51 Days to Go: Copycat – Zac Posen

Aug 30, 2012 | 38 Comments

It’s been a wedding-y year for me and there’s a few more around the corner (one this weekend!), so today is partially wedding themed.  You’ll see in a hot second.  (PS, get ready for wedding week…it’s coming soon!!!)

New Dress A Day - DIY - bridesmaid dress - Zac Posen Copycat

Zac Posen Copycat!

First off, I was completely inspired by Reese Witherspoon’s amazing Zac Posen dress she wore to the How Do You Know? premiere last December and knew I could remake it!

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Zac Posen – Spring 2011

Remake it with something from my own closet…my black tea length bridesmaid dress from the wedding of one of my BFFs!!  In lieu of a silly before pic, I’m giving you actual, legitimate, wedding action shots circa 2007.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Bridesmaid Dress - Me & J - 51

J’s Wedding!

We all wore a champagne sash at our waist and were able to tie it in different ways!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Bridesmaid Dress - Aisle - 51

Going to the chapel!

J really picked easy dresses for us all to wear and it’s one that has been in my closet for the past few years!  I’ve lent it out and now felt it was time to bring it back into my rotation!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Bridesmaid Dress - BW - 51

Weddin’ veggin’

Fun before shots today, eh??

I decided to match the pink metallic ribbon on Reese’s dress with some ribbon of my own!  I went to the fabric store and snagged some organza ribbon – I loved the iridescent nature of it which really gives a similar metallic feel.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Bridesmaid Dress - Ribbon - 51

Ribbon!

Before ribbon application, I got to bring back my signature move!!!

PINCH TIME!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Bridesmaid Dress - Pinch! - 51

Pinch!!

CINCH TIME!!

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Cinched with a safety pin!

Now that the top of my dress was now matching Reese’s sweetheart neck, it was time to attach the ribbon!  I started pinning it directly to the dress, following the shaping of Reese’s.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Bridesmaid Dress - Ribbon Affixing - 51

Beginning to affix!

I had my computer next to me with Reese’s picture up on the screen to match while I was being a ribbon artist!!  And now that I’ve said ribbon artist, it totally reminds me of Subway’s title for their crafty sandy makers, sandwich artists.

New Dress A Day - DIY - bridesmaid dress - Sandwich Artist

Is it wrong that I want this? :)

(FYI, if I worked at Subway, guaranteed the honey mustard sauce and other assorted condiments would be doodled in ocean waves and flowers on those subs!  Also, your subs would take me 7 minutes to complete, but who’s in a rush?)

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Pinned down up top!

I had the top of my dress complete and then finished the bottom half!  It was fun swirling the ribbon to copy the texture in the inspiration dress!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Bridesmaid Dress - Pinned Ribbon at Waist - 51

Pinned at the waist area!

Now that all my ribbon was secured with pins, I began the hand stitching process!  Because I didn’t want to spend 12 hours sewing, I just sewed sections of the ribbon.  A stitch at the top, a stitch in the middle, a stitch where the ribbon twists, etc.  I was strategic with my placement just to make sure all the artistry of the ribbon stayed intact.  You know, staying true to the ribbon art :)

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Paint by number, sew by hand.

After a little over an hour, my dress was complete!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Bridesmaid Dress - After Dress - 51

Day 51 – After

I’m totally feeling like Reese!

how-do-I-know-premiere-Reese Witherspoon LA DEC13 photo kevin winter-getty- socialitelife

Reese!!

It was pretty cool to repurpose this dress a second time!!

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Hand Stitched ECU!

The first time I wore this dress, I caught the bouquet…

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Yep, caught the bouquet.

…and wasn’t even trying.  Seriously, I was trying to avoid it, but it just fell into my hands.  Swear.

In all · Copy Cat
  • Sue

    Love it. :)

  • Charity Shop Chic

    Very nice! It definitely resembles the original, well done

    • newdressaday

      Thank you CSC!! xx

  • Trish Margaret

    Fabulous!

  • Btejkl

    Very pretty. Definitely one of my favorites.

  • rlmilard

    cute as always! i love the look on your face in the black n white u sitting,like i want love like that! Can’t wait to see what you do when your day comes! if u design your own wedding dress and all bridesmaids!!!!!

    • newdressaday

      Oh thank you!! Yes, I’ll totally be making lots of the wedding components when that day comes ;)

  • http://www.facebook.com/devyn.lundy Devyn Lundy

    so amazing, love this… and i love the pinch and cinch..

  • www.wom-mom.com

    I think this is your best copycat besides the googly-eye shoes. You should wear them together!

    • Connie

      Yor are right teh googly-eyes shoes would be GREAT!!!!!

    • newdressaday

      Ha, totally! Perfect combo :)

  • Laura Whitman

    I love this copycat!! I would totally think that it was Zac Posen. Great job!

    xoxo,
    Laura

  • Connie

    this is the 2nd best dress – my favorite will always be the one my niece and I made.

  • Kristina Allen

    I really like this remake. Love reusing bridesmaid dresses. wear the worth out of them…they cost enough! Only thing I would suggest, was maybe painting the ribbon on, instead of actual ribbon. It looked painted on in the Reese picture, and something tells me it would have looked more artsy, maybe? just a suggestion. I guess the good thing about your re-do is you can always take off the ribbons and bring it back to the original and start over again! Great re-do!

    • newdressaday

      Totally – painting would be awesome too! I was just afraid of the permanent effects and my not-so-reliable painting skills :) That would look amazing though!

  • diane2809

    This is lovely! Will cleaning it be a problem – getting the ribbon to look right again? I guess you would dry clean…I’m jealous that you are the same size you were in 2007!

    • newdressaday

      This is definitely a dry cleaning piece!! Oh, 2007…the memories.

  • brenda

    you have outdone yourself on this one. keep sondering why you don’t have a shop or an etsy and do custom work. of course it would no longer be real fun

  • disneychick1980

    Excellent piece!

  • thuy l

    haha i love the look on your face as you caught the bouquet, marisa. love the dress, too!

    • newdressaday

      It was pretty priceless :) xo

  • Keenzi

    Chic! And though I’ll never copycat this, I AM contemplating whether the Subway set would be a good addition to my daughter’s play kitchen or not… : )

    • newdressaday

      Answer to the question you pose – yes. Definitely yes. It would be a good addition to my real kitchen :)

  • kissem37

    nailed it ;)

    • newdressaday

      Wooooooo!!!!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/jane.coombs88 Jane Coombs

    Wish I had my sister’s Holly Hobbie bridesmaid’s dress to send to you. Good job!

  • Gerlinde

    Thumbs up – would have opted for the ‘ribbony way’ myself and for the same reasons you mentioned!
    NOW: how about you follow ‘that spell of the bouquet’ ?!
    (and run away fast here ;-) :-D )

    • newdressaday

      Merci Gerlinde!! We’ll see how that spell works this weekend…

  • Chris

    Beautiful!

  • Christine

    Totally sweet!!!!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/michele.waters1 Michele Waters

    doesnt Reese’s dress have a mesh overlay? Would look a bit more elegant, and is so easy to do… but great to anyone to actually redo a bridesmaids dress!!!

  • Lovestosew

    Anytime I see a woman do something…anything…with an old bridesmaid dress, it makes me happy. Why do women do this to each other, it’s just mean?!
    I once saw a women’s rugby team called The Bridesmaids, they all came out in old ugly bridesmaid dresses and played real rugby, thus trashing the dresses. It was awesome :)

  • Jenni

    I like your dress better than Reese’s! I was thrifting with my sister the other day and we saw something adorable, but in need of some TLC for a tear. My sister announced, “You read that blog, you could totally fix it – or something!” Thank you for empowering us to see the potential! :)

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

    And also, yours doesn’t look like lingerie, which to ME is a good thing for a dress meant to be worn out of the house :)

  • anna

    so cool

  • Sally

    LOVE this dress makeover. REALLY turned out WELL! And I DID like the ‘googly-eye’ shoes, too! They were GREAT! I’ve got local music happening all three days of this weekend, which I LOVE. I do ‘self-appointed groupie’ duties for a number of these local bands. tee hee And a friend’s birthday to celebrate…. And dog/cat/house-sitting for friends. Will be busy….. Will be FUN…..

    I know, kinda sad that it’s already Labor Day, the ‘unofficial’ end of summer; hasn’t even really BEEN summer, here….. very cool weather all summer long, not at all ‘summer-ish.’ And soon will be holidays….. Where has THIS year gone?

    Also, important, IMPORTANT! Tonight’s full moon is a BLUE MOON. So ya get to bring into your mind all those crazy, off-the-wall, fun, activities that you ….only do once in a blue moon….. and DO ‘EM, today, this weekend!

    Now, go out there and PLAY! tee hee Have a good one, M! .sb

  • Sarah Anne

    Is that a Bill Levekoff? I’m remaking practically the same dress right now (except mine had a silver sash which I am replacing with a black beaded belt that is less “bridesmaidish”). Cool!

    • newdressaday

      Yes!! It totally is a Bill Levekoff :) My friend made the champagne sashes because the dress came with another color. Send me your remake – would love to see Sarah Anne!!