to tag my clothes too...

I started off with the sleeves! Took them a bit shorter and got rid of the tightly cuffed wrist area.

Next came that skirt!

That major ruffle at the bottom was definitely coming off.

Once the length and arms were shortened, I prepped all of the raw edges before sewing new seams and a new hem.

We're almost there! The collar came next. I just wasn't into the lace trimmed edging...

...so with a seam ripper, I took off both sides of the collar. One side down...

...and now they're completely off!

I pinned the collar back together and stitched a basic seam around the edges to keep it in place before I began to craft a new neckline.

I trimmed a straight line down the center of the piece, using the edge of the square pattern as a guide, then pinned under my trimmed area to form a V, before sewing everything in place.

Ready for the reveal???

From dowdy to fun summer dress!

I paired this with some tan booties, my FAVE safari purse (as I like to call it) that my mom found at Goodwill in Charlotte, a vintage belt that came from my dad's high school collection, and a pair of aviators!

A big patterned piece made super wearable by pairing it with more neutral shades. It was just the thing for a little summer dinner party complete with brownies.

They totally matched my color palette!

So did the rosé. I feel like rosé matches everything :)

I have to say that I really love the fluttery sleeves the most. Now only if the dress came with pockets!

Maybe that will be the next addition to this piece because pockets always make things better!

April 17, 2015

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Remake: Red, Blue, & Black Patterned Dress

April 17, 2015

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So this dress... The sleeves were just a little too tight with those shoulder pads!!

...but the pattern was fab!

I think this was the "camera shot me mid-speaking" moment where I was contemplating "what am I going to do to make this something I want to wear."

The ideas were flowing and something hit!

Let's just start off...how cool is this pattern up close?

To alleviate the tight sleeves, I opted to remove them along with the shoulder pads. With my seam ripper, I carefully took both sleeves off of the dress.

I thought the neck could use a little bit of flair. The pattern was bold and busy, so I decided to take some lace fabric panels I bought in the garment district for pennies, and affix them to the front of the dress.

I had two panels, so I placed them side by side to create one larger black panel.

I pinned the pieces to the dress and stitched them down.

I loved the pleats and the length and wanted to keep everything in place just because of how awesome the skirt moved when I walk. That's an obvious choice...leave the length because the skirt swishing is fun :)

It's a good "meeting dress" for work and it also works for goofing around in the office photo studio in the corner of pillows.

But, I love that the panel is sheer-ish and you can still see a bit of the pattern underneath.

Such a chic and easy way to upgrade an outfit!

I sewed the panel down but you can use fabric glue to achieve the same after look!

And this is a perfect day-to-night dress. I kept the same black booties and just switched out my cardigan for a little faux leather jacket.

By night the piece is dressier, yet I'm still the same goofball!!

One dress, two fab looks!!

Dress: Vintage | Booties: Cotton On| Sweater: Zara | Black Faux Leather Jacket: Forever 21

November 17, 2014

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Outfit Remakes

Remake: Vintage Purple Polyester Dress

November 17, 2014

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Outfit Remakes

Yeah, so this one is most definitely added to the "more uncomfortable vintage finds" list. It's a whole lotta polyester!

Polyester with a big ol'collar and a zipper down the front! Also there's a few belt loops with nothing to put inside...

Kind of itchy, seriously heavy, and without a whole ton of awesomeness going on.

However, I'm a-gonna bring that awesomeness. You heard, I'm a-gonna bring it!

I just had to point this out...there's a V-shaped piece of material that was sewn directly to the piece to give the essence of a pocket. In fact, my friends, there is NO pocket! I had to give this piece props for doing some serious foolin'.

But right after I gave my OK sign, I took that faux pocket off. Seam ripper, get rippin'!

I didn't notice the severity of the discoloration until I put the piece down and started to work. Just check out those sleeves and the collar! It's 50 shades of lavender!

I decided to get rid of all the trim, so the cuffs came off...

...as well as that collar.

I'm working out some serious length adjusting, so I cut this piece in half-ish. I took off the skirt portion right below the hips, so I said goodbye to a little less than half.

Because this piece is a bit boxy on me, I wanted to take it in. I pinned the front center of the piece, inside out, placing my pins about an inch from the purple trim area that the zipper is attached to.

I stitched a straight seam down this front area and turned it inside out.

To give a little more shape to the piece, I created a V neck which worked out perfectly with the new front seam that I had created. I removed a few stitches from the front portion that I just sewed to not only created a new shape at my neck, but to allow for enough room to put my head through without needing a zipper. There's a bit of stretch to this fabric as well making it easy to take on and off.

Remember those belt loops? I just had to take them off. I removed stitches at the side seam that were keeping them in place and took out both loops...

...and restitched the holes that I just created.

After all that work, I think I couldn't be happier with the result!

Pastel textured top? I will absolutely take it!

I paired my new top with a Trina Turk white skirt, vintage gold belt, and a pair of gold Charles David heels.

It's super dainty yet has a structured edge, because the fabric is literally stiff. I think it would be awesome paired with a contrasting print for the next wear!

From horrid to happening, this house dress saw a complete 180. And yes, I totally took time to stop and smell the flowers.

I love that you would never know what this looked like in the beginning as well! I'm bringing a screen shot of the before look with me whenever I wear this from here on out!

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