Pink Pleated Dress

I refashioned this dress quite a while back and somehow completely forgot to post it here! It's one of my favorites to date so of course I still have to share it.

Here's the original dress.  I took a poll on Instagram from my followers to see what they thought I should change on it. I got some great ideas and tried to go with what the majority suggested.

First, I took the high neckline down to a jewel neckline. 

Next I trimmed the sleeves down to cap sleeves and tightened them a bit.

Then I brought the hemline up to just above the knee.

Lastly I tightened the bodice area just a bit to create a more flattering fit.

Side-by-side

Isn't it pretty?! I love how wearable and flattering it turned out.

What do you think?

Taupe and Polka Dots

This is the original dress. ↴

 It had long, puffy sleeves with a cuff at the end, pleating from the yolk (which made the dress pretty shapeless), and an awkward length just below the knee. The collar felt pretty outdated but there was something I actually loved about it, so I decided to leave it until the end to see how it looked.

1. Cut sleeves off at the shoulder seam and finished off.

2. Brought the length up a few inches to just above the knee.

3. Made a thin waist tie with the excess fabric from the bottom hem.

4. Got a haircut! The dress AND me. :)

Here is the finished result! I absolutely loved the collar once I was finished with the rest. There was no way I was going to change it. 

Details.

 Side by side.

What do you think? Hope you like it!

XO

Refashioned Shift Dress Tutorial

Hi there!

I've had quite a few people asking how I alter certain parts of dresses and I figured I'd show some more detailed shots here.  I'll do my best to explain, but please feel free to ask any additional questions if you have any!

Here is the original dress.

↴

 It had longer short sleeves that were baggy, a collar, shift dress fit, and it went just past the knee.

 I decided it should be shorter, but not much shorter. I wanted it to hit just at the knee. So I measured from the bottom up 2" and cut.

Then, I zig-zagged the edge (it's a faux serge, since I don't own a serger). Essentially you're just putting your machine on a simple zig zag stitch and sewing so that the stitch is just hitting right off of the edge of the fabric.

 This is what it should look like.

 Then, I folded it over about 1" and sewed a straight stitch all the way around.

Hem done ✔

 Next, I decided to get rid of the collar and turn it into a mandarin collar. I started by unstitching (seam ripping) the seam where the collar was sewn into all the way around.

 It will start to come out, like so. ↑

Once it's all unstitched, it will look like this, so you'll need to re-sew it once the collar is removed.

 Just a straight stitch as close to the edge as possible.

 Remember that 2" I cut off from the bottom of the dress? I thought it would make a perfect belt for the waist. So I zig-zagged the edge (just like I did with the hem)

 Should look like this.

 Then I folded it over and straight stitched it down.

New matching belt ✔

Next is the sleeves.  I wanted them to be shorter and a little bit cap.  So I measured from the top of the shoulder out to how long I wanted them (leaving myself about an inch for the folded hem). Then I did the same thing with the armpit.  Since my sleeve was going to get smaller toward the armpit, I marked the line I wanted to cut from the top of the sleeve to the bottom (I apologize that I didn't take a better picture of that step. I won't forget next time!). This is what I ended up with.

 Then, I zig-zagged the edges here. We're getting pro at this now.

 Then, I folded it over and sewed a straight stitch to finish off the sleeves.

Finished product!

Here's the side-by-side.

I hope this helps and let me know if any of you need clarification on any of these steps!

XOXO

P.S. If any of you refashion something, PLEASE show me -- tag me on instagram or send me an email → ladygirlvintageshop@gmail.com
 I always love to see what you ladies come up with!

Plus One (Button)

I found this dress recently and to be honest I didn't hate it as-is, but I knew it could be even better. It had great material and a good basic shape already. 

The main thing that I didn't like was the collar and neckline. This dress happened to have a spare button sewn onto the tag (YES!), so I decided to take off the collar and add a button at the top which created a jewel neckline. Then I changed the sleeves to cap sleeve, removed some weird sewn on ties (a bit hard to see in photos), tailored the bodice, and brought up the hemline.

Here she is:

Might be wearing this one everyday. 

Side by side:

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Bow Detail Dress

My latest refashion endeavor is this pussybow dress. I loved that bow detail and knew it just needed some simple structural changes.

 ↴

First I cut off the long sleeves and hemmed them up to short sleeves. Then I cut and hemmed up the length just above the knee. The last thing I did was taper in the armpit/bust area to create a more flattering silhouette.

↴

Added a belt to accessorize. 

This is definitely now a dress I want to wear in every season!

Follow along on instagram for more vintage dresses! 

@ladygirlvintage

Moody Blues

This was a fun one to overhaul.  It started with a dropped waist, long sleeves, an outdated collar, and a midi length. 

Exhibit A:

Steps:

1. Move up the waistline.

2. Removed collar and finished to create mandarin collar.

3. Cut and finished sleeves to cap sleeve length.

4. Used excess fabric to create a tie at the waist.

Voila!

Exhibit B:

Side by Side:

Hope you like this one! 

XOXO

Striped Nightmare to Daydream

I started with this dress/nightgown? ↴

It had long, baggy sleeves with a tight white cuff at the end, a shapeless body, and an awkward length.  

The first thing I did was cut off the sleeves. I decided to keep them as short sleeves because I loved the tiny pleats and shape of the shoulder.  Then I cut the bottom hem off just about to the knee (before hemming).  I serged and hemmed the sleeves and bottom edge.  To end, I used the excess material from the bottom to make a matching belt for the waist.

Here is the result! ↴

Before & After ↴

What do you think? Is it wearable now?