Monday Remake: 80s Vintage Jessica McClintock Top

So there are a few specific things I go crazy bananas over...animal style fries from In-N-Out, Tim Riggins on Friday Night Lights, my amazing yoga teacher Peter who signs off every class with "Namastizzle," and lace.  So when I found this vintage shirt at Goodwill, I had to have it.  Just check out the front!

Lace party USA!!

The rest of the piece was highly questionable...

...but it had serious potench.

I started off by dyeing the piece in a denim blue bath of Rit Dye.  The non-lace portion is polyester so I knew that wasn't going to change much, however my goal was the lace!  I wanted the lace to become a part of the blue family.

Total color change success!  Next up was removing the shoulder pads.

Once the pads were gone, it made cutting the sleeves off that much easier!

I wanted the lace to be the centerpiece of the top, and I also wanted the sweetheart dip in the fabric underneath the lace portion to stand out, so I trimmed the blue polyester to match each edge of the sweetheart center to open up the neck line.

This shirt needed to be taken in, so I adjusted the sizing next.

I removed the lace that was the trim at the bottom of the shirt...

...and then added it around both of the armholes.

I stitched everything in place and had a top ready for a girls night out!!

With some red lips, dark jeans, and blue mules, I felt like the ultimate denim darling.

Here's a little close up!

I love that it has a Victorian feel with the high collar!

I always play around with jump shots and the timer on my camera - I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with today's result.

Nate Robinson, eat your heart out.  I'm ready to take you on at next year's NBA All Star game.  Swoosh!!

Happy Monday, lovebugs!

Carissa's NDAD Creation

I'm in full on summer mode right now!  I know it'll go back to feeling like spring next week, but for now I'm enjoying all the sun.  I'm also that weirdo who loves getting into a hot car after letting it sit in a parking lot while I'm on errands.  Today's piece comes from the beautiful Carissa.  Looks like she's ready for summer too!

Marisa, I want to thank you for sharing your amazing creations!  I've been working hard to lose weight recently, and your site has inspired me to revamp my existing wardrobe, rather than spending more money to replace it. The last time I wore this dress, it fit like a glove.  That was 50 pounds ago.

Now it's time to give it a new life!

Carissa, congratulations on all the hard work!  You look fabulous and I'm just so ecstatic that you're revamping all the goodies in your closet instead of buying new pieces.  You're totally right - there's no need to spend all that dough!

Time to check out the project!

First, I cut off the top portion and the straps.

Then I refinished the new top hem and reattached the straps.

The existing shirring in the back was starting to sag, so I inserted a length of elastic into my new hem to reinforce it.

Finally, I took in some of the excess fabric at what would now be the waist to give it a bit more flattering fit.

And now it looks great paired with a $2 thrifted yellow leather belt...

...and my favorite black wedges! 

Thanks again for all the inspiration!

Love this Cariss!  (My nickname is Maris, so I'm giving you what I get from my family!)  You look amazing and I'm so proud you did some resizing to make this dress a knockout once again!  The yellow belt is fab and you truly have the most perfect summer dress!  Have fun wearing it as the temperature starts to rise!  For more from Carissa, check her out HERE!

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Friday Remake

I don't really have much to say about this lovely piece.

I'm thinking that this might have been an 80s nightgown.  That petite pocket...what goes in there?

I'm crazy about the color palette...

...but the rest of the piece is a minor disaster.  I plan on giving this Storm Watch 2013 a pleasant April showers, bring May flowers kind of makeover.

I just had to get rid of that pocket!!

Once the pocket was off, I targeted the sleeves next.  It feels like summer in LA, so I wanted to make my first real sundress of the season.

I started to remove seams from the collar-esque panel around the neck - I wanted this area to sit at my shoulders, acting as straps to my dress.

After I removed the seams, I did some fabric folding and pinning to get the dress sun ready.  I wanted the top of the piece to be as open as possible.

I didn't have a problem with the original length of the dress, but because of all the fabric eliminating I was doing up top, I thought going a smidge shorter would be awesome.  I just didn't want the dress to feel disproportionate or too weighty.

Post trim, I pinned down my new hem...

...and pinned together the remnant piece that I just cut to create a belt for the dress.

The hem was stitched in place...

...and so was the new neckline, back, and side seams.

Ready for a new, rockin' dress??

With some tightening up and some shoulder exposé - the accent is a shout out to my girls, Exposé - the 80s band that I not-so-secretly rock out in karaoke - this piece got a total 180.

And I don't think it looks so nightgown-ish anymore!  Also, it's SO comfortable that I could easily fall asleep in it if I were vegging in the grass on a picnic blanket under the sun.

I paired my upcycled dress with some vintage navy Candies along with my mom's sunglasses from the 70s.  These are my absolute favorite shades.  I put them away every once and awhile and as I was just reorganizing my accessory area, they got pulled back out and put into circulation.

And because the weather is going to feel like summer all weekend...

...you just might see me rocking this all over LA.  #noshame

Happy weekend, friends!

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