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Rosé Festival Dress Refashion

Black Midi Sundress Refashion
Dress to Skirt & Top Refashion: Refashionista in Denver!

When I discovered the annual Drink Pink Rosé Festival (which was cancelled last year) was on this year, my heart did a happy flutter dance.

Four hours of sampling different rosés and nibbling on cheeses with friends? Don’t mind if I do!

I was able to score one of the few remaining tickets to the event, but…what to wear?

As social events have started to come back, I’ve found myself underdressed at all of them. For example, I wore the same ratty black T-shirt, vans, and wrinkled wrap skirt I had worn all day at the coffee shop to what ended up being a cocktail attire-type fundraiser event and felt…well…shabby. It’s like I’ve forgotten how to do this dressing up thing.

I wasn’t going to make the same mistake this time, friends! That’s why I chose this $1 thrifted dress with a lovely print for the occasion:

refashionista Rosé Festival Dress Refashion before
This’ll work, right?

As this wine fest was not 1980s-themed, I knew a refashion of this dress was in order!

The print is perfect. It’s pretty, has a bit of pink it it (perfect for rosé!), and it makes me happy.

While I might normally find that lace panel in the front a bit too fussy for my personal taste, I liked it on this dress. While the top of the dress was a smidge too big for me, the bottom part fit just fine.

Of course, I was less fond of those mondo shoulder pads!

refashionista selfie with shoulder pads
My shoulders. Are protected.

Let’s take a peek at the label.

Brelli II label
What? Is it a sequel? What happened to Breli I? I WANT ANSWERS.

And here’s a label I always enjoy finding:

union label
Union-made in the USA!

My first action item for this refashion was to remove those shoulder pads!

using seam ripper to remove shoulder pad
Benson supervised.

Isn’t this sweet? My pups never seem to get in my refashion pics anymore!

I was relieved to have those pads out of there!

removed shoulder pads
Join the other 5,305,393 shoulder pads I’ve ripped from the world.

I was slightly surprised to find these fluffy sleeve thingies behind the shoulder pads, but I removed them as well.

inner sleeve puff thing
Where did you come from?

Now that all that paddage was out of the picture, I turned my focus to those sleeves.

Temps were going to be in the 80s for the day, so I unpicked each sleeve from my dress with my seam ripper.

unpicking sleeve from dress
Picky picky!

When I looked down (I usually watch TV while seam ripping stuff), I saw poor Benson was covered in bits of thread!

benson asleep covered in thread
This sleepy little bub doesn’t seem to mind.

I brushed off my pup and gazed upon the carnage I left behind.

removed sleeves
Graphic, I know.

Next, with my dress turned inside-out, I closed up those armholes by first folding them over twice and clipping them into place…

clipped arm hole
No more fraying edges here!

… and then sewed them down.

sewing armhole
Just remove each clip as you go!

As I’ve already mentioned, the top of my dress was a little too big for me, so I put it on my dress form and pinned the sides to make it fit better.

dress pinned on dress form
Just a wee smidge

You can see how I just tapered down to the bottom, since that part fit just fine.

Then, I sewed each side down.

taking in top of dress
Just Whirrrrr each side!

I also cut off the excess fabric.

cutting off excess fabric
Snip!

When I tried my dress on, I thought the shoulders were still a bit too wide for me, so I folded each shoulder under by about 1″ and pinned them in place.

folded shoulder of dress
To be fair, I have verrrry narrow shoulders.

Then, I sewed right along the shoulder seam.

sewing shoulder of dress
Right along the seam!

The only thing left to address about my dress was its length.

I tried my dress on, marked where I wanted to cut it (leaving a couple of extra inches for the hem), then made my chop!

cutting off bottom of dress
I have a cutting table, but this is so much easier to see on the floor!

Much like with the armholes, I folded the bottom under twice and pinned it.

pinning bottom hem of dress
I used my sewing gauge to keep it even!

Then, I stitched my new hem!

sewing hem
Hurry up! It’s wine time!

I finished my frock just in time for the festival!

refashionista Rosé Festival Dress Refashion after 2
Check it out! I dressed up! Properly!

It was a beautiful sunny day!

jillian sefie at festival
Well isn’t this the pinkest and preppiest event that ever pinked and preppied?

I think my earrings deserve a shoutout too (I had to add something fun & quirky to my otherwise preppy ensemble)!

cactus earring closeup
Purchased from a street vendor in Austin during my recent trip!

I’m proud of myself for clothing myself appropriately for an occasion for once. No flip flops. No ratty T-shirt…just a lovely dress!

refashionista Rosé Festival Dress Refashion after
Hello there!

That’s right…my new dress has POCKETS!

dress with pockets
Happy with my hand holders!


Does this refashion have you thinking pink?

It was great to get out and about with some of my bestest buds!

jillian and friends
Heyo!

This blog used to be a place for me to share my refashions and the fun places and things I wore them to. In the last year, the pandemic and cancer took the last part of that away.

Jillian and Phillip
Phillip is looking mighty svelte as well!

It made my blog, much like everything in 2020, less fun.

jillian on swing
It’s okay. We’re getting back into the “swing” of things now!

I’m tired of posing for all my “after” images on my freaking porch, and I’m happy to see that time of isolation and loneliness coming to a close.

cheese table
Gratuitous cheese pic.
giant pan of paella
Gratuitous giant paella pic.

Now Erin can look forward to me constantly asking her, “Can you take a picture of me for my blog?” again!

Jillian and Erin
I’m sure she’s thrilled.

Brighter days are ahead, friends…and I’ll drink to that!

Jillian and Phillip
Caption this.

Cheers!

refashionista Rosé Festival Dress Refashion after
Black Midi Sundress Refashion
Dress to Skirt & Top Refashion: Refashionista in Denver!