Day 326: Crankypants Dress

I absolutely hate that clothing like this has come into fashion.  :(

Jammies belong in the bedroom…and NOWHERE else!!!!

I see this all the time when I’m driving through USC’s campus or at the grocery store.  Scads and scads of young women with their hair and makeup done…but wearing loungewear in public!  Color me old-fashioned, but I think we all owe it to the people we interact with every day to look as nice as we possibly can.  By being properly frocked for my day, I’m showing my respect and esteem for the people around me (Keep in mind that most of my ideas/standards are pretty flippin’ ridiculous).  Plus, looking nice puts me in a good mood.  :)

These pants have so much potential!  I’ve gotten over my hatred of the color pink, and actually like how I look in the once-despised hue.  :)  Plus, these loungy pants are made of…CASHMERE!!!!!!!!!  :) :) :) :) :)  Hooray for luxury!!!!

I knew I didn’t want to keep these guys as pants, so I started snipping away the inner leg and crotch seams.

Don’t worry! It’s really tight-knit and it won’t fray! :)

After I snipped, I saw the reason these pants ended up in my custody:  They were riddled with teensy holes.  :/

Noooooo!!!!!!

I put the pants on my dress form, and began pinning them into a dress shape!

Taking shape! :)

Then, I stitched the pinned seams down!

A slightly different whirrrrrrrrrr angle! ;)

I trimmed off the excess material, saving one long bit to use as a sash. I really lucked out with this refash, as all the little holes were only on the fabric that was snipped away!  :)

Now those lackluster lounge pants are a pretty beach coverup dress for an awesome Karaoke Cabana Night!  :)

Loving being encased in Caaaaahshmere! :)

Evelyn likes to go out in style too! :)

Patrick looks like every mean rich guy in every 80′s teen movie ever made!

Buds! :)

BadFoto. :(

Get in the pool!!!! :)

Cheers!  :)

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Day 325: Main Street Dress

Well wouldja look at this?

I’m seeing my reflection. I’m looking slightly rough…

I almost regretted purchasing this $1 frock.  I wasn’t quite sure if I’d be able to make it work.  Rather than getting mired in doubt, I got to work!

Pinning those sides!

Whirrrrr!!!

Amputations!

And lookie at that sad, hopeless dress now!  :)

Just chillin’ outside of the State House…like ya do! :)

Cheers!  :)

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Day 324: Grecian Bubble Dress

I love the dark green hue and subtle print of today’s dress…

This is what I look like at 5am with no makeup and bedhead. Now ya know.

…and that’s it!  I didn’t like weird cross-over top of the dress at all.  It felt really stifling!

I got to snipping!

Snip!

I carefully snipped the top part away from the bottom part, right along the serged edge, so it wouldn’t fray.

For some dresses, this would be a totally no-sew refash, but I had to stitch down a couple of things before I moved forward.

Sewing off those pockets!

Stitching down that zipper!

Next, I pulled it under my arms with the bottom hem as the top, and the smaller waist as the bottom and pinned it once…

Riiiiiight there!

Then I began folding it back and forth in front of me, making pleats, like so:

Fold…and fold…and fold…and fold!

Then, I pinned that from the inside.

Riiiight here!

Alllllmost done!  I pinned one of my favorite brooches to the center of the pleated section (both to accessorize and to secure this dress even further) and that was that!  :)

Another one of my grandmother’s awesome brooches!

I wore my funky bubble hem dress to work and for an after-work happy hour showing of an terrific installation by local artist, Eileen Blyth!

Loving that funky bubble hem!

And here’s a few pics of the installation!

At the Adluh building!

This is made from salvaged metal found in the Vista.

I really wanted to take little orange dude home with me! :)

And here’s the artist!

Either Eileen is tall, or I’m short. :)

Cheers!

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Day 323: It’s a Skirt Bag!

Check out this fun piece!

What’s fun about it????

Bright colors are extremely on trend right now!  But not in the form of ugly frumpy skirts!  I’m not worried.  I have no attention of leaving this skirt as-is.

First, I made a couple of cuts!

Chop!

Chop #2!

Then, I got to pinning!

Pin along the bottom!

Pin a strap!

Time to put it all together!  :)

Whirrrrr!

 

Attach that Strap!

And will ya look at what I have now?  :)

It’s a Skirt Bag! :)

Cheers!

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Day 322: Play in the Park Dress

Check out this lovely 2-piecer!

Has the word “lovely” been redefined recently?

Talk about a BOGO!  :)  I’m a huge fan of this fun tropical print and the lightweight fabric of this thing.  I’m not such a fan of the frumpy cut of the dress or the not-so-hot layering action!

Time to get this dress ready for a warm & beautiful day!

First, I cut the dress off near the top, right where it starts to get narrow.

Making the cut!

Then, I hemmed the resulting raw edge!

Whirrrrrr!

Next, I cut two strips from the back of the jacket.

Strip #1 and Strip #2!

I stitched them both into tubes…

Tubular!

…and turned them right-side out!

Just like this!

I pressed my tubes, and pinned them onto my dress to make straps!

From Strips to Straps!

View from the back!

I stitched my new straps down, getting really excited about how this dress was turning out!  :)

Stitch that Strap!

I hopped into my fab new frock and out the door to catch a performance of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)!  Thankfully, there was no rain, and the show went on!  :)

At Finlay Park! :)

Lovin’ that drapey back! :)

As you can see, I grabbed a leftover scrap to wrap around my head for a driving scarf (I drive a convertible).  :)

It started to get a bit chilly, so I donned a cozy cardi in a complimentary color (such a sucker for alliteration!), as I began taking notes for my review of the show!

Pen & Paper at the ready! :)

Theatre-Lovin’ Pals! :)

Cheers!

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