Tuesday Remake: Linda's NDAD Donation

I received this dress in a little package from Linda, and the letter that came along with it was priceless!

Dear Marisa - When I saw this dress at the local thrift store,  thought of:

1. Dana Carvey

2. Marisa

3. The phrase,"isn't that SPECIAL"

4. Polyester double-knit

Who better to transform this ugly duckling into the swan it wants to be?  So, go get em' girl, just PLEASE don't rock the ugly church lady shoes!!

The note made me giggle because it DID feel super Church Lady because of the THICK polyester material.

I also felt super proud because Linda thought of me when she saw this atrosh piece (let's all say "aww" in unison), so I knew I had to do her right.

First the piece had to be seriously taken in.  Since I'm actually keeping it a dress, the fit was key.  I ended up taking in each side of the dress about 2 1/2 inches and the sleeves were given some TLC too (about 1 1/2 inches).

I tried the dress on and pinned it in place before I got my sewing machine out and took it all in, permanently.

Post-sew, I cut the excess material from my new seam...

...and then went shorter!

I decided that I'd add a little bit of neck flair and took some lace remnants and did a little coloring on top with a Tulip fabric marker.  Because of the black/grey pattern, I thought this charcoal shaded lace would look mostly lovely at the neck, next to the black piping.

I hand stitched this lace piece down in place and had a dress that was totally ready to be worn in public!!

It was chilly and windy in LA, so I wore layers with the dress, but just had to brave one shot without my coats!  (Yes, coat(s)!)

I got to hang and catch up with one of my favorite people and we did that over blood orange sorbet.  Usually when it's cold out I avoid eating things that are frozen, however this sorbet was too good to pass up.  I also liked that there was a whole matching thing going on - my dessert and the huge orange at the rim, my hair, my coat, the candle on the table...

I ended up layering the dress with a gold, waffle-y Trina Turk jacket, then with a 3/4 length overcoat by Tulle on top of that.  It really would have been awesome if I chose a jacket that actually covered my forearms, on the cold front, however I was quite pleased with how my outfit looked.  A pair of grey stretchy gloves á la Target and my Betsey Johnson tights assisted with that chill factor, for sure.

PS, it's pretty rad when people think of you in certain instances, ie. "I totally thought of you when...I saw Jessica Chastain's hairdo on the Golden Globes/I was listening to Justin Timberlake's new single on the radio/I ran into this really sassily dressed toddler at Trader Joe's (all true), so to be associated with not-so-cute dresses while out shopping, Linda, I am HIGHLY humbled and overjoyed :)

Monday Remake

I've had this dress for a while in my collection!  I got it early fall because of the insane embroidery - I loved how the top of it was so beautifully detailed.  The rest of it was well...eh.

I knew this was going to turn out rad though, just with one major tweak.  Color!  Yep, it's time for a dye job...

I filled the washing machine with hot water and a little salt, added my piece to it...

...and then added the dye!  Any thoughts on what color I chose?

LAVENDER

Yep, went with the lovely purple shade which took nicely to the laced areas.  I cut it right below where the skirt began...

...and pinned my raw edges.

I'm taking this from dress to tunic!!

I stitched the bottom in place...

...and got rid of those pesky shoulder pads...

...and voila, new top!!

I took a vintage scarf and tied it around my waist for a little shape and paired the rest of my outfit with leopard flats from Target, a vintage clutch I scored at the Goodwill pay-by-the-pound in NC, and my go-to, stretchy jeans (that secretly feel like leggings) from Forever 21.

I love the subtle color and I already have plans to re-wear this in a totally new way!!

Hope everyone had a most lovely weekend!!

Charity's NDAD Creation

Say hello to Miss Charity!  She sent in this fun pink piece and the color is making me happy while it's raining outside.  It seems to be perfectly sunny right here on the interwebs because of her project!

A while back a friend passed along this plain sleeveless dress to me – I liked the fabric, but when I put the dress on, I felt like a complete frump!!  Being inspired by reading through your entire archive, I decided to alter it.

That's right, girl!!  Time to alter!

First, I chopped the dress to a reasonable length and then hemmed it. I cut the neck into a V shape, took the dress in (dramatically), and then finished off with a cinch-and-pinch.  I used the ties that I pulled from the sides of the dress.

I wore it like this for a while, but it still wasn't exactly what I wanted, so I tried again.  This time I cut sleeves from the remainder of the dress, sewed them in place, removed the shoulder ties, and then lettuce-edged the hem and sleeves with a contrasting thread.

I also added a faux white layer under the neck, since I got tired of actually layering it. This time, I love it! 

In fact, I'm wearing it right now! I wrote about this shirt as my first blog post, HERE.   Thanks for the inspiration, Marisa!

When something doesn't work one way, just keep at it until you get it to just the right place - I love that Charity kept going until she got something she loved!  Kudos, girl!  (...and congrats on the little bebe on the way!)