A Fun Refashion Of An Ugly Dress, Pt. 2

Hurray, I figured out my glitch and I'm able to post with my photos! Pictured, above, is the unfortunate dress. I remember my mother having a similarly styled dress, back in the early 1990's. At the time, it was very fashionable and I'm sure some lady felt lovely, while wearing it. However, two decades later, the dress is less than stylish, but it had tremendous potential! I really liked the color and the polka dots, but the applique detail and the shape were not my favorite aspects of the dress.

This part of the dress would have been great for any lady who wished to hide any extra winter dough. On the back, was an elastic waistline. This must have been great for weddings...forgiving for a non-jazzercised figure. However, for my vision of what I wanted the dress to be, it had to go. I was able to, easily, remove it once I turned the dress inside/out.

I tried the dress on, a few days before the refashion. The zipper was very long and difficult to zip, as it was on the back. At one point, the zipper got stuck on the surrounding fabric. Then, I was stuck wearing an ugly dress. I faced that apparel panic often faced by women in many changing rooms.  Suddenly, I was squirming about, thrashing myself from the dress that wouldn't give up. Eventually, I decided to remove it like I would a sweater; then, I was safe.

The experience taught me to NEVER wear anything with a zipper on the back, and to get rid of that beast of a zipper. Done and DONE! Next thing to adjust was the hemline. I did make a booboo when I made the first cut. Since I had already removed the pearl applique area of the dress, nearly 4 inches of the front of the dress was gone. So, when I lined the bottom hem of the front a back and made my cut, the front hemline was obscene! Not to worry, this mistake made for a delightful part of the dress. I took the extra fabric that I cut and added it to the front, as a ruffle. It is super cute and for less naughty looking. Ladytoesocks prefers proper hemlines.

 




I decided that I wanted to add a Peter Pan collar to the dress. I lined the neckline on top of my drawing paper and traced the shape. From there, I drew the collar shape, as I wanted it to look. I must admit, the collar part was the hardest step in the refashion and I was glad that it was over.



After all the trouble that I experienced making this collar, I really like the way that it turned out!

Once I had finished the adjustments, I finally made a last minute decision to open the upper front part of the dress. This way it would be easier to get on. So, I cut a slit from the neck line down to the waist line. After that was properly sewn, I added buttons. I recycled the pearls from the applique and used them as buttons for an extra feminine touch!

                                                               Before the refashion.....

                                                                 ......after the refashion!

I had a tremendously fun time making this dress. I look forward to more refashion projects! Soon, I'll be working on a skirt and a fabulously frugal craft project. Until next time!~ Toodahloo!