7.18.11

Skirt: REI
Shirt: Gap (ancient)
Cardigan: Ross (?)
Shoes: Target ($5!!)

So, my office is super casual, as you could have probably guessed from this all knit/jersey outfit. However, what might surprise you is that my office is SO casual that an outfit such as this (as in, one in which I am not wearing jeans) still garners comments such as "why are you so dressed up?". Yes, that's right, welcome to New Mexico, also known as the the land where people are confused if you aren't wearing pants. Ok, so maybe that also has something to do with working in the environmental consulting field, but sometimes I just want to look like a girl!

Please feel free to admire three of my current obsessions, found below. The first is my new bag, which was a gift from my sister. She recently returned from a two year stint in Nicaragua and brought me this lovely bag as a (much belated) birthday gift.

The second is my new $5 pair of shoes. While trying to escape the heat and smoke (from all the wildfires in the state), I took an ill-founded trip to Target in search of some air conditioning. I did manage to enjoy the AC, but only just barely, as I was distracted by all the pretty colors and amazing prices. When the closest Target is an hour away, it suddenly transforms from "ugly big box store" into an exciting wonderland!

Ok, I am seriously in love with my third obsession. I purchased this bracelet on a recent trip to visit a friend in Jackson Hole, Wyoming (photos forthcoming). She took me to this store called MADE, which was seriously amazing. Just imagine walking into a store featuring items from all of your favorite Etsy sellers. Yes, it was that good. Anyways, the note that came with this bracelet said that it was made from a 1920's era spoon.

P.S. I missed ya'll, promise I am still reading everyone's blogs. I just need to get better at commenting!

This Just Upcycled!

I've been working long and hard upcycling this dress, I just finished it, and had to share with ya'll. If you like it, its listed in my Etsy store! When I found this dress at the thrift store, I could see that it had a lot of potential, even though it kind of looked like a sad sack of navy blue fabric. Here is the before:

And, here is the finished product! I especially love the colorful belt, which I made from fabric salvaged from a hideous pair of 80s pants.






Here is a little DIY list of what I did to upcycle the dress, hopefully it will inspire you to refashion something in your wardrobe that isn't working for you! Some of the things I did were a bit more complicated, but even using a few of the simpler tricks can really make a huge difference to a garment that you aren't wearing because there is something a little off about it.

1. Add an elastic waistline- it will define the waist of the garment and make it much more flattering! The obvious choice is to do this to a dress- but maybe you have a sweater or a shirt that you like to belt. Adding an elastic waist will achieve the same effect. This is super easy if you have a sewing machine. Just buy some elastic at the fabric store and be sure to use the zig-zag stitch on your machine (check your manual). While you are feeding the fabric and elastic through the machine, let the fabric of the garment go in flat while you stretch the elastic out as tightly and you can. Once you are done with the sewing and let the elastic relax, it will gather up the fabric of the garment and give it a more tailored look.

2. I added a bubble hem to this dress, but an easier fix is just to hem a dress or skirt to a shorter length. I have a lot of older and vintage dresses in my closet that hit at an awkward mid-calf length, and I bet you do too. The just above the knee length and the mini length are super popular this season because they work so well with tights and leggings. Hemming is easy to do, even without a sewing machine. Just hack off the dress or skirt about 2" longer than you want it to be, then create a french hem by double folding the fabric up to hide the raw edge and hand stitch it up there using a whip stitch!

3. I created a belt with a big rosette out of fabric that I salvaged from a pair of really awful 80s pants. There are no rules here! If you see some fabric that you like but you don't like the form that its in, make it into something else! Just get creative!

If you have any questions or want more detailed instructions for something, just let me know. Maybe I'll work on a tutorial if there is some interest.

Upcycled Nautical Daydream Dress

I'm soooooo excited to be offering the first dress in my line of up-cycled clothing! What is up-cycling? It's reusing vintage and salvaged materials to make something beautiful and new. It's environmentally friendly because it keeps old clothes and scrap materials out of the landfill and no new materials are produced. Yay! In fact, the only new material in this dress is the coral colored ribbon that makes up the back of the belt. Here is a step by step guide to how I made this dress:


I started with a vintage dress which was sort of so-so but had a lot of potential. I also bought some remnant lace at the local fabric store. I wanted to use salvaged materials, so I got lace that was left over. I had to hand cut it all out and pieced some of it together, it took forever but it was worth it to know that I was using material that would have otherwise been thrown away.

After that, I hemmed the skirt to a length that is a few inches above knee length and made the sleeves into cap-sleeves. I also removed the grandma like collar at the neckline. I think this made it a bit more modern and much more flattering!


I then added the lace to the sleeves and hemline of the dress. Lace makes everything more lovely!


To finish the dress off, I created a belt out of vintage buttons, lace, and a coral colored ribbon. This gives the dress more color and the lace ties everything together nicely.



Here is the finished product! It was quite a bit of work but I really like how it turned out. It's up for sale now at Green Violet Vintage. I can't wait to make more upcycled goodies- its a great way to make something old fresh and new again! Hopefully I've inspired ya'll to get creative with your clothes also. If something you own isn't working for you, make it better. Simple fixes like hemming and adding embellishments can really make your clothing stand out in the crowd!

Up-cycling v2.0

More details about the process to come later, but for now...

Before:



After:

Yay! I'm so excited about how it turned out! It will be up for sale soon in Green Violet Vintage!

Thanks!!

Thanks for all the love on the dress, ya'll! To answer a few questions: no, I didn't use a pattern or a dress form. I just tried the dress on A LOT while I was working on it and refashioned the top part probably two times. I sew like I cook- I make it up as I go and I use only what I have on hand (too lazy to go to the store mid project!). This results in some strange meals and strange clothing, but I kind of like it! It keeps things interesting.

Anyways, with all the love I've already started in on a few new upcycling projects. I'm almost done with the first one but my room mate was working overnight at the hospital (he's a doctor) and now he is sleeping and I don't want to run the sewing maching and wake him up! But, it should be done soon and I'll be sure to post about it here, hopefully later tonight. And, as much as I would like to keep all these projects for myself, my closet and my wallet can't afford it, so they will be up in the shop for sale!