Monday Remake: ASOS Bird Print 40s Dress

Happy July 1st!! What I love about today's piece is that it didn't take much to give it a completely different look!  It's awesome when you can change a few little things to really transform the style/look/feel of something.  Here it goes...

I got this dress from one of the swap parties that I attended this year.  It was an ASOS dress and was not my size, however I adored the bird print!

The bones of this piece are amazing - I tried it on at the party and gave it a good look over before I tossed it in my bag.  I saw lots of interesting ruching and layers and knew this piece could totally become something I'd love to wear.

Hey long waist ties!!!

A super chic dress is just waiting to emerge!!

Right off the bat I had to make the top of the dress work.  There was already ruching down the middle, so I just enhanced that.  I took two large safety pins and gathered this area even more, cinching another inch and a half or so.

There were these fantastic rounded edges sewn into the fabric (right by the ruching) and those really got my wheels turning.

I decided to follow this round shape and remove the material above it which went all the way up to the neck. Hello new neckline!!

I re-pinned the rounded area where the stitches were removed to prep for a quick sew - I ended up grabbing the same grey shade of thread just re-secure the seam that had been compromised when the other bit of fabric was taken away.

I also tweaked the shoulder area a bit as well.  If I were to have removed the entire panel, the shoulder would have started where the ruching is, which ultimately wouldn't have stayed up.  I opted to keep a bit of the fabric attached to the shoulder and I made a 45 degree angle with it...it kind of gives more of a 40s-esque feel.

With everything pinned, I stitched my new seam at the neck and tweaked the shoulders.

Now those waist ties that were attached to the dress were pretty long.  It ended up working perfectly to wrap them around my waist twice and tie in the front.  It was an insta-cinch for the waist, so I didn't even need to take it in at all.

The little peplum at the waist can actually be seen now!!  I love that little accent!

I added some red lips as my only accessory and wore this to dinner with friends.  It was amazing because I got tons of compliments - so fun saying that I got it for free from a girlfriend who didn't want it anymore and then just changed a few things to make it my own!

Ooh, and the extra material at the bust was just tucked under the bow I made, which completely hid it from view.

And now, this dress can totally work for varied sizing because I didn't do any structural adjusting.  The pins can be changed out and the waist can be tied to fit, if I happen to bring this back to the next swap party to add to the mix!

Who knows...maybe my friend will want her dress back again??

Oh, and check out the original dress...

Happy Monday, friends!!

Mariah's 2nd NDAD Creation

Mariah is a natural NDAD'er!!  Her first piece was highlighted right around the Oscars - click HERE for her first creation -and this second one is just screaming summer.  Here's her summery and vacation-worthy project!

I found a an awesome muumuu at Goodwill for $2 and loved the Hawaii fabric!!

How do you think Mariah will adjust this fabulously printed dress??

I want to cut out one of those flowers and put it on a tote bag!!

I got to work on the piece and took off the sleeves, shortened it, took it in, and made a sash with the excess.  It quickly became my favorite summer dress and I wear it at least once a week!  

Nothing like feeling proud to wear your own recreation!! (And yes, there is a pocket in it - awesome!  And yes, my iPhone cover is a rubber 90-min cassette tape lookalike!) 

This dress is something I'd wear all the time too!  It's summery, boldly printed, and light and breezy which are all requirements for the perfect June/July/August outfit.  And I love that you called out your iPhone case because that was the first thing I noticed!  Such a rad cover - it's meant to be front and center in the shot. Keep your recreations coming!   Looking forward to the next submission!

My Mother's Attic: June

I am so absolutely in love with this month's post from Ash.  It's one of those stories that makes me so happy.  It's a big part of why I love doing this so much, the amazing stories behind all the clothes I find.  Makes me so happy to reinvent things; to give things a second run.  Enjoy today's post and happy, happy weekend.

The woman in the photo below is one of my mother's best friends from childhood. She's pictured with my dad's college roommate the morning of my parents' wedding in June of 1974.

Her name is Polly, and she died suddenly and tragically just three weeks after that picture was taken due to a mosquito bite infected with encephalitis.  I grew up learning all about Polly, my mother speaking fondly of her beautiful friend whose life was taken far too young. 

When I pulled a batik patterned polyester dress from the wardrobe of clothes I now have stashed in my home, originally from my mother's attic, and I texted her a quick snap of the dress asking, "What's the story behind this one?," I was not expecting the response:  That was Polly's. 

I instantly felt a reverence for the piece, knowing that it represented a tragic story about a beloved friend in my mother's life. My mother went on to explain that Polly had worn that dress to one of their many high school proms (apparently proms were a big thing in the late 60s) and later gifted it to my mother. 

She recalled sitting on Polly's childhood bed the summer after their first year at college, Polly sorting through her closet of clothes and determining that that dress should be my mother's because of the batik-like pattern.  You see, my mother's early childhood was spent abroad in Indonesia, home of batik, so Polly thought it seemed appropriate in my mother's keeping.

Over forty years later, my mother still had the dress.  A reminder of a sweeter, more innocent time and a friendship that was cut short, but whose memory shone brightly.  I asked if it was okay that I alter the dress so that it could once again be worn, and she agreed wholeheartedly. 

I am grateful that I didn't tackle this piece until nearly a half year into this monthly project, as I now have much more experience and understanding of how to sew and properly alter clothing.  I spent the most time of any piece working on this, wanting to do justice to this special dress and what it represented. The polyester was a tad intimidating to work with because of the stretch, but I knew exactly what I wanted to do to make this dress wearable for me.

The length was wrong on my six foot build, the sleeves too short, and the bust pulling and stretching so I started by removing the hook and eye clasp from the bust and carefully sewing up the front to secure the bust.

Then, using the pattern of the dress as my guide, I removed a strip of fabric off the bottom, including the hem, and then cut the dress off at the blue patterned area, and reattached the hem to where I had shortened the dress.

I was careful to pin along the lines and try to create a seamless patterned look.  I sewed the two pieces together, pressed them down, and was amazed that it really did align fairly perfectly. 

Then I took a seam ripper and removed both sleeves.  Using the extra fabric from the sleeves, I then creating a binding stripe (Watch out!  I made my first quilt earlier this month and that has given me all sorts of tricks that I figured I could apply to make a polished edge for the sleeveless hem). I pinned and attached the binding strip to each arm hole, and whew!  It worked!

And now the dress is perfect for summer, and I can share the story of my mom's sweet friend Polly whenever I wear it.

My mother agreed that Polly would most certainly approve.

Thank you for letting me share this very special family story with all of you.

This was absolutely my favorite piece so far in the series has it carried so much love and meaning.

See you next month! xo Ash

To keep up with Ash online, find her over at Blog a la Cart and here onTwitter, Instagram, & FB!