Lisa's NDAD Donation

Lisa in Phoenix sent me a most fabulous dress that I got to play with today!

I look forward to seeing how you can transform a dated or unattractive garment into something very stylish.  I found the blue dress at a thrift store for $1.  I loved the rhinestone embellishment.

I love that rhinestone embellishment too!!  The rest of the piece...well...

...not so much.

And there's no mistake that she got it for a buck!

Time to get crackin' on this sweet deal of a dress!

I began by trimming the outer later of the dress off.  I wanted the top portion to be used for the remake.

I got rid of the shoulder pads while I was trimming...

...and had all this leftover!

I trimmed the armhole edges as close to the seams as possible once the piece was on its own, separate from the under layer.

I'm going to be turning the piece around, so I had to remove the seam that was down the center of the old back of the dress, because it's going to be the new front!

The length was a bit too long for me, so I trimmed it shorter - I took off about six inches just to hike it up a smidge because I wanted this to be a jacket-y/cover up and not hit my knees.

I ironed the edges down where I opened the seam to prep for some sewing.

I got out my sewing machine and stitched the areas where I cut the piece short as well as creating new seams down each side of the front.  After all my sewing, my new cover-up was complete!

After hearing about all the Coachella stories from the past two weekends from friends, I thought I'd put together my own desert-y, concert-chic ensemble using my new top.  I paired the piece with my staple grey tank from Urban Outfitters, a vintage beaded bag and some vintage neck baubles, along with a pair of boots I snagged at a sample sale with my thrifted American Eagle shorts.

I loved the rhinestones in the back of the piece now!  It's like a little bit of flair from behind.

And to be totally honest, I'm not usually a shorts wearer, however I thought they totally worked with this piece!  (I know...it's so weird that I'm not a shorts person!)

This outfit is really getting me ready for summer...we've only seen little glimpses of crazy summertime heat, but those days are getting me very excited.  I'm hoping that those of you who just saw a bit more snow have the heat closer than ever now!  I'm willing lots of rays of sunshine your way!

Lisa, thank you so much for sending this piece to me!  I had a blast getting to remake it!

Earth Day Giveaway!

Happy Earth Day, friends!! I'm SO excited about today's giveaway - not only is the company super cool, but two of my dear college pals started the brand and I just couldn't be happier for them.

Julie and Reina's company, Flying Buttress (I love the name considering their architecture backgrounds!) is an accessory line focusing on sustainability and individuality.  They have an assortment of purses, totes, lunch packs, and tech sleeves along with over 40 interchangeable panels that snap on to the outsides of each piece.  Here's how it works...

I love that you can change up panels of different prints to match outfits or even the mood you're in, and when you get tired of a print, instead of donating the bag you can just give it a second life with a different fabric panel.

I think the tech case that can fit your iPad is my favorite!

You can go with glitter if you're feeling a little glam, or you can even go with one of the white Mona Lisa panels that can be personalized.  Grab some fabric markers and puffy paint and create a masterpiece of your own!

All the panels are the same size and can fit on each of the different bag styles, which is awesome and practical.

So to celebrate Earth Day, Julie and Reina are giving a lucky reader a Flying Buttress bag and panel of their choice!!  Woo!!  To enter, head over to the Flying Buttress site (click here!) and leave a comment below with the bag and panel option that you'd love to win.  A winner will randomly get picked a week from today, April 29th.

I think I'd go with the Jackie print!

Emily's NDAD Creation

Today's remake had me saying, "get it girl!"  Check out what Emily did...

I was raiding my moms closet and came across this gem. As a friend put it, the length was just perfect as a too long to be tea length and too short to be a full-length dress.  Also, the top part was pretty unflattering as well.

Blue is my favorite color, I thought the flowers were a fun summer print, and it reminded me of a dress I saw on ModCloth...

...so I thought why not a copycat?

Let's see Em's ModCloth remake!!

It was a lot of work, but I think it turned out great and I plan on wearing it for the 4th of July...on top of many other times before and after that as well!! 

Thanks for all the great ideas and inspiration!

Emily, your piece is identical to the ModCloth version!!  I love that you added the white trim at the neck and down the center to really bring home the copycat-ness!  Keep the remakes coming!!