Loud 80s Shirtdress Refashion

I have had this loud 80s dress for a while now, just sitting, waiting for me to do something with it. Of course... I could not just wear this alone. It is terrible! Especially the shoulder pads... ugh. How I hate shoulder pads!

You see what I am talking about...

Here it is on my dress form: 

Please pardon the mess in the background. I took that picture several weeks ago when it was still snowy outside. So many shoes in the entryway! 

Anyway, I hate some stuff about this dress, but I thought it had a lot of potential, especially since this skirt length is actually in style right now! 

I began by grabbing my seam ripper, intending to remove the sleeves. I realized when I went to remove them that there were some weird little flaps that go over the shoulders (making them even MORE pronounced... as if shoulder pads were not enough!). I ripped those apart too, and took off the sleeves. 

Clyde "helped".

Those flaps left quite a bit of fabric once they were undone (since they were just folds), so I had to cut some of it off before sewing it so that I would not be left looking like I was wearing one of those 80s cut off sweatshirts. 

I then cut off the collar...

And began the difficult task of folding the fabric over to create a finished edge. That part is always my least favorite, as this fabric (along with many others) is slippery and can bunch easily. I pinned, sewed, and added a belt.

What do you think?

I hope you like it! I think this will be great with some sky high wedges too.

Spring Pink Refashion

I feel like I say this WAY too much lately, but it has been a while!

Life has become incredibly busy up here in the DC area, and I am adjusting nicely . I just cannot believe how fast time seems to go by here.

Anyway... recently I had to go back down South to help with some family stuff (which can be so complicated, and is another reason I have been neglecting my blog), and I was lucky enough to get to go to my favorite stuff-a-bag-for-$4 thrift store! I found a few gems, and I thought this outdated pink dress would be the perfect color for spring.

This has to be from the 80s, right?

Please excuse all of those shoes in the entryway! This dress had a lot of positives the fact that I could put a belt with it, the zipper up the back is nice and sturdy, and the color is great. The negatives: WHAT IS THAT WEIRD DRAPEY THING?? and it was just a little too long. It is also just a little bit big for me, but I figured that could be taken care of with a belt. :)

Oh, and of course it had shoulder pads.

I took them out, and used a seam-ripper to detach the weird drape. It was a little complicated to remove the drape because the fabric attached to it from the back formed a kind of pocket that the other side fit into. It was just a little tricky to sew back together without it looking awful.

The next thing I had to do was shorten this just a little bit. I wanted this to be a nice spring dress to wear to work, so I definitely did not want it to be as short as I usually wear my refashioned dresses. I usually get the hem a little crooked, and I did not want to waste time, so I folded the original hem over several times. This made it a little thicker (and probably not what I would do in hindsight), but at least since it is heavier it will weigh my dress down and it will be way less likely to blow up at gas stations. I can't tell you how often that happens to me. Very embarrassing!

I apologize for the terrible selfie, but here is how the dress turned out:

Hope you're enjoying spring! I know I am! :) 

Polka Dot Love & My Big Update

WOW.

Our lives have been so crazy since about... November, with both happy and very sad events. Here is a little run down (even though I know I may have mentioned some of this already): in November, my grandfather fell ill (cancer, it turned out. He had it for a long time, but was able to stay active for a lot longer than many others). During that time, I was preparing to graduate with my MBA and interviewing for a job. My company flew me to Washington, DC for an interview! So... I got the job. During that time, my grandfather began receiving Hospice care. I graduated a week later, and walked in the graduation ceremony. I did it because my family wanted me to, but especially my grandad. My grandad was not able to attend the ceremony, but my parents were able to record the part where I received my diploma for him. He was so proud when he saw it. M and I had a Christmas trip planned to New Mexico, to visit his family, so we went. A few days before Christmas, my grandad passed away. The funeral was immediately after we returned from our trip, and the next day I left to drive to the DC area to look for a place to live. We found the perfect one, and two whirlwind weeks later, we were all moved in. Just two days after moving up here, I started my new job. We aren't quite unpacked yet. I cannot believe how much has happened in the last few months. I miss my grandad every single day, but I feel so lucky to have gotten stationed in a city that was 30 minutes away from my grandparents. I lived there for five years, and got to see them often. I got closure, and so did grandad. We were incredibly close, and even though I am heartbroken without him, I am just incredibly happy and thankful that I got such a precious gift in the time that I got to spend with him.

Needless to say, my goal of 14 projects before 2014 did not work out so well. I guess life just happens, right? I am not too upset about it. I will totally finish those projects though. :)

Now... drum roll please... a refashion! Yes, I am back in the saddle after a chaotic break. I started with this frumpy but salvageable polka-dotted dress that I got at a thrift store in South Carolina for about $1.00. Please forgive the before picture, M was not around to take a picture of me actually wearing the dress.

Here is the frumpy dress before I refashioned it:

I hated the puffiness of the long sleeves, and the length. The buttons are pearl-colored and arranged in pairs. I thought the two-button thing was cute, but not for the entire dress.

So... I cut the sleeves and sewed a hem at about 3/4 sleeve length. I also took off all of the buttons below the waistband and sewed the flap down so it cannot be opened. The buttons above the waist were really cute the way they are so I left them. Then I shortened the skirt and hemmed it.

It is too bad the sleeves were so puffy above the cuff. I like the cuff and the buttons, but the puffiness really dated the dress. 

Here is the finished product! I wore it to Annapolis to hang out with a good friend today (she was kind enough to take this picture for me, actually!), and this dress is comfortable and just sophisticated enough. I wore it with black tights and black ankle boots. :)

I hope you like it! Look for more from me now that I am settled in!