What was it with the ’80s-Early ’90s and weird fake sewn-in layers?
The fake vest on this very ’80s romper doesn’t even go around to the back. It’s just sewn in to the shoulder seams.
Why not just make a matching vest, ’80s? Grownups can handle layering. I promise.
Before we dive into this refashion, I want to take a moment to thank my friend Katie from PannerPete Vintage for gifting me this romper, along with a GIANT bag of other refashionables.
Going to thrift stores right now feels a little scary with the spike in cases we’ve been seeing here in SC. So, in giving me her old vintage inventory/rejects, she’s done me a huge solid that will help keep me safe & healthy this summer (as I won’t have to go thrifting for stuff to refashion as much)!
Now, let’s refashion a romper!
I inspected my new romper closely and discovered a couple of…ahem…issues.
Despite all my laundering wizardry, I just could NOT get those stains to budge!
When thrifting for potential refashionables, stains like these are usually a dealbreaker. However, I thought this romper had a lot of potential, so I decided to attempt to work around them.
Wish me luck!
First off, I unpicked the romper’s shoulder seams to remove that vest.
The sleeves quickly followed.
The sleeves were now gone, but keep in mind, those grody pit stains were still very much present on the body of the romper. :/
So, I did the only thing I could think of to remedy the situation, and sliced the armholes open a little to remove the stained parts.
To do this, I used my french curve & rotary cutter on my self-healing cutting mat. If you don’t have these things, you could just eyeball it using scissors while trying to keep to a curve.
This action will have repercussions, friends. My armholes are going to be pretty big, and since this piece fits me just fine, I won’t be able to take it in on the sides to make the armholes smaller.
I figured I could just wear a camisole under the finished piece, and that it would still look okay even with the larger armholes.
That shoulder stain tho…
But what to do about that pesky shoulder stain?!?
I had a few options here. I could just make the romper strapless or one-shouldered (thus removing the shoulder and stain altogether). I could add a collar fashioned from the original vest collar (and almost did).
OR I could add some cute little epaulette-ish things to the shoulders to cover the stain. <—What I did
To do this, I harvested the bottom corners from the original vest.
First, I measured each corner to make sure they were even, and marked them with tailor’s chalk.
Then, I cut!
I laid one of the triangles on the shoulder seam, positioning it to cover the stain. I ended up having to trim them both down a little to get it juuuust right.
I pinned them in place, and stitched them to the front side of the romper.
Now to put those shoulders back together!
I turned my romper inside-out and pinned my newly-triangled front piece to the back piece.
That added triangle piece made for a really thick seam!
I sewed my shoulders down sllllowwwwwly and carrrrrrrefullllllly to avoid breaking a needle.
And now that stain is hidden away!
But I’m not done here yet!
Remember those adorable buttons from the front of the vest?
I added them to my epaulette-ish things (don’t worry, I put the other two in my button stash)!
I stitched the button through the entire shoulder to tack down the triangle and keep that stain from ever being seen again!
Now that my shoulders were reassembled, I was ready to close up the raw edges on those armholes.
First, I pinned the raw edges under.
Then, I stitched them down.
When that was done, I tacked the bottom of each armhole down a smidge.
Now for the legs!
I tried my romper on again, and used a safety pin to mark where I wanted to cut the legs to make to them shorter (adding a couple of inches for the hem).
Then, I gave them each a new hem!
Sash time!
I trimmed off the side ties from the original vest and stitched them together to make a sash in a flash!
I was ready to romp in my new refashion!
When Mr. Refashionista saw me in my romper, he said I looked like I was about to go watch a tennis game “but on a grass court”.
While the armholes were larger than I would have liked, I think they still work with the overall look of this piece. Plus, they’re built-in air conditioning!
I’m actually happy the original piece had that shoulder stain, as those subtle shoulder details are my favorite part of this piece!
All in all I’m quite pleased with this refashion and think it’ll get a lot of wear this summer!
Cheers!
This turned out so cute! You are so creative. I always think I should pick up something and try to refashion it, but I just don’t have the eye for it like you do. The first think I thought of when I saw the before on this refashion, was a romper with a halter top made from that vest thingy. I love your blog!
I have followed you forever. I missed your posts so much when you had stopped posting for a bit. Love your refashions, fun & silly outlook on life and mostly your constant positive attitude.
I have seen you have a Pfaff sewing machine, could you please give me more info on your machine, model number & etc. I have a simple older machine but would like to upgrade to something that helps you do the magic you do.
I feel like you ate my “penpal” with you being the only “penpal” who writes & I am the “penpal” who reads. Till we “talk” again. N
Hi!
One of most famous french magazine talk abou you: https://www.mariefrance.fr/mode/transforme-fripes-pieces-tendances-mode-491464.html#item=1
Pardon my bad english!
Good refashion!, Audrey.
Great transformation, but it seemed to be a lot of work. Good thing it was in skilled and capable hands.
I like it very much! Thank you for sharing!!!
Very cute piece. I love your blog, You are so talented and it makes my day seeing your refashions.
Super cute! I love all your stuff… I’ve been wondering though…when you do a refashion on something bigger ( say the moo-moo you did) what do you do with all your left over fabric? Don’t know why this popped up in my head and you may have already addressed what you do but I just started seeing your stuff yesterday…
Really cute as usual – you could also put a piece from the vest under the armholes.
Fresh and cute! Love it and glad you have a new supply of items to keep us all going!!
Love your blog, you are so creative,
Yes, the grass lawn. This is breezy, a little preppy, and very upscale. Cannot believe how you can take something dumpy and dated and create a fresh, fashionable garment. This was a real metamorphosis. Like a good mystery, I never quite know where you’re going until you put it all together in the final scene. So fun to follow your blog!
Cute and cool. Perfect for summer!
Your vision is simply wonderful. I would love to hear more from you about dress forms…where to get one at a reasonable price, etc. Here is another interesting link to a very famous recent refashion. You have made it so fashionably acceptable. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/princess-beatrices-stunning-vintage-wedding-212400589.html
Cute! And everything is rompers these days so you’re on trend. Before the sash came off, I was thinking that vest would have made for a hilarious bikini top with little vest lapels. It would give Mr. Refashionista a laugh if you wore it in the backyard at least.
This is actually way cuter than I thought possible at the beginning. I LOVE your amazing refashions!
It’s cool and comfy looking, but I would have taken it up at the shoulders since you had to open them anyway to add the decorations. And the epaulets could have been more up front so that they show, because they are so cute.
Thanks for giving me an idea of what to do with thrift-store stains. Usually I pass on a piece and when I really like it that is annoying. Now, more to think about. So far my thrift stores are mostly open, thank heavens. The lure of the grocery store is gone by now as we are in our 11th week of covid.
Adorable!
Cute!
And I think I enjoy your running commentary as much as I enjoy your refashions 😀
I think I might have had one of those back in the 80’s!!! I love what you did! The shoulders are so cute!
Super cute! I wouldn’t have thought to add the shoulder details, but they totally make the new piece. Love!
So adorable!!! Love it
Super cute, I like that your friend gave clothes, so we can keep following your refashioned. This was very nice.
Wonderful! Your refashions are delightful!
Adorable!
Key-oot! =D
totally cute! i see these rompers all the time! what i love is the fabric…just by looking at that romper i know what kind of fabric the shorts portion is! and the darling flower buttons : )
xo Eva
This is just soooo cute! I love what you do! Inspiring
I so totally agree with Rozy about the little addition on the shoulders….so cute
I love it! Cute as a button, lol. (See what I did there?)
You are just so creative — consider yourself an adopted granddaughter! And this romper turned out so cute on you. The proportion of the shoulder detail is just right for your petite frame. Larger “epaulets” (sp?) would probably be fine on someone taller/bigger. But these suit you “spot” on (groan…I know; I just couldn’t resist!). BTW, re your self-healing cutting mat. I’ve been looking for one but am just overwhelmed by all the choices, as well as people’s conflicting reviews. Any suggestions for a good one/good size! Glad to hear you’ve been gifted with more goodies!
That is adorable! And the little shoulder details make it look very designer and expensive! Good job.
I love it!!! Your have such an amazing imagination. I never would have thought it could be this cute
That just looks perfect for hot weather! Well done you!
Super cute and that was so sweet of your friend to send you some refashions
Very cute but I also agree with some of the other comments about the top. Love the tiny little trim at the shoulders but would have liked to seen it about twice as big’ also take a little off the shoulders to pull it up in the arm holes. Top just a tiny bit too big for you. Cute idea, just not quite finished.
Super cute! But couldn’t you have used fabric from the vest for the arm holes?
Could you take the vest turn it upside down and make a halter top?
Love it but I maybe would have used bottom of shorts that you cut off to trim the arm holes and maybe ruffling them a bit to help pull it in , but still love how it turned out
Nice work! It looks beat and comfortable.
The epaulets are cute! Could you also have taken in the shoulder seams, perhaps scooping the neck a little? That would help with the underarm gappage. I love your blog!
❤❤❤❤ very preppy and very cute