An Amazing Technicolor Dream Dress
My mom used to direct all of our church musicals when I was a kid. I was never sure if she really enjoyed it, or if it was just a chance to put my sister and sometimes myself into every lead role she could (sort of like the nice church lady version of Mama Rose in Gypsy). Unlike Gypsy Rose Lee, my burlesque career never quite took off (too short, I think), but some of those musicals have left their mark!
Guess the musical! Can you guess it? Isn’t it obvious?
When I first found this kaftan at the $1 a pound Goodwill, it was looking kind of nasty. A lady digging through the bin next to me actually sidled over and said, “Whoa! That’s gross!” It was covered in what I hoped was just rust stains, but I couldn’t put it down. Nosey lady wrinkled her nose when I tossed the kaftan in my cart. I just smirked and said nothing. I’m not sharing pics of what it looked like, as I assume you’ve seen nasty stained things before and this isn’t a laundry blog. 🙂
After a long soak in Oxyclean, much stain pre-treatment, extra washing soda, and three washes, my kaftan was clean (and ready to be donned for the “before” pic you see here.
I love the stripes, colors, front pleating, length, and neckline of this dress…but it needs help! I immediately snipped off the sleeves riiiight at the seams.
Then, I pinned those raw arm holes under.
With my newly sleeveless dress freshly pinned, I put it under the needle!
Okay…so now we’re fully sleeveless! But my dress was still a shapeless mess on me. :/ Not to worry! All it needs is a little reshapery!
I’m soooo happy I saw the potential in this once-dingy dress! 🙂
Douglas liked it, too! My facebook and twitter peeps know he’s been sick lately, but after a lot of tender care (and chicken & rice!) he’s back to his old silly self again! 🙂
Now that my pup is restored to good health, I’m getting all the last-minute details together for my big fashion show at SHE Greenville this Saturday! I hope to see you there! 🙂
Cheers!
84 Comments
bree
Ohh!!! Love it!
mishqueen
One of your very best…and I’ve read all of your posts!
Tasmanian Minimalist
May I just say…darn amazing. I love it !!
Helena A.
Oh my! I want this dress too! It is SO cute!!!! LOVE IT!!!!
Kisses from Portugal!
Kelsey
WOW ! That is all.
Kayla
I LOVE this!!! Beautiful.
Lauren
Wow jillian! Only you could see how amazing something can become while its covered in goodness knows what kind of muck eeeew just the thought of it makes me cringe! But what you have done here is amazing! It looks fab on you. Well done!!
http://www.angelfairydust.blogspot.com
Kristen Henson
I think this is my fave of what you have done so far! LOVE that neckline! 🙂
Probably Rachel
Normally I look at your before picture and think, “Oh my gosh, she’s got her work cut out on this weird/ugly/awkward/frumpy thing” but this time I looked at it and thought “Wow, that’s a pretty nice dress.” I love that you kept it long, it’s a great maxi dress for this year’s trends.
It looks great sleeveless as well.
Willow
I LOVE THIS DRESS!!!! You did a great job on this refash : )
Barry
Love it!
buttonsandbirdcages
As always, an amazing transformation! What a cool piece to work with!
http://www.buttonsandbirdcages.com
Betty Barclay
Fantastic Love what you’ve done!
Fashion Candy
wow very close and awesome love the dress
lisao
Beautifully done….
Marisa Belmonte Bouchard
Great dress. Skip the belt.
Julia
This dress looks awesom! When I saw the first pic I was hoping youwould keep the length. I think this is my favorite so far!
Ruth
Love, love, love the dress!!!! And thank you so much for giving us Lee Mead instead of Donnie Osmond!!!!
Nicole Teson Coleman
My very favorite refashions so far!!!
ladycynthiana
Super cool refash. I like how you could see the potential in this (It has great bones around the front/middle) and it turned out looking amazing.
Anna Furry
i freaking love this one its so awesome…i love the stripes
Sunny
I saw that garment and thought, there is no way there is any redemption for that outfit….and dang if you didnt prove me DEAD WRONG!! This is one of my fav refashions this year!!!
LOVE it!!!
Tara
I love it! I’m truely amazed by the potential you see in clothing.
dancingdaughters
How about a little fashion for Douglas from the sleeves?
ana
Super cute great job
Max California
Such an improvement! Good job!!
Juliana
Absolutely gorgeous!
Samantha
Ahhhh this is one of my personal favorites of yours. you do such a good job on these!
Erica
Amazing what a difference the removal of sleeves can do!
msmur
This dress was a great find and you made it totally fab!
Teresa hardy
You rocked that makeover.
Diane
This is amazing!!!!!!
Desarae
Beautiful! Your eye for potential paid off, that dress is adorable!
Erica
I’ve read this blog a lot, never commenting. A silent fan. 🙂 But this dress is AMAZING. I love everything about it. And I love the musical reference.
Laura L
Very cute! And I love the way your toenails match the dress (yeah, I’m weird, I notice stuff like that). 🙂
Jackie
So cute! You sure can see the potential in a cast-off. I’ve been inspired to alter my old clothes rather than donate them. Even made some ‘mom’ jeans into skinny jeans! : )
kristie powell
Love that show and this is one of my favorite re fashions!!
MrsAlwaysForever
The colors are beautiful and the finished product is one of my favorites! I can see why you couldn’t pass it up.
Joyce Love
Love it!
CindyT.
Super cute!
Tracy H
I love this one!!! This has to be one of my favorites!
diaryofamadmama
Oh my goodness! I freaking LOVE this! Great refashion!
I’m glad your puppy is feeling better too! 😉
~Jen
http://diaryofamadmama.wordpress.com
Amanda
This is the first refash since I (very recently) started following your blog, that makes me want to actually post a reply.
I am CRAZY in LOVE with this dress, and in ALL SERIOUSNESS, if you ever don’t like it anymore, PLEASE contact me for a hand-me-down!!!
Amazing job here. You look stunning in the new flattering dress! LOVE IT!
Brooke
One of my fave refashions! It looks fantastic and bright now. Perfect!
Jennie Ott
Cute dress. I love Douglas.
Lauren
Wow that’s gorgeous!
Lauren
livinginaboxx
bloglovin
sewcookgardenrepeat
Love the colours! A very pretty maxi indeed
Rainey
Oh man, now I will be singing that score all night! Love the dress and love the reference (fellow unrecovered theater nerd).
Michele
That is a seriously great refashion and so easy! Love the neckline and the colors. And so glad Douglas is feeling better. Give him a big squish!
Danella
This is my first time to comment on your blog although I’ve been a viewer for a while now. I love, love, love this refashion!!!! You have a great eye for seeing the potential in garments that otherwise would go to the rag bin. Well done!
debbie
great refashion. really like it.
Claire
Another amazing refashion! You look great in the finished article. Follow your blog avidly from Kent, UK 🙂
Jmehed
I wish i could buy this dress!!! I absolutely love the colors and the pleats!!! Nice add on with the belt too.
Shannon
I love it! I totally see what you saw in it!
vickymyerscreations
It’s a great remake:)
Denise
Great job! It’s super cute!
holli
AWESOME!!
Andrea Miller (@AndreaMiller21)
I am in LOVE! <3 Both horizontal & vertical stripes, bright colors, fit & flare, V-neck…there is so much right with this dress!
Ms. Attitude
Glad to hear Doug’s doing well. I love this dress.
It was red and yellow and green and brown and scarlet and black and ocre and peach and ruby and violet and ….
Nikell
Glad to read your little pup is well. I bet if that lady saw that dress now she’d slap herself. It turned out fabulous. You gotta have vision for that sort of thing and …well…she didn’t (^_^)
Genni
Yep, that’s a real hit. That little pop of blue at the neckline actually makes the whole dress. I LUURVE me a good maxi!
Sandra Swanson
When we are once again “over” maxi dresses you can re-refashion this into a short dress of equal cuteness!
Toybox
Omg! Crazy cute!!!
rawketstarling
Like everyone else–I LOVED this dress! Before AND after! I wish I found stuff like this at MY $1/lb goodwill!
Anna
OMG, awesome!!! One would never guess it used to be a gnarly old kaftan! Is that just a blue cami underneath? Great job! 🙂
ReFashionista
Thanks! Yep…it’s a cami, as I had to wear my dress to work! 🙂
2Momma2
LOVE it! The neckline and midsection are sooo flattering! Great refashion and kudos for taking on such abstained mess and seeing the potential!
Kristin
Mary P.
You look handsome, you look smart.
You’re a walking work of art!
How I love your dress of many colors.
Yes, I love your dress of many colors!
Broke Girl
I love your posts and am planning on referencing you in my blog later on this week about being frugal and fashionable on a budget. I like how you use your skills to achieve your goals. Stop by sometime and check it ok. -BG
ReFashionista
Thanks! I certainly will, Broke Girl! 🙂
Jacqui Pittenger
Wow! One of my fav refashions by far 🙂
positivitygalore
This has got to be one of my favorite Refashions of yours! Love it!
Erin
I think this is my favorite refashion you have ever done!
Melinda Lee Jakobovits
That dress is fantastic!!
ali
This is one of my faves too! Fabulous remake of a once ugly item and it looks very stylish now. Good job! And thank goodness Douglas is better 😉
Nancy
I absolutely love this! It has to be one of my favorites! UGH!!! I really wish I could learn to sew!!!
Hilary
Great refashion. 🙂 I love the colors. 😛 I agree too, losing the sleeves really helped. Now it looks more like a dress and less like a robe. 🙂
Sarah Wolf
Oh, fellow theatre nerd…I love, love, love this dress!
ReFashionista
I’m in recovery. 😉
Jessica Speedy
Gorgeous as usual!!!!
Cara
Glad your pup’s okay. And that dress is absolutely amazing! I actually liked it before, too. (Obviously, that was after your serious stain fighting was finished.) The colors are just so bright and fun. The pleating in the front and the neckline are my favorites though. I really like how (seemingly) easy it transformed into a modern maxi. Again, I’m jealous it isn’t in my closet right now.
Cara
http://www.knockoffcrafts.wordpress.com
mindilee
I am IN LOVE with this dress. before and after! Good job not giving up! Glad Douglas is feeling better!
Becky
Fantastic change! You look beautiful and so colorful! It’s like you are wearing sunshine and happiness!
diabloperro
Amazing what an improvement just losing those sleeves was! GOOD JOB!