As Seen On TV: New Girl

Today's post is a fun one that I created just for HelloGiggles!  I'm contributing to their awesome site in a bimonthly post called, "As Seen On TV" where I tackle DIY/copycat pieces of our favorite looks! To kick off the posts, I went with Zooey Deschanel's red Zara dress worn in the credits of the show:

My before was this frockish Jessica McClintock piece...

...and my after looked a little something like this...

For the full rundown, click HERE and head on over to HG!  I'm super excited about these posts because they pair my love of DIY with television - two of my very favorite things!  PS, keep me posted if there are any outfits that you see and covet on your favorite characters - I don't want to miss any of your favorites!

More Halloween themed goodies coming tomorrow...MUAHAHAHAHAHA!

Remake: Ivory Striped Dress

I got this ivory dress from a girlfriend who was moving to NY in hopes of giving it a fix.  It was stunning, however there were some slight issues.

There were lots of these faded, brownish spots at the bottom of the dress...

...as well no sort of straps to keep the halter up.  I ended up pinning it to the hanger to get a full view.

To maintain the ivory color I tried washing the piece, however there was still a substantial amount of discoloration at the bottom.  To fully hide the marks, I thought a color change would do the trick!

What color would you go with??

I went to my trusty stash of RIT dye and went with Scarlet!!!

In went the dress (along with a few other pieces I wanted to give a facelift)...

...and in went the dye!

After the piece was dyed, it was time to make some straps!  I was playing around with a few of the ribbons and trims that I had and ended up going with this fun black cording.

I put a safety pin at the end of the trim and pushed it through the seam opening on one side of the dress...

...and then the other.

New straps and new color, here we go!!

I had a little birthday shindig over the weekend that I needed a party dress for, and this was just the thing to wear!

I paired it with my most comfortable shoes ever (Michael Kors!) and grabbed a vintage suede purse with stripes on it.

I thought the bag tied in nicely with the straps on the dress!  Stripes all around!

This is such a fun fit and flare piece...

...not to mention that it's literally the most comfortable thing to wear!

I celebrated with my birthday partner-in-crime LC (we're both 10/15-ers) and got to hang with all of my favorite people over the weekend.

Unfortunately the only pic on my phone was the one I took with my fave gal LC, who had the most rocking hair ever.

I have to say, I think I'd wear this dress each year just because it's SO comfy!  What have been some of your favorite outfits/accessories to wear on your birthday?

Kelly's NDAD Creation: Halloween Edition

More amazing costumes from you guys continue! I love this one that Kelly created for her daughter. Just wait until you see the final photo!

Thank you for inspiring me and so many others to reuse, repurpose and recycle! As Halloween approaches, I wanted to share my story about the costume I made for my daughter last year. My daughter recently got into archery so I thought it would be easy to make a Halloween costume that would go with her bow and arrows - Robin Hood. Ready-made costumes I saw online were expensive ($35!) so off to the thrift store I went to see what I could do. I found this white blouse for $5 that had the "look" of what I was going for.

I cut off the sleeves, dyed the bodice a forest green color, then reattached the sleeves. I also stitched on suede-like fabric accents down the front and around the armholes, to give it that "ye olde world" look. I needed to add grommets along the suede accent so it could be laced up the middle with a leather shoelace. 

I bought a short length of inexpensive green fabric to match and made a simple skirt (a tube with an elastic waist), also with suede accents. 

I found a pattern online for a hat and made one out of felt. As luck would have it, a hawk had left a feather in our yard a few weeks before and we kept it just because. Well guess what? It was the perfect addition to the hat!

Her white tank top underneath, her black leggings and boots, and her bow and arrow completed the look.

You can't see it on her back but I also made a quiver out of a mailing tube covered in the suede fabric. I spent less than $20 for the whole thing, which included buying a grommet punch and set of grommets. It seems like a lot compared to the wonderful fashions I've seen in your posts, but I feel I got away cheap compared to the ready-made stuff. Plus I got a grommet punch out of the deal too which I have since used for other things, so it was a great investment.

Kathy, this costume is SO fabulous! $20 for the whole thing (and a grommet punch) is a great deal. I just love the creativity behind this one - your daughter looks amazing! There is really nothing like a homemade costume - the amount of detail and attention you put in is just incredible. Can I borrow this to wear next?? What's on this year's agenda??