Well would you look at this? A not-so-swell fitting, heavily beshoulderpadded black dress!
I’m having a hard time keeping a straight face in this time trip right out of the 80’s. Not to worry kids….I have a plan!
My plan was to hike up that skirt, shorten the sleeves, and take the top in through the waist. I was getting all set up when my buddy Alex, who I was meeting up with in a couple of hours, asked if we could meet up for dinner first. Yipes! This cut an hour off of my time to fix this dress! I was only going to have time for just a lil bit of sewing, then I’d have to wing it with the rest!
First off, I amputated these guys…
Then, I cut off the skirt a good bit. I wanted it to fall a few inches above my knees.
Next, I folded the raw edge under once and pinned it. Usually, I try to fold it over twice to keep the raw edge from fraying, but this fabric is of the non-fraying, super-thick variety. If I doubled it, it would look bunchy and weird. Also, I couldn’t iron this dress (read the labels, y’all), so less bulk meant a more professional-looking hem. 🙂
Then, I ran it through my machine, which was freshly loaded with black thread.
Time was running out! I kept the dress inside-out and gathered it at the elastic waist and safety-pinned it. This quick fix took the waist in about 4 inches.
The sleeves were still suuuuper long, so I just pushed them up to my elbows. The V-neck was a skosh too revealing, so I pinned it. I threw on a belt and some tights and was ready to go!
The back didn’t look too weird from my slacker-makeover either.
I was super excited to get to see the documentary, Hell on Wheels, which gives you a fly on the wall’s view of the rebirth of roller derby in the early 2000’s in Texas. It was moving and hilarious. I have to admit, a good bit of it reminded me of Waiting for Guffman…but I doubt even Christopher Guest could have imagined this one. You should definitely check and see if this is coming to a town near you.
As a retired derby skater, this was a must-see. 🙂
It didn’t hurt that the director, Bob Ray was there to talk about his film. He was super-nice and not too hard on the eyes, either. 😉
Fun times for a chilly SC night! 🙂
