$0.79 PINK DRESS RE-STYLE!

Day 4

Posted by Ethne~

This dress was actually the first of my inspirations for dresses to re-style a la New Dress A Day.  I found it on my same Salvation Army shopping trip as the green dress.

Now, it is no secret that PINK is my very FAVORITE COLOR.  I L.O.V.E, LOVE pink.  I was thrilled to pieces to have daughters (two at a time is how we do things!)  That’s double the pink and ruffles and pouf.  It is Shaun’s least favorite color but he doesn’t say anything anymore.

Pink Sunset captured by SD!

SO, when I spied this dress on the rack, I knew it must be mine.  Hefty shoulder pads and all.  Hefty was the exact adjective for me while wearing the dress too – terrible!

It was a beaut - but not on me!

You guessed it, the first thing to get snipped out were those matching shoulder pads – and they were larger than the size of my hand!

Large Marge

Next to go were the sleeves….

See 'ya Sleeves!

….and shirt collar.  And let’s face it, that was required.

Go '80's!  Go '80's!

I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the neckline – fold the lapel under to make a v-neck, then “pinch and cinch” (Marisa-New Dress A Day trick) to tighten up the neckline/strap area and make it a little more feminine.  Marisa usually just cinched with a safety pin for speed, but I decided to sew the pinched gathers permanently.  A good chunk of the skirt length needed to go, and I hemmed a new skirt bottom.  Hemming will not be a permanent career, I can say that.

KD assisting with skirt removal

Now the first time I wore this dress it was to work – with a nice black leather belt and my fave black wedge sandals.  What I did not realize was that it was not quite perfect – the v-neck was too low for modesty (which I don’t have much of, so that’s saying something).

Lots of compliments, too much bra-showing!
PS, my legs aren't normally THAT washed out.

This took a quick and easy fix – a black modesty patch.    And I needed it to be quick.  I was wearing this dress at AL and JM’s wedding groom’s dinner the next weekend!  I found this scrap of black fabric in the remnant bin at JoAnn Fabrics for about $1.00.  I cut a triangle of fabric, sewed down a ¼” seam at the top of the triangle, and then sewed the black patch to the bottom portion of the v-neck.

Now that's a perfect neckline!  Cheers to my lovely JF!

SMART TIP: Side note on ‘modesty patches’: I wanted the black patch on this dress to be permanent, so sewing it in was fine with me.  However, if you don’t want something permanent, or need a quick fix, try out my new favorite As Seen On TV product ‘Cami Secret’!  First, I love As Seen On TV items – thanks Walgreens and Super Target!  Second, the ‘Cami Secret’ is great.  The lacy portion of the patch clips onto your bra straps, then tucks into your shirt.

It's the new dickie!  Genius!

FRUGAL-TASTIC:  This is my new favorite dress, for less than $2.00!  Perfect for our Valentine's Day date!

SIDE NOTE: I have to give a shout-out to AL and JM for having a beach wedding on Lake Superior!  It was FAB-U-LOUS!  You should see a few pics of that too:

JF, KK and me - barefoot - awesome

SD and me - kids stayed home!

AL and LL - I did their make-up, but they gave me beautiful palettes to work with!

Bride and Groom made all the wine and beer.  You Betcha!

UM YA YA!