Linda's NDAD Creation

Linda sent in this amazing remake that she wore for a Christmas party and I love it because it's something that you could also totally swing for one of those evening, summer weddings as well.  Plus there's gold shimmer involved which gets me every time.  Time to see what Linda does!!

I wanted something new for a Christmas party but had had no budget for a new dress, so I tried the thrift stores.  Unfortunately nothing fit, but I found this blouse in a size 3X and I hated the sleeves.  I thought, WWMD (what would Marisa do)?

WWMD?!? Love this, Linda!  How did she get this piece tweaked?

I took out the shoulder pads...

...removed the sleeves...

...and turned the round neckline into a v-neck.

Next I took in the seams, gathered it across the back, cut off the excess length, and rehemmed it.  

Finally, I took the extra fabric from the bottom, added a black shoe lace and created a matchiing purse for my cell phone.  

I also found a matching black velvet skirt, shoes, and a black beaded shawl making the total outfit just $12.  PS, I wanted to do it the Marisa way so I spent just one evening, 5 hours, and did the makeover the night before the party.

Thanks for encouraging us to see the potential in the fabric and be creative.

Um, hello fabulous new black vest!  I love the pairing with the velvet skirt, shoes, and shawl, however this would totally work on a more casual front too, with a pair of slacks or dark trousers as well!  The fact that this entire piece cost $12 is just mindblowing-ly awesome.  Nothing makes me happier than sourcing out an entire outfit for a totally reasonable amount of money!  Linda, I hope you're having fun with this piece - you look incredible!

Wendy P's NDAD Creation

Today's remake comes from Miss Wendy P.  First off, her piece has a horse print on it, so I'm already sold.  Second, it's this fabulous green color, so sold once again.  See what she does with it...

I'm short and fat.  It's just the way it is and it gets in the way of finding clothes that fit.  So, being the somewhat crafty gal I am, I decided it was high time I started learning to sew.  I started with the Green Dress of Hideousness.

I liked the fabric, the dress was cheap - maybe $3-4? - not bad for the Goodwills around here...

...and I love wearing skirts in the summer.

Smells like skirt time!!

The best part - as I cut it up, I realized it was probably handmade.  There's even a pocket hidden away in one of the side seams. 

A skirt for summer!  Not fancy or nothin', but I can wear it to work (I work with preschoolers), and I often wear it over running shorts for working out. 

Love this piece, Wendy!  That fabric is awesome and you worked the "Green Dress of Hideousness" into something super functional!  Old housedress turned fab new skirt - three cheers for you, my dear!

Friday Remake: Vintage Ann Taylor

Can we say a quick hello to this fun floral number that I found at a fave thrift store in the valley?  It's a whole lotta vintage Ann Taylor going on!!  Hubba hubba!

I'm totally in LOVE with the floral print - I've seen so many pieces in stores right now that have similar prints to dresses that I had in the 90s.  This shirt is right up that 90s floral printed alley!  (What a cute alley, isn't it?)

And to no surprise of mine...Velcro panels at the shoulders, where shoulder pads once sat.

At least the shoulder pads were gone when I found this!!

The first thing to go were those bits of Velcro...

I quickly got them removed before I continued along...

I wanted to make this a tank, so I folded the shirt in half and cut off the sleeves in a slight crescent shape.  I left somewhat of a point at the top because I wanted this portion to cover a little bit of my shoulders.  The shoulder seam went down a few inches below my shoulder because of the larger sizing, so trimming where I did will leave me with a mini-cap sleeve!

I took the top in next to give it a slimmer fit.  I put it on and did some measuring and pinning to figure out where I needed to sew.

I trimmed the neck next!  I wanted more of a scoop up top, so I cut ab0ut an inch from the neckline.  (I'm keeping the neck and arm edges raw for a more caszh look - I'd totally wear this to the beach over a suit with some shorts!)

After my first trim, I went around with my scissors again perfecting any little jagged edges that were left.

I took the piece in with my sewing machine next...

...and had my top ready to go!!

I paired my top with a vintage gold chain and clutch, a pair of sunnies from Urban Outfitters, and my crazy tall Joseph Campbell platforms.

Yeah, the below shot catches me just as I'm losing my balance before totally eating the pavement.  It looks like I'm on pointe, kinda!  So glad the timer on my camera shot this when it did, to truly catch my clumsiness in action.

I had some lighter bags in shades of pink that I originally thought could work to bring out the flowers in the fabric, however when I was testing them out I just didn't like the way they looked.  I went with a deep chestnut brown and that totally did the trick.

After my photo shoot in the street, I took off to meet a girlfriend for a quick drink/catch up...

...and then enjoyed one of these.  This oyster was cooked on the stone fire grill and had a prosecco/aperol/butter/shallot topping drizzled over it.

Suffice it to say, I consumed every drop of that coulis.  With a spoon.  When it was leftover in the shell after I devoured the oyster.  Reminding me of the East Coast.

I hope you all have fun plans on tap for the weekend!  I'm guessing that "staying cool" is right up there on top!  I have some thrifting to do and will keep you all apprised on Instagram with photo documentation!!