New Year's Eve Party Purse

Happy almost 2015, friends!! This is one of my favorite times of the year. Not only is it my mom's birthday (Happy Birthday Mom!!) but it's the start of new things to come. There's some fun stuff ahead in the pipelines and I can't wait to fill you all in! But, let's talk about the important stuff - what are you wearing tonight?? This is such an easy project to make and one that's perfect to complete when you're dyeing other pieces. I found this vintage beaded purse at Goodwill that had lots of darkish spots on the pink satin as well as a handle that was dark, dirty, and just not something that you'd want to hold onto.

I thought a little dye dip would do the trick, so I added this purse into the dye bath I created for this lovely dress (click here for the full post)...

...and ended up with the perfect NYE accessory!

I wasn't into the strap, so I snipped it to create a clutch.

I can't wait to wear this with my sequins tonight!!

I love that the sequins are pronounced now! What a fun way to give this tossaway a new life. Love that Rit Dye!

Where are you counting down tonight?

Remake: Blue Satin Bridesmaid Dress

You got the teaser of this fabulous blue party dress last week...

...and today it's time to see the upcycled results!

I started off by removing the pouffy sleeves.

Just to get an idea, this is the purplish discoloration underneath that was found under both sleeves. Cute, eh?

Once I got rid of both of the sleeves...

...the top portion of the dress looked just like this:

Because the trim is a bit much at the neck, I started to remove it with a seam ripper, right at the bust.

With the trim removed from the front of the dress, I was left with this train o'trim!!

To hide the leftover portion of the discoloration at the arms, I stitched down the layers of trim right under the armpits.

Now I'm still going to work with this frilly trim, but turning this dress into a halter and using these guys as the straps! I cut the center in half and moved on to tweaking the length next.

I want to make this fun and flirty, so a big portion of the length of the dress got cut off.

I pinned under the raw edges of the dress...

...and stitched down a new hem.

I ironed down the straps...

...then pinched and cinched the bust line, adding a safety pin to the center of the dress for a bit of ruching. My new party dress was complete!!

I love that this dress still has the party vibe essence! It still has a vintage-y feel, but it doesn't scream 80s anymore!

Those ruffles are hidden now!!

Except for a few hints of the ruffles in the back. I liked keeping the back of the dress' ruffles as they were, but it's always an easy tweak to stitch them down to match the area at the arms if I change my mind.

I think this makes a perfect wedding guest dress or one that's ready for a summer cocktail party.

Paired with a vintage shell purse and a pair of yellow BCBG shoes with bows, the accessories had just the bit of bold color flair to make the dress pop even more!!

After a long day of sewing, it's time to kick up my heels!!

Next time I have to remember not to lean all the way back when I'm sitting on a ledge right in front of succulents. Yep, there's now a band-aid on my back covering the little puncture wound. Oh the pains of fashion...

Remake: Blue Collared Dress Part II

I love two-part posts!!  Yesterday's frockish piece that started off looking like this...

With some snipping and collar removing...

...the first part of the after look turned out like this.

Now, see how Look #2 was put together...

For the second look, I removed the pinned bow and added some accessories!!  I added a few costume necklaces, a Banana Republic knotted cuff, a stretchy navy belt, BCBG gold heels, and a Dorothy Perkins purse.

Loved the navy and gold mix!

I tried to give this look a more modern feel by layering chunky necklaces and bringing fun metallics into the mix.

It's really amazing how with a little bit of styling, an outfit can make a 180!

It's like I have two totally different ensembles...

...even though it's the same piece!

LOOK #1:  Shoes: ModCloth // Clutch: Vintage // Sunglasses: Forever 21

LOOK #2: Shoes: BCBG (These Sam Edelman heels are a pretty close copy) // Purse: Dorothy Perkins // Cuff: Banana Republic // Belt: Melrose Trading Post // Necklaces: Vintage Costume // Sunglasses: Forever 21

There are so many other fun ways to style this dress, especially for different climates!  Unfortunately we're still in the 70s zone for the time being, so the sweater/tights combo will have to wait for the time being.  (Fingers crossed some cooler weather and rain stops by to say hi to Los Angeles soon!)

Which look do you like best?