Week 7: Remake Trio

I've been a bit nutty preparing for a trip to Austin, TX next week getting all my ducks in a row, and outfits sewn in advance!  I'm headed down for SXSW and I'm super thrilled because it's my first time to the city o'Longhorns!  (Those of you locals, UT alums, or fans of the city, please let me know some of your favorite spots to hit up!) I'm a bit behind, getting lots of ensembles prepped for the trip like this one...

and this one...

...oh, and can't forget about this one...

New remake comes tomorrow, but these are just a teaser for next week!!  Austin is currently #1 on my "US city must list" and I can't wait to take it all in.  Yippee for the Salt LIck (I said I MUST do this) and South Congress!!  Feel free to share your faves below!

Week 7: Patricia

I went with the stripes for today!!  Patricia in TN sent this purdy piece my way... Howdy Marisa!!

I came across this piece while cleaning out my closet!!  I remember wearing this some years back (more like many years back, lol) and just loving the print at the time.  I've outgrown it and instead of bringing it to Goodwill, I'm mailing it to you, my Goodwill pen pal!  Have fun with it!  Patricia

I love the stripes, but this just needed a bit of a face lift!

I began by doing a bit of trimming.

I wanted to keep this a top and leave a bit of fabric dangling at the waist.

Once cut, I decided to bring another stripe into the picture.  I grabbed some black nylon ribbon and began to pin it around the bottom edge of the new top!

The edges were pinned and I began to sew it in place!  I used a zig zag stitch to affix...

...and then grabbed a belt to cinch the waist that was a little loose before heading out to meet girlfriends for dinner.

I also met this gentleman who was our server/sous chef/owner/rad shirt wearer of this small, delish, mini mall, European resto and had to have my photo taken alongside.  He's rocking the orange and the polka dots like a boss (...um well, he is the boss).

The flutter below the waist felt like a little skirt!

If only the night was being broadcast in black and white!!  The red and grey shades really pop.

Now I'm craving some episodes of Bewitched!!  And my nose is wiggling, but only because it's cold and itchy.  A sign??  Just call me Samantha :)

Loved the dress Patricia - thank you!!!

Week 7: JJ

I have to say, among many things, I'm a total sucker for plaid!!

JJ sent me this dress and I immediately was obsessed with the bottom for obvious reasons.

Hi Marisa:  I wanted to let you know how much I've enjoyed what you've been doing.  I didn't really go to garage sales before reading your blog, but once I started to see how you were able to change pieces that would usually get picked over, I began to think differently.  I'm just starting out, but feel more confident knowing I can "check in" with you to get inspiration from posts as well as copy some of your tricks.  I got this dress from a sale I stopped off at when I saw dresses hanging from a clothesline.  This one sparked some interest and I've been wanting to donate to the cause...  I hope you enjoy it and thanks again for all you do.  My best, JJ

The bottom of the sleeves had elastic around them and they felt very Disney princess, not to be confused with the "The Real Housewives of Disney".  (Who else stayed up for this sketch on SNL this week?)

The sleeves were going to get a tweak first!  Bibbity, bobbity, boo!

I began with a seam ripper and started to remove each puffy one.

One came off and then the next.

I pinned under the arm hole edges and took the remaining fabric from the two sleeves and cut off two rectangles.

I sewed the arms and then sewed around the edges of the two rectangles, stitching them together, and leaving a space of about two inches open in the top center.

This opening was left to pull the rectangle inside out to hide the raw edges.

I'm making a little bow with this material, so I pinched it in the center...

...and cinched it making a knot with some black nylon ribbon.

After fixing the bow, I did a quick iron job...

...and had my dress ready to go from day to night!!  It was 85 degrees today, so the sundress was just the way to go.

With the bow attached to black nylon ribbon, I brought the ribbon all the way around to the front and tied the end to the bit wrapped around the bow for a makeshift belt.

The bow idea stemmed from a viewing of Ugly Betty (I still heart this show and record the reruns) where Betty was rocking a patent turquoise one around her waist.  I found my spot to redo my own version, just sans the orange top.

This was kind of the perfect thing to wear today because it assisted in warding off some of the sweat droplets :)  In warding off, I mean it absorbed the sweat droplets and turned the blue shade navy, but I had the A/C on full blast to dry them up.

JJ, thank you so much for sending this to me!!  I can't wait to actually re-wear again this summer!!