January 24, 2016

Marisa Lynch

Remake: Metallic Brocade Dress

January 24, 2016

Marisa Lynch

Hey friends! It's been a VERY long time since my last post and I apologize profusely for the delay. I've been hard at work on a brand new site that will be launching in about two weeks! Eeeeeeee!!!! I couldn't be more excited to share it with you. It's been many months in the making and it's almost ready to reveal. There's going to be a lot of what you've seen on NDAD since 2009, however there's going to be lots of new stuff too. It's a new year and time for a bit of a refresh, you know?

I'll share more about everything as we get closer...lots of amazing little treats are in store for you in less than a month. Wooooooooo!!

Today's remake is one of my most FAVORITE pieces I've worked on in a while. It involves metallics... *mic drop.

Check this lovely out...

A neighbor of mine has an incredible vintage collection and has been having sales to downsize her racks of goodies. I hopped on this dress as soon as I tried it on.

It was $10, so the beaded neck, heavy brocade, and metallic threads came home with me.

So did those robot moves which shockingly must have come with the dress!!

I had a segment on GMA to plan for and I thought this piece would be the perfect on-camera look! There was a LOT of work to be done, however...

When I first tried the dress on, it was so much heavier than I expected. I thought, how could someone actually wear this all night as a dress? It didn't seem feasible in my mind. So that thought really helped solidify what I was going to make.

I began with that zipper down the back and started to remove it.

I won't need it to keep the dress together anymore because I'm turning it into a coat! Flipping the puppy around and wearing that back as the front!

Once the zipper was removed, I continued to open the center seam down the back of the jacket until I hit the hem. This seam was located directly under the zipper, right around the hip area.

Once the back was completely open, I tried the jacket on to see progress. I was actually envisioning keeping it as a long coat, however it felt way too dramatic, like the metallic version of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat! I know I was going to be shooting my segment on Broadway, but this was a bit too literal. 😂😂😂

I decided to go a bit shorter with the length - something that would hit around the knees.

I did a little post-cut/post-pin check in to see how the jacket was coming along. Once I saw the new length, I was totally sold and ready to move on and complete it. (PS, this was all going down in the hotel room across the street from the studio! You can see my opened suitcase and mess in the background.)

I spent the next few hours working some magic on the coat including a whole lot of hand stitching before heading to set at 5am.

It was showtime, and my jacket was totally ready to go!

NY wasn't as cold when this was shot as it is now, so the jacket was the perfect thing to wear without any crazy layers or scarf action.

If you want to see the whole segment on winter hacks, click here!

I was a bit hesitant to return the mic because I had such a great time. Hey GMA, need another correspondent??

This piece totally screams winter - winter whites and metallic are my fave - and the perfect seasonal piece for me here on the West Coast.

I'm tank toppin' it because it's in the 60s right now, otherwise I'd be in a turtleneck sweater, for SURE!

I must say, every time I look at the embellished neck close up, I get super excited. That was one of the first things that drew me to the piece. The beadwork and rhinestones were in perfect condition.

It's like I got a free necklace with this frock!

The more I wear the jacket, the more I've been finding out that it doesn't matter what I'm wearing underneath!! Old T shirts, workout gear...I can basically wear anything and the only thing that's focused on is the jacket.

That's a total score in my book!

December 3, 2015

admin

Outfit Remakes

Remake: Pink Striped Dress

December 3, 2015

admin

Outfit Remakes

Hello friends! I've got another remake for you today :) Apologies for the delays - a bigger post is to come to discuss, but thanks for all your emails and patience! There's a brand new site coming your way as well, with a fun little project to boot, all which will be shared shortly! LA can be 80 degrees one day and 62 another - this dress was worn on one of those warm wintery days here! ❄️☀️

I just loved this striped mix of colors!

It was a bit too big...

...but those pleats made me SO happy!

I knew there was room to make this outfit work!

First off, I LOVE that the brand is secretly printed on this dress! It was something that I didn't even notice until I started working on it. Subliminal messaging at its finest, La moda Goji.

I began with removing the sleeves and the shoulder pads. Because of the cool pleats at the shoulder, taking off the sleeve gave the piece a cool cap-style look.

The other sleeve came off next...

...and it was time to stitch the edges up.

With the top of the dress pretty much good to go, it was now getting the rest of it to fit! I toyed with the idea of taking it in, but after playing around with belt options, it was easier just to cinch!

A little vintage navy belt action saves the day!

The pleats feel super Marilyn Monroe to me.

After walking in my hood, I found some flowers that matched my look!

Nothing like bright reddish/pinks to make it feel like summer in December!

It's a fun date night look...

...that was perfect to wear to a cooking class!! I just removed those heels though...brought my Toms with me, as closed toe shoes make the most sense in a kitchen environment filled with sharp knives and tasting spoons holding hot curry sauce.

I love this transformation. Super sleek and simple, but a piece I'd wear to anything!

June 8, 2015

admin

Remake: Blue Checkered Ruffled Dress

June 8, 2015

admin

Hi you guys!! Today's piece is SO good. The dress looked like it was straight out of a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.

I went straight into musical theater mode and gave my best "I'm getting the vapors" look.

But, look at those SLEEVES!

That collar too...

This piece needed some serious help to turn it into something that you don't need to be on a stage to wear!

Before we start, I saw this lovely little tag inside the piece - love when there are little hints of who wore this before me!

If I only had time to tag my clothes too...

I started off with the sleeves! Took them a bit shorter and got rid of the tightly cuffed wrist area.

Next came that skirt!

That major ruffle at the bottom was definitely coming off.

Once the length and arms were shortened, I prepped all of the raw edges before sewing new seams and a new hem.

We're almost there! The collar came next. I just wasn't into the lace trimmed edging...

...so with a seam ripper, I took off both sides of the collar. One side down...

...and now they're completely off!

I pinned the collar back together and stitched a basic seam around the edges to keep it in place before I began to craft a new neckline.

I trimmed a straight line down the center of the piece, using the edge of the square pattern as a guide, then pinned under my trimmed area to form a V, before sewing everything in place.

Ready for the reveal???

From dowdy to fun summer dress!

I paired this with some tan booties, my FAVE safari purse (as I like to call it) that my mom found at Goodwill in Charlotte, a vintage belt that came from my dad's high school collection, and a pair of aviators!

A big patterned piece made super wearable by pairing it with more neutral shades. It was just the thing for a little summer dinner party complete with brownies.