There's nothing more uncomfortable than a tight neck!

I feel like I get neck-claustrophobia (yeah, that's a word I just made up) when I wear things like this. The color was fab...

...but the dress needed a little more something added to it, you know?

Plus there were some major shoulder pads that needed to get removed.

I should stuff new pillows with all of the pads that I've accumulated :) Ready to see how this dress looks now??

First off, I started with those pads! Seam ripper + stitches holding the shoulder pads onto the dress...

REMOVED!!

I decided to adjust the length next and trimmed off enough to make this hit above my knees.

And next...the neck!! There was a seam down the center of the dress, so it was easy stitch removal.

That's more like it!

I stitched a new hem at the bottom of the dress...

...and cleaned up the neckline.

Pairing this with accents of black, my newly upcycled dress was ready to wear!

I love how fun this dress feels now! It was just "eh" in the beginning, but now this is something quite chic.

And the addition of a thick black patent belt, black tights, ankle boots, and a vintage pin, the dress just had more character.

Minor changes = major upgrade

Oh, and instead of actually trimming the sleeves, I just rolled them up. Now, there's the option to still go long when I get chilly. (I know - it's not just chilly but FREEZING cold in many parts right now, so I'd definitely wear this long-sleeved with a BIG sweater on top if I wasn't in California!)

This works for day or night too - it's something that I can wear during the day at work and then roll off to a dinner or a girls night in it at night!

Yeah, this before/after works for me!!

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