82 Days to Go: Copycat – ASOS

Jul 29, 2012 | 88 Comments
New Dress A Day - DIY - ASOS Copycat

Copycat - ASOS

I fell in love with this ASOS dress when I first saw it featured in a Teen Vogue spread.  I was totally into the colors…

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Teen Vogue Inspiration Page!

…but I think I was even more into the texture of the piece with what looked like a tie dye of sorts.  I had the perfect piece to use for this DIY…

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ASOS Copycat - Before

…a dress that was shot for the book but didn’t end up getting used!

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Jazz Hands!

There were lots of these discolorations on the piece…

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Lots of these scattered about!

…so it really was the perfect candidate to try this ASOS lookalike out!

To recreate the color distribution and texture of the ASOS dress, I decided to rubber band sections of the piece.  I scattered out my banding and just took a handful of fabric and wrapped rubber bands around it.  No real rhyme or reason to the placement.

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Rubber Banded!

Once everything was rubber banded, I picked out cans of Simply Spray soft fabric paint that matched the shades in the ASOS piece – pink, turquoise, light blue, lilac, and a spring green…

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Simply Sprays!!

…and started to lightly spray the garment.

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Dress Tagging!

I got the first few sprays of pink paint down…

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Round 1 - Pink Complete!

Then headed onto a few more colors…

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50 Shades of Non-Grey

I turned the dress over and did the same thing to the back.  Reading the Simply Spray directions, they mention putting something in-between the dress layers so the paint doesn’t seep through from the front to the back, however that was just the look I was going for.  Also, these paints are a little looser and spread out when they hit the fabric – a bit similar to a fabric dye actually.  I kept grabbing different color sprays and adding where I thought more color was needed.  It was a process because there always seemed to be areas that needed a little more color!

I let my piece sit dry in the grass that also got painted…

(PS, put down newspaper or a tarp if you want to avoid spraying your backyard, concrete, driveway – I used my parents yard and they said not to worry because a trim was coming up soon!)

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Painted Dress & Painted Grass

…and then removed the rubber bands.

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Rubber Band Removal!!

Once the bands came off, I sprayed some colors a few more times just to cover up some of the bigger patches of white spaces, and then let the piece hang to fully dry for a day.

After the paint/drying part of the process was complete, I went to the length next.  I wanted something just a bit shorter, perfect for an afternoon wedding!

I decided to use the area where the side slits ended, as a guide where to cut.

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Find trim spot!!

This will give a length right at the knees!

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Cut, yeah!

I pinned the raw edged bottom…

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Pinned, yeah!

…and sewed it in place.

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Sewing, yeah!

Afternoon wedding, here I come!!  (PS, because of the texture on the ASOS dress, I chose not to iron the areas where the rubber bands were – I think it added to the similarity between the two pieces!!)

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Small shoe snafu!

I have to say, I’m loving this dress!!

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ASOS Copycat - After

The colors matched the wall of glassware at the celebratory venue – the amazing Villains Tavern in LA.

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99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

We celebrated with the bride…

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Blushing Bride!

…during the “guest officiated” ceremony.

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Our script! (with robots!!)

We read and they smiled, nodded, and “I Do’ed” before clinking glasses of whiskey to solidify the deal!

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Going to the Chapel!

Today was the celebratory party – they got married/hitched/civil ceremonied a few months ago!

Post-ceremony we had tacos, grilled cheeses, and these puppies…

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Boozy Sno Cones!

I went with a delish mango-tequila concoction which couldn’t have been more refreshing in the sun!!

LP and I snagged the bride for a few shots…

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Bride Flanking!

…before she went back to her adoring fans.

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Triple Threat!

Such a wonderful day to fete KT & M!!  Nothing like kicking up one’s heels to cheer on two amazing people!

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Sunday Funday!

Hope everyone had a most lovely weekend!

  • Ladymaskerade

    This is one of my favorites! It really made a huge difference and it’s gorgeous!

  • Sue

    Absolutely lovely.

  • Shylomicorizon

    I really love this!  I need to hit the bins and find a white dress! 

    • newdressaday

      Hit em up!!

  • Houston

    Pretty pretty!!!!! What happened to the pictures???? The captions and sequence were all messed up. Still loved the redo.

  • Paula

    LOVE this dress!  Absolutely gorgeous!  Also pretty awesome shoes.

  • Kissem37

    love the inspiration, love your version, love the bride’s dress, love your friend’s shoes, love the imaginary state Cali-Pennsyl-Texas- LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

    • newdressaday

      The ceremony was so lovely and having the crowd say Cali-Pennsyl-Texas in unison was just wonderful!!

  • Carol G

    Did you try to remove the spots before you dyed it?  I had a shirt I dyed and found afterwards that a couple of spots on the shirt had stains and it wouldn’t take the dye.  I was sad, the shirt looked great except for those areas and I couldn’t think of how to save it. :(

    • newdressaday

      I washed the piece before and the stains didn’t go away.  Because this was a fabric paint, it covered the spots really well, even though the consistency was similar to a dye.  Try this next time!

  • Amanda Davis

    One of my very favorites that you have transformed!  This looks FABULOUS!!  LOVE IT!
     

  • http://www.facebook.com/hidesama Ren Akuma

    Definitely one of your best ideas! I was a bit skeptical but it looks great xD

    I must say, I stopped reading Teen Vogue when, one year, it suggested “Buy your boyfriend a watch for Valentine’s day”, following a page of men’s watches – lowest price of which was a whopping $2000. Yeaaaaah, that pretty much turned me off the publication for life

  • Btejkl

    I was really unsure about spray painting that dress. But, I should have trusted you – it looks fantastic. I love the new length too. Fabulous makeover!!!

    PS. I love your necklace and shoes.

    • newdressaday

      Thank you lovely :)   Necklace is vintage and shoes BCBG.

  • Helen

    Amazing!  Looking forward to more of this technique.  Absolutely the best transformation I’ve seen on this blog!

    • newdressaday

       Thanks lady!

  • sash

    very nice dress! like those shoes!  (you go to a lot of cool showers and weddings! )

    • newdressaday

      Thank you sash :)   Shoes are old BCBG – I got two of them from Marshalls a few years back and wear them out!

  • Diane2809

    Very pretty!  I haven’t seen those spray fabric paints – are they expensive?

    • newdressaday

      Joanns has individual ones for about $4 and change and packs of three run about $12.99.  They always have 40% coupons too if you pair with ;)

  • Sarah_H.

     I have not seen spray fabric paints either, but it worked out great!

  • Gamarho

    LOVE!

  • http://www.wom-mom.com/ Wom Mom Ethne

    I LOVE this dress.  If this didn’t make the book, the stuff that did must be genius!

    • newdressaday

      Ha, thanks!  We had to tweak chapters, so it was more about keeping the themes together :)

  • http://twitter.com/jodywallace Jody Wallace

    The bride is totally going to give you her dress to paint up like yours after the wedding! Ok, maybe not, some ppl are sentimental about their bridal gowns. How does paint like that hold up in the wash?

    • newdressaday

      It totally holds up well! Just make sure to wait a few days (per bottle instructions) before washing.  For the pieces I tested, I washed in a delicate cycle alone just in case…

  • Shrav

    Amazing redo!That dress looks fantastic and loved the bride’s outfit too!

    • newdressaday

      I thought she looked gorgeous too!  She even DIY’ed the sash around her waist!

  • Judy B.

    That is just gorgeous! I love it!

  • Sarah Latchem

    Really looks fab, and I like it more than the ASOS one!  The pastel colours are so pretty together.

  • Storyteller Mary

    I love that dress!!!  Gorgeous!

  • Jessica in Portland

    You did an amazing job of capturing the spirit of the inspiration dress – but in a much more flattering cut and way more appropriate for your occasion!  Love the balance of the colors and the length is perfect!  Another beautiful transformation Miss M!

    • newdressaday

      Thank you Miss J.  I think it worked nicely too :) xo

  • Disneychick1980

    This outfit rocks!

  • Keenzi

    I’ll be honest that along the way I wasn’t hopeful, but this really turned out great! And boozy sno cones, I’ll file that away for future reference as well. : )

    • newdressaday

      That’s going in my back pocket too :)  

  • http://rtthvintage.blogspot.com/ Sara

    Sooo awesome!  Dying things is so much fun and therapeutic.  

    • newdressaday

      I second that!!

  • Katrina

    this is my favorite one that you have done by far…..gorgeoous

  • Katrina

    this is my favorite one that you have done by far…..gorgeoous

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Claudia-Gee/650030304 Claudia Gee

    Looks Great on YOU!!

  • Mcockerill

    This is SO SO beautiful– I think it’s my new favourite!

    • newdressaday

       Yay, thank you!!

  • Kristina Allen

    I do love how this one came out…i think I might start re-dos of my own finally!

  • Eleanor in GA

    This is one of my favorites yet! Going to Goodwill tomorrow to find a white dress or long top….

  • Vicki Shuler

    Tis may be my favorite of your creations to date! I love it! The colors are amazing, and the cut is great too. Nice job!

  • jaego

    Glad you left the bits of black out. So much ‘springier’ without it.

  • Steph knows

    That came out so awesome!

    • newdressaday

       Steph, you really do know :)

  • kate

    Fantastic and inspiring! I have a dress that might be a great candidate for this approach. Yeay, and thank you!

  • thuy

    that came out super cute and i love the colors!

  • Sam

    Just adorable!  Wow you did a wonderful job.

  • Jaycole44

    SOOOOOOOO,CUTE,I AM GOING TO TRY THAT,,,

  • Janelle

    You knocked this one out of the park!!  It’s just stunning, love it. only thing I might add is a satin ribbon at the waist.  just gorgeous! 

    • Margoslaby

       Definitely! Like a light pink or something like that. Would totally look amazing…

      • newdressaday

        For sure – adding a fun ribbon/sash just to break up some of the print would be awesome! Throw on a brooch to clasp…

  • Kristen

    I’ve been following since almost the beginning and rarely comment. This is by far the best out of the park and around the block re-do I’ve seen! Wow! Just Wow!

  • Christine HOT Houston, Tx

    All I can say is WOW!!!!!!!!!

    • newdressaday

      I love that HOT is in your username…it can be referring to you or to the weather! Brilliant!!

  • Laura Whitman

    Oh my goodness! You did such a fantastic job with the dress; so cute!

    xoxo, 
    Laura

  • Katharina

    I so thought this would go wrong as I read it, because it seemed kind of hard, but I completely love it! Keep up the awesomeness :)

  • daisy

    love that fit and length on you!

  • Lovestosew

    Just a little sewing tip that will help your hems look super shape.  Iron them after you stitch them.  They’ll look much more neat and tidy.  Great colors.  I love the dress.

  • Margoslaby

    I LOVE IT! :D :D :D

  • http://twitter.com/HotMessHousWife Sammi M

    1. The dress turned out great!
    2. The bride is adorable
    3. I love the idea of “guests as officiants”. Sounds like a fun party!

    • newdressaday

      It really was the best.  Two wonderful people who adore each other and friends and family who love them with some tacos and Dos Equis thrown in.  Perfection!!

  • Meredith

    This is absolutely AMAZING! 

  • Jen

    LOVELOVELOVE!!!!!

  • Julie

    This is a beauty!

  • http://strickbombe.blogspot.de/ bloepper

    that is the most adorable photo of you, leaning against the wall looking at your shoe. (ok, when i put it like that, it doesn’t sound so adorable anymore). oh, and the dress is adorable too! 

    • newdressaday

      Ha, no!!  It totally still sounds adorable!! 

  • http://www.facebook.com/enrica.mazza Enrica Mazza

    troppo carino

  • http://rinaz.net rinaz

    Wow! Beautiful, beautiful dress!

  • tracie

    it looks awesome. I love all 3 dresses and love all 3 shoes too.  I love your life

  • David Preston

    What a wonderful makeover for this piece…as usual!!!

  • Melissag915

    gasp! I love this!

    • newdressaday

      Anything that starts with “gasp” is highly enjoyed!! Thank you Meliss!!

  • Julia

    Gorgeous! I always wonder how you’re going to pull a copycat off… you really nailed this one!

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/MZ2XWOF3R2AQS4BHP4DHLY6HFM icecandy

    YOU.HAVE.SOME.CRAZY. TALENT! and a VISION.

    I can’t wait to see/read/smell/carry around your book! I hope they send out copies out here in Asia (Philippines). If not, I’ll ask a relative of mine from the US to send me one! 

  • Chris

    This is one of my favorites! Beautiful!

  • Cre8soap

    Very cute- like it.

  • Laura

    Wow it turned out awesome I like it better than the original. 

  • MzHannah

    The best dress you’ve done so far!! I lo lo love it!!!! I’ll definitely do my own dress like this. Thanks for inspiring!

  • Shannon Fannin

    That dress looks very chic 1960′s to me. LOVE IT! I’ve used dyes quite a bit for refashioning thrift store finds (which I have been doing since I was a teen). However, I’ve never used the spray type. I just purchased textile medium. When you use a 2/1 ration of medium to acrylic paint, you can turn it into fabric paint. Oh the possibilities!!! LOVE this refashion. You did good, girl! :D

  • http://twitter.com/JoulesVintage JoulesVintage

    I love Teen Vogue, I love that dress, and I love the way you interpreted it. Fantastic!

  • Stephanie

    WOW, the end products is fab! The cut of the dress looks great on your shape and who knew tie-dye’ing some old, weird brocadey fabric would look so modern and fresh! I die….xoxox

  • Tasmanian Minimalist

    Wow- totally the right thing to do !

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000429952066 Patricia Rhudy Cook

    That came out beautiful. One caveat about the Simply Spray. Don’t wash with fabric softener. I don’t think that’s on the can, but it is on the website. The fabric softener will fade out the dye.