Amy's NDAD Creation: Halloween Edition

Amy chose to dress up as a character from one of my FAVORITE movies, The Breakfast Club.  This is a genius group costume too, by the way.  I'd totally rock a wig and go as Judd Nelson :)  See how she put it together with thrifted goodies from Goodwill!

I wanted a Halloween costume I could wear to work, a "subversive" costume, so I went with the classic Claire (Molly Ringwald) from The Breakfast Club.  I had everything but the skirt, but then found something that would work perfectly at Goodwill!

Can't wait to see what she put together for Saturday detention!

I found the perfect dark paisley wraparound skirt at GW and paired it with a pink T-shirt, just like Claire's costume!  The thrifted skirt was perfect as it was, and as a lifelong thrifter I had to put together a Halloween costume made up of these pieces!

I love your blog.  It gives me such great ideas for when I find things that are amazing fabrics but insane styles!

You look so great, Amy!  What a perfect costume to wear, especially when you work at a school!  I want to borrow/steal this costume idea at some point.  I would have loved seeing my teachers in something like this.  Because it's stuck in my head, I can't resist sharing the theme song, "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds.  Best. Ever.

My Mother's Attic: October

Ashley's post this month is one that I'm totally coveting. I think it's time to add a pair of these guys to the NDAD closet!! Check out her fun new look as well as the cutie-patootie, new furry friend that has joined her lovely family!

Happy October, everyone! It's getting quite brisk around these parts, and I'm hoping that the snow flurries hold out until after Halloween so that my kids don't have to go dressed as The Abominable Snowkids. Today's post is not particularly Halloween-y, save for the black color of the ensemble, however you can see the skeleton costume I made for my 2-year old here and the handmade fairy costume that my four-year old is wearing here! Yay for sewing skills and handmade wares - I have Marisa and the New Dress a Day community to thank for this huge parenting accomplishment!

I may very well rock this remake while trick-or-treating with my girls, complete with matching black puppy (the latest addition to Cartwheel Farm and my new sidekick) who actually inspired me to finally tackle this remake.

I have a number of palazzo pant jumpsuits that seemed to have been all the rage in the late 80s/early 90s when my mother was in the heart of her parenting years. I must admit, they are comfortable indeed.

Though the heavily pleated crotch area of this number wasn't terribly flattering.

I've been very intrigued by the harem-pant style I've seen on a number of the students at the college I work for, and figured that this was a chance to give it a try.

I started by removing the sleeves of the one-piece and sewing a fresh hem for the arm holes. 

I then strung elastic through the hem of both pant legs to create the harem-pant effect.

I removed the buttons along the chest...

...and suddenly I had my very own jumpsuit that was more hip to the times.

I paired the outfit with my favorite zebra belt...

...and due to the cool temps, I threw on tights, my favorite leather boots, jacket, and a scarf and went strolling around with Gladdy as my matching black sidekick.

And admittedly, one-piece jumpsuits are indeed an extremely easy, comfortable choice.

Good thinking, Mom!

To keep up with Ash online, find her over at Blog a la Cart and here onTwitter, Instagram, & FB!

Kelly's NDAD Creation: Halloween Edition

More amazing costumes from you guys continue! I love this one that Kelly created for her daughter. Just wait until you see the final photo!

Thank you for inspiring me and so many others to reuse, repurpose and recycle! As Halloween approaches, I wanted to share my story about the costume I made for my daughter last year. My daughter recently got into archery so I thought it would be easy to make a Halloween costume that would go with her bow and arrows - Robin Hood. Ready-made costumes I saw online were expensive ($35!) so off to the thrift store I went to see what I could do. I found this white blouse for $5 that had the "look" of what I was going for.

I cut off the sleeves, dyed the bodice a forest green color, then reattached the sleeves. I also stitched on suede-like fabric accents down the front and around the armholes, to give it that "ye olde world" look. I needed to add grommets along the suede accent so it could be laced up the middle with a leather shoelace. 

I bought a short length of inexpensive green fabric to match and made a simple skirt (a tube with an elastic waist), also with suede accents. 

I found a pattern online for a hat and made one out of felt. As luck would have it, a hawk had left a feather in our yard a few weeks before and we kept it just because. Well guess what? It was the perfect addition to the hat!

Her white tank top underneath, her black leggings and boots, and her bow and arrow completed the look.

You can't see it on her back but I also made a quiver out of a mailing tube covered in the suede fabric. I spent less than $20 for the whole thing, which included buying a grommet punch and set of grommets. It seems like a lot compared to the wonderful fashions I've seen in your posts, but I feel I got away cheap compared to the ready-made stuff. Plus I got a grommet punch out of the deal too which I have since used for other things, so it was a great investment.

Kathy, this costume is SO fabulous! $20 for the whole thing (and a grommet punch) is a great deal. I just love the creativity behind this one - your daughter looks amazing! There is really nothing like a homemade costume - the amount of detail and attention you put in is just incredible. Can I borrow this to wear next?? What's on this year's agenda??