Week 50: Copycat – J Crew
It’s COPYCAT day!! Week two of copycatdom has arrived.
Today piece is inspired by J Crew’s marino lace shell.
Copycat!!
It originally retailed for $228 and now it’s on sale for $139.99 – check it here! My version cost me just $1 using this pink frock that I snagged for that buck…
Week 50: Copycat - Before
…and this tank that came from my abundant collection.
Tank-ueray
This one had become rather dingy and was on the ‘gym’ side of my drawer…slight staining under the pits and random spots here and there. Transformation time has arrived 
I found this dress and was totally intrigued – it seemed like it could have been a pregnancy dress from the 80s because of the ruched, satin stomach. It was totally poochy!! I wanted to use the dress mainly for the fab lace, so I began trimming it off of the skirt.
Cut that lace!!
Once I had my lace material, I took my gym tank and added them both to a boiling hot bath of RIT Dye’s discontinued Black Plum mixed with a bit Pearl Grey from the collection. I thought the color blending was going to get me close to the shade of J Crew’s top.
T dipping!
I let them marinate overnight…
Yep, that's a plastic fork
…washed them with water to get the extra dye out and hung ‘em to dry. I got a very dyed tank and a lovely, more mild hue on the lace.
Post dye!!
I originally wanted to use cotton doilies to cover the tank because they looked more like the top layer on the J Crew shirt however I couldn’t find the right amount in the right size to cover the tank after hitting up a local Joann’s. That’s another route to take as well – snag some old doilies/table runners from your collection and stitch and dye.
So back to the next step…because the way the tank stretches, I put the shirt on and pinned the lace to the edges (neck, arms, sides) where I was going to need to sew.
Pin & drape!
I took the tank with attached lace off, trimmed the edges and began to sew them together.
Stitch down time!
My new top was complete!! I wore it with a vintage skirt from my collection and some fun gold necklaces. Glasses are on again today as I just couldn’t maneuver getting the contacts in this am. It was rainy, I was sleepy and I pressed snooze way more than I should have and was running totally behind sched.
Week 50: Copycat - After
I loved the way the side of the tank turned out!
Side view!
The two toned-ness of the textured front with the solid back was my favorite part of J Crew’s version, so it was fun to recreate.
J Crew Side View
I did a little Italian for dinner with MR because I was totally craving comfort food. The day started off rainy and I just couldn’t kick the sleepytime feeling. A full belly of freshly made pasta and I was ready to go home and cozy up in my bed.
Finishing dinner!!
We got a postcard from our server featuring an upcoming performance of the in house Italian band ‘La Dolce Vita’ on it and I couldn’t get ‘Mambo Italiano’ in my head.
My little place setting
It was a lovely little, ‘get out of my house and enjoy a meal cooked by somebody else’ night, which was a treat from the souping kick I was on when I was sick.
Fun outfit and a yummy dinner to boot!
ECU!! (Extreme Close Up!!)
Thanks for the inspiration J Crew!!
