Outfit Rewind: 60s Floral Dress

I'm going back to my first year of blogging for today's rewind piece!! It's always so incredible looking back at the pieces that started this blog! The photos are obviously not the most amazing quality, but that was when I was using my point and click and before I even owned an iPhone. Original post date: 6/21/10

The Before Look: (Click here for full project steps and original post!)

My $1 dress, after a little cutting and pasting, turned out looking like the below.

The After Look:

For the second wear, I switched it up a bit.

Check out the newly styled look...

To break up a bit of the pattern while still keeping it feminine, I added a layer skirt on top of the dress!

One of my favorite summery skirts by Trina Turk, layered on top of the upcycled dress from four years ago, makes this rewind look even better the second time around!

A pair of Candie's mules and Urban Outfitters sunnies round out the vintage-y look! I love how it looks!

The skirt over-the-dress move is such a slam dunk. You might be seeing this trick again soon!

Remake: Blue Satin Bridesmaid Dress

You got the teaser of this fabulous blue party dress last week...

...and today it's time to see the upcycled results!

I started off by removing the pouffy sleeves.

Just to get an idea, this is the purplish discoloration underneath that was found under both sleeves. Cute, eh?

Once I got rid of both of the sleeves...

...the top portion of the dress looked just like this:

Because the trim is a bit much at the neck, I started to remove it with a seam ripper, right at the bust.

With the trim removed from the front of the dress, I was left with this train o'trim!!

To hide the leftover portion of the discoloration at the arms, I stitched down the layers of trim right under the armpits.

Now I'm still going to work with this frilly trim, but turning this dress into a halter and using these guys as the straps! I cut the center in half and moved on to tweaking the length next.

I want to make this fun and flirty, so a big portion of the length of the dress got cut off.

I pinned under the raw edges of the dress...

...and stitched down a new hem.

I ironed down the straps...

...then pinched and cinched the bust line, adding a safety pin to the center of the dress for a bit of ruching. My new party dress was complete!!

I love that this dress still has the party vibe essence! It still has a vintage-y feel, but it doesn't scream 80s anymore!

Those ruffles are hidden now!!

Except for a few hints of the ruffles in the back. I liked keeping the back of the dress' ruffles as they were, but it's always an easy tweak to stitch them down to match the area at the arms if I change my mind.

I think this makes a perfect wedding guest dress or one that's ready for a summer cocktail party.

Paired with a vintage shell purse and a pair of yellow BCBG shoes with bows, the accessories had just the bit of bold color flair to make the dress pop even more!!

After a long day of sewing, it's time to kick up my heels!!

Next time I have to remember not to lean all the way back when I'm sitting on a ledge right in front of succulents. Yep, there's now a band-aid on my back covering the little puncture wound. Oh the pains of fashion...

Pam's NDAD Creation

I simply love what Pam did with this piece. Anytime that you see a garment that you love and remake a top or dress that has been thrifted or just aimlessly hanging in your closet, into that piece that you love, I am a happy camper! Copycat pieces are always my favorite, because you're able to enjoy the essence of the original piece for just a fraction of the price. Check out Pam's remake...

This was another shirt hanging in my closet that was just blah.

I loved this shirt from Forever 21...

...so I used it as my inspiration.

See how Pam's shirt, that was just hanging in her closet lookin' blah, turned out!

I cut off a symmetrical piece at the bottom front portion of the shirt...

 ...and then shortened the sleeves and removed the collar to make my high-low blouse copycat.

How cute did this piece turn out?? I love that you were able to repurpose something in your closet and transform it into a piece that you're excited to wear again, Pam! Nothing like a little re-envisioning to take something blah and turn it all the way around. Rock it out!!