Remake: Yellow Floral Chiffon Robe

I hope you're enjoying the costume series that just started! I still want to get a few upcycled remakes posted in-between all of the Halloweening, so today you get a housecoat! I bought this YEARS ago with the intention of doing something cool with it, however I just never seemed to be inspired enough to tweak it.

The print was killer and I loved the chiffon, however at the end of the day, it was a buttoned robe. I finally got inspired with a trip to Palm Springs planned. Kinda seems like something that should be worn in the desert, n'est-ce pas?

First thing to hit the road, besides me (!!) was the ruffled collar.

With help from my seam ripper, I removed all the stitching around the neckline, and had a completely detached collar.

Moving on, it was now time to go short!

I trimmed off the bottom portion of the piece and then pinned under the raw edges to prepare a new hem to be sewn.

I stitched down my neck...

...and then tweaked the hem...

...and was left with the perfect Megan Draper-esque pool cover-up for my poolside afternoon in Palm Springs!

I always lather up with sunscreen but love having some extra coverage to totally avoid the sunburn. This was the perfect piece because it was light and airy, I could walk around the pool not feeling overly exposed, and it made me feel like I was in an episode of Mad Men.

The cabana cushion and pillows were totally in my color palette too. Greens, oranges, and yellows, oh my!! I think I'm going to repurpose this into an actual "jacket" (it's still 90 degrees here in Los Angeles, so I'm using the jacket term quite loosely) to wear on top of a tank top/jeans combo this weekend. It gives just enough flair to make a basic jeans/t pair pop.  I'll make sure to document photographically!

Remake: Stripes and Dots Housecoat

You guys got a little teaser of today's remake, yesterday.  Oh just wait...there are more pics. This housecoat had a lot going on.

The mix of patterns, the ric rac, the bow-like pockets.

I loved the color and saw this as a total challenge, so...

...I had to take it home.  Those stripes, dots, and ric rac were counting on me.

As large and in charge as those pockets were, I just had to say "so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu. Adieu, adieu, to you and you and you."  I grabbed my seam ripper and got working.

One came off...

...and so did the other!  Pocket party time!!!!!!!!!!

I mean, what a huge difference, right?  Such an amazing update to make it a little less juvenile feeling.

The length adjusting came next.  I only shortened it by the width between two of the buttons, which was about four-ish inches.

The hem got pinned next in preparation to sew!

And it's now ric rac time.  It was going to come sooner or later...

I removed the pieces on front...

...and then hit the sleeves.  I now have a decently substantial pile of ric rac!!

I targeted the neck next.  To break up the stripes a smidge, I opened up the neckline...

...and then worked on the back of the piece before I began to sew.

Now that everything was pinned, it was sew time.  The hem was tweaked, the neck was tweaked, and the garment also got brought in a few inches.

The final look??  With some boots, a wide white belt, and my sunnies, this former housecoat was ready for a sunny Los Angeles day!

I must say that I didn't even really notice the awesomeness of the sleeves because of the ric rac!  The polka dot section did a little overlapping on the stripes section, kind of like a petal!

Now it's very cold in many parts right now, so this is something that can be paired with tights, sweaters, coats...whatever makes the most sense in your climate!  It's getting chillier here in LA (high 60s, which is only "chilly" for us because we just had a 90 degree day last week, but I know I sounds crazy) so I paired this with a denim jacket as an extra layer for when it gets dark.

The piece is so fab now!  It went from a super busy housecoat to a cute new dress.

See what getting rid of a little ric rac can do??  This piece was elevated in no time with a few easy adjustments.  And if need be, I happen to get into a housecoat-y kinda mood, guess who can un-belt this piece and chill on their couch watching football or episodes of Nashville?  Yep, me!!  Hip, hip, hooray!!!