As Seen On TV: New Girl

Today's post is a fun one that I created just for HelloGiggles!  I'm contributing to their awesome site in a bimonthly post called, "As Seen On TV" where I tackle DIY/copycat pieces of our favorite looks! To kick off the posts, I went with Zooey Deschanel's red Zara dress worn in the credits of the show:

My before was this frockish Jessica McClintock piece...

...and my after looked a little something like this...

For the full rundown, click HERE and head on over to HG!  I'm super excited about these posts because they pair my love of DIY with television - two of my very favorite things!  PS, keep me posted if there are any outfits that you see and covet on your favorite characters - I don't want to miss any of your favorites!

More Halloween themed goodies coming tomorrow...MUAHAHAHAHAHA!

Remake: Ivory Striped Dress

I got this ivory dress from a girlfriend who was moving to NY in hopes of giving it a fix.  It was stunning, however there were some slight issues.

There were lots of these faded, brownish spots at the bottom of the dress...

...as well no sort of straps to keep the halter up.  I ended up pinning it to the hanger to get a full view.

To maintain the ivory color I tried washing the piece, however there was still a substantial amount of discoloration at the bottom.  To fully hide the marks, I thought a color change would do the trick!

What color would you go with??

I went to my trusty stash of RIT dye and went with Scarlet!!!

In went the dress (along with a few other pieces I wanted to give a facelift)...

...and in went the dye!

After the piece was dyed, it was time to make some straps!  I was playing around with a few of the ribbons and trims that I had and ended up going with this fun black cording.

I put a safety pin at the end of the trim and pushed it through the seam opening on one side of the dress...

...and then the other.

New straps and new color, here we go!!

I had a little birthday shindig over the weekend that I needed a party dress for, and this was just the thing to wear!

I paired it with my most comfortable shoes ever (Michael Kors!) and grabbed a vintage suede purse with stripes on it.

I thought the bag tied in nicely with the straps on the dress!  Stripes all around!

This is such a fun fit and flare piece...

...not to mention that it's literally the most comfortable thing to wear!

I celebrated with my birthday partner-in-crime LC (we're both 10/15-ers) and got to hang with all of my favorite people over the weekend.

Unfortunately the only pic on my phone was the one I took with my fave gal LC, who had the most rocking hair ever.

I have to say, I think I'd wear this dress each year just because it's SO comfy!  What have been some of your favorite outfits/accessories to wear on your birthday?

Remake: Emerald Paisley 80s Dress

So, I picked this fabulous dress to wear on my birthday.

The sleeves were en fuego...

...and well nothing is cuter than a missing button at the waist, right?  Time to make this celebration-ready!!

Can we first start off with the amazingness of the tag??  Hello, Full House!  I can guarantee that Aunt Becky wore a dress by this brand at some point on the series...

I began by cutting open the top area, sleeve to sleeve.

The fabulous gold button at the top of the dress got removed next - guess where it's going to go??

The neckline got pinned and stitched in place... (I'm keeping this a bit of a secret so you can see it in full wonderment in the after shots!)

I took in the body of the piece next...

...and grabbed some elastic to use for straps!

I measured my pieces of elastic, pinned them in place, and then stitched them down to the top of the dress.

My new button got stitched at the waist to close up the gaping hole that was there...

...and then my dress was complete!!

Hey new straps!!

Birthday dress was accompanied by birthday hair!!  I got a fab cut by my girl Dora at Refuge in Echo Park.  Nothing like fresh hair to ring in the new year!

From long sleeves, to no sleeves!  I'm so much happier now!

Plus the best part!  My waist is closed!  No stomach exposing anymore!!

I paired this outfit with some black Michael Kors heels and one of my recent (and favorite) Goodwill purchases, a vintage clutch with small handles.

This was an easy day-to-night transition...

Oh, and we didn't even talk about the best part of the dress...the POCKETS!!  Oh how I love these pockets!

This blue paisley number hit the town for a birthday feast at Connie and Ted's.

Oysters were had...

Lobster rolls were had...

Decor obsession fest was had...

And, some serious cake was had.

Such a lovely day to ring in my Charles Barkley year!!

Thank you all for the most amazing birthday wishes as well - from the emails, to the comments on yesterday's post, to all the love on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter...I am  really so lucky to have you all in my world. xo