Vintage Square Dance Dress Match Up!

The real life game of Treasure Hunters continues...  So I've posted a few vintage match-ups that I've come across in my flea market scouring, like this fab floral match up...

...and this elephant kaftan.

I couldn't get over today's find.  I was doing some scouring and found this dress over on Hoot + Louise's Facebook page .

Are you ready??

Um, hello IDENTICAL dress??

This was one that I picked up a while back at a big pile sale for a buck.  I just loved the silver ric rac (I mean, who wouldn't) and thought it would be a stellar piece to remake.

I nearly peed my pants.

This has been the most fun, finding these matching treasures.  Keep your eyes peeled if you recognize anything on your thrifting journeys as well.

Remake: Rust/Black Graphic Robe

So I totally thought this piece was a robe when I first saw it.  I loved the print and the colors, but it felt robe-ish.  Ya dig?

There was one pocket on the front of the right side as well as some ties that made me think this was trying to be a wrap dress, but just didn't succeed.

I'm going to work it into a wrap dress that works for me without feeling robe-y.  Nobody wants to feel robe-y when you're not intentionally wearing a robe.  Oh, and PS...that wall just got some serious action.

This graphic print feels totally 80s, yet isn't overly bold.  The rust/white/yellow/black palette is lovely and the squares are small enough...

...not to be confused with those in the Saved By the Bell opening credits.

I hiked up the length, took it in on the sides...

...and then trimmed the excess fabric with my pinking shears.

Ooh, and that front sitting pocket...that had to go.

I put on my shorter dress with some heels and took it to the streets!

It fits so much better now...

...and actually feels feminine!!

I wore a pair of BCBG heels, my vintage Dooney & Bourke purse, sunnies from Forever 21, and one of my fave estate sale necklaces - an onyx charm with a gold printed scale on it.  A total ode to my Libra sign.

I think I might test this out for another run wearing a thick black belt at the waist - we'll see how that turns out!  In the interim, I'm loving my new look and am stoked that I don't have to keep this piece on the back of my bathroom door with the rest of my robes.  Score!

DIY: Leather Cutout Necklace

Today’s necklace DIY is one that came about after being inspired by this piece that I saw while sorting through my stash of magazines.

I'm still such a magazine girl - as fun as it is to read them on a tablet, I always get so much inspiration flipping through the pages and tearing/cutting up/tagging my favorite outfits and accessories.  I had an OG Pinterest board (aka a big scrapbook) that I used to paste outfit ideas in with a glue stick many, many years back.  Guaranteed there are quite a few Cher Horowitz looks in it!  Enough with the reminiscing...back to the necklace!

I met up with my crafty partner-in-crime, Sonya Nimri, for a jewelry making day.  Using a Cricut Cuttlebug and some scrap pieces of leather, we were going to have our copycat necklace in no time.  We used a diamond shape template to create our leather shapes just because there weren't any long oval shaped ones in our stash that would match the inspiration piece.  The essence of the original necklace will still be there!

We placed our leather on top of the template and wound it through the Cuttlebug to get perfectly cut diamond shaped pieces.

We cranked and cranked to create a stash of diamonds in three different sizes.

We needed to punch holes in each shape, so using an awl, we stamped the top of each diamond.  These holes allowed jump rings to be attached, making each shape ready to be hung from a chain.

After spacing and a color design was decided upon, each diamond was added to a chain.  Unfortunately, none of the chains I had on hand had big enough links to fit the jump rings, so I picked one up in the jewelry making section at Jo-Ann's.  There were tons of options and all were super reasonable, in case you run into the same issue as me!

After adding all the leather bits and clasping the jump rings with pliers, the copycat necklace was complete!

I love me some statement necklaces!!

Always love the sneaky shots that I don't know about when other people are playing photog :)

You can find leather scraps in the remnants section at your local fabric store, or what I love doing is buying old beat up leather garments and just cutting pieces from those.

This is definitely a piece that will be getting tons of wear this fall.  So easy to throw on top of anything basic to make it pop!

I think I just like the word pop.  Music.  Drinks.  Clothes.  Me through the screen.  You really can't go wrong!