A No-Sew Hawaiian Shirt to Dress Refashion & Thrifting in Hawaii!
I would apologize for being MIA this past week, except I’m kinda not sorry. 😉 You see, I’ve been here:
When my pal Ryan asked if I’d like to join him on a trip to Kailua, Hawaii for a friend’s wedding, I couldn’t say no!
I’d never been to Hawaii, and I needed to get away for a bit. 🙂
What am I saying? I always say “I need to get away for a bit.” The truth is, I love to travel more than just about anything else in the world and will make up just about any excuse to do it! 🙂
Of course, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t drag my pal to the nearest thrift shop right away! 😉
I was surprised at how typical it was. You can’t even tell this is in Hawaii:
I found a few things to play with & Refashion. 🙂 One of these things was this Men’s 3x shirt!
Okay, I failed to take any “during” pics, so I’m just gonna have to explain this one.
I made the neck hole the top of my new dress by tucking the collar in and buttoning up the shirt as far as I could under my arms.
Next, I added a safety pin inside to make sure it was nice ‘n snug.
THEN, I tucked the sleeves in to make funky faux pockets. 🙂
And here it is!
If this no-sew refashion is your thing, you’ll probably also like:
- How to Upcycle a Men’s Dress Shirt (No-Sew)
- No-Sew Skirt to Dress Refashion
- No-Sew Men’s Oversized T-shirt to Dress Refashion
You can see how I’ve cinched the waist of my new frock with one of my favorite thrifted belts. I even had a cute pineapple necklace I scored the week before at a local theatre’s costume sale!
My new dress was comfortable as could be and got tons of compliments from people who had no idea that it was actually a shirt…until I told them of course! I keep no refashion secrets!
Ryan and I had an amazing time checking out Oahu!
We ate some amazing local grub!
We even made some new friends!
And the view from our house just couldn’t be beat.
New-Sew refashions can be great for traveling.
I didn’t even end up keeping this shirt, as I always pack extremely light and didn’t have any room in my luggage. So, I just laundered it and re-donated it. More money for charity AND I had a cute new dress for the day!
What a win/win!
Cheers!
No-Sew Hawaiian Shirt to Dress Refashion
Refashion a Men's Button Up Shirt into a Cute Dress with the Refashionista! No Sewing or cutting required!
Materials
- 1 Oversized Men's Hawaiian Shirt
- 1 Belt
Tools
- 1 Safety Pin
Instructions
- Make the neck hole of the shirt the top of your new dress by tucking the collar in, and buttoning the shirt up under your arms as tight as you can.
- Safety pin the top from the inside. Make sure it's nice and snug!
- Tuck the sleeves in.
- Add a belt to cinch the waist
32 Comments
Kathryn
Amazing change, and without sewing! WOW!
N. Kohart
I love your before faces. You have really good ideas.
Ashley Kelley
Ahhhhhhh! 😀 thants my salvation army store at home!!!!! (In college now).
Stephanie Owens
Every time I’m feeling down I read your blog and it totally inspires me. I love Hawaii and I love Hawaiian shirts. Been taking a lot of men’s shirts lately and turning them into cute skirts. But I digress, thank you for being you and inspiring others and me to be better and do more!!!
Marcia
I was so happy to see the Salvation Army pics. I thought I was the only person who visits the local thrift stores while on vacation. My family thinks I am nuts, but I have a great time.
Jenna
Wow! I just stumbled on your blog. What you do is amazing! Congrats on your stylish work and saving the planet.
Samantha Fox (@Besamwitched)
that inspires me for my up coming trip to New Caledonia next week!! ohh and Ryan is a very handsome fellow!! 🙂
jenny_o
What a great shirt/dress! I’m glad you had a good trip – I think you could find the fun anywhere, to tell you the truth 🙂 Great idea to re-donate. Very sensible 🙂
Clayr
Nice! Hawaii looks good on you, girl!! This refashion makes me excited, my dad (who has always been a big guy) just lost a LOT of weight and he’s giving me all his old 3X fancy shirts to start my own refash collection =D Whoop! I’ve been going thru the archives for ideas, there are SO MANY great ones!
Ali
This is so cute and flattering! Ah – if only I could also wear strapless but grand boobage does not allow for it. LOVE this one on you though – super cute!
sewcookgardenrepeat
What a great idea to redonate when packing light! Very cute dress/shirt 🙂
Sara Blue Star
Did you get those pancakes at Cinnamons? I LOVE that restaurant!!! Honestly, Kailua is the prettiest place on the island. We spent a year there and miss Hawaii every moment. I’m a forever fan of the refashionista!
ReFashionista
I actually ended up getting an omelet and a cinnamon roll. Both were great and the iced coffee was delicious! I loved Hawaii so much. It was hard to leave. 🙂 Thank you so much!
Beth
Very cool! Will the next owner know how to wear it? Are you still loving your travel sewing machine? I think I want a small one and can teach my 7 and 9 year old on it.
Susan
OMG, I too went to Hawaii (Maui) and I demanded my husband take me to thrift shopping! Hilite of my trip!! Although I didn’t buy anything…just wanted to look 🙂 . Happy to see I’m not the only one who sees thrift shopping as a type of sight-seeing!
Marilyn
Genius!
holly
You are the queen of refashioning!
laura4zach
I think this one is my favorite thus far !
Flo
That was awesome! And I loved how you just re-donated it at the end. Too fun.
Eve
Awesome! Would love to see more pictures from you trip too! Glad you had fun!
Sarah Marie
Amazing job, as always! So happy you got to take a trip to beautiful Hawaii.
Kiki
Are you at the Hilton Village? I could recognize those path stones anywhere – best 7 days of my life. jealous you were just there. Great work on the shirt!
realtor4life Edith
Well well well, the Hawaii Air did you good~ This is probably one of the cutest refashions you have done in a while without a lot of sewing necessary. I am so jealous I will try to imitate you soon. This will be my first thrift store visit, wish me luck, what should I look for if you have any really good recommendations…. I need to refashion for sizes 12/14
Love to hear back from you…
Greetings from the Chicago Area
Edith
ReFashionista
I’d just look for what you see potential in. 🙂 Hmmmmnnnn…there might be a metaphor in that somewhere…
Miss Rose
We may be going there this year ourselves. I showed this to the BF and he is excited to see what we can find there.
Lindsay
You went to Cinnamon’s! That is my favorite breakfast restaurant! Hope you enjoyed your trip to our little state. 🙂
Tiger Lily
Wow, this looks good!
Jo
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
Christine Nishida
AH! You totally went to my hometown!!! yay!
Carol Foushi
You could wear a Hefty Bag and look good!
I’m impressed every time I read about your creations.
Mahalo!
Victoria
You lucky dog! You got a trip to HI and you can just go into any Goodwill and voila! Instant awesome dress!
Feren Jones
I love it! You are so talented and you inspire me. I can’t wait to become a Refashionista! Aloha:) –Feren
http://www.ferenforever.com