Project Restyle is about reclaiming vintage/unused objects or garments which is something I've been doing by myself for quite some time. I've got a big basket of "to sew" dresses that's been piling up for months and I'm hoping this project finally motivates me to attack it! There are some future gems in there, I'm sure. I also received a whole stack of sewing books for Christmas this year that I desperately need to start reading! In the mean time, I thought I'd repost some photos of past "restyles" I've done. Mostly they just involve hemming but it's crazy what a little snip and stitch can do to a dress.
This was a long and pretty dowdy nightie (I think?) that became a cute nautical minidress. All I did was hem it and shorten the sleeves but it went from unwearable to adorable (if I may say so myself)!
This dress was almost comically hideous when I bought it. That ruffle thing reminded me of the spitting dinosaurs from Jurassic Park. I snipped it off along with the sleeves and shortened the dress into something pretty awesome - the fact that it was made of sweet plaid with the best collar ever didn't hurt.
I hope posting stuff from months ago doesn't come off as too lazy! I do plan on digging into my project pile in the near future and I'll be sure to share any future results.
14 comments:
Those dresses were great, but turned into something more fantastic.
I love your blog, I hope you keep writing post like this, which are
really special and make me want to work harder, in my style
dressing and writing.
Abrazos desde Colombia = ( Hugs from Colombia )
I've been doing something similar as well. I never take before (or after for that matter) photos mostly because I'm only ever hemming a skirt. But it really does make such a difference.
those are great before and afters! You definitely turned them into super wearable dresses.
so cool!
new follower,
katie
http://aperfect300.blogspot.com/
you guys are lovely :) thank you!
katie, i'm following you back.
So adorable! I saw you on the project restyle flickr page and made my way over to your blog, I haven't put up my restyle yet but this is pretty inspiring :)
That's awesome, I love the plaid restyle. I always want to do stuff like that, but things end up hanging in my closet for quite some time!
@amanda & @tara, thanks so much guys! i am an epic procrastinator so things stay in my "to sew" pile forever and ever too, i'll usually have one day amongst many where i'll have a sudden burst of energy and willpower and get stuff like this done. same goes for cleaning the house, baking, etc. haha.
This is so amazing!! I really wish I had your talent and vision! If I could sew like that (and actually find crazy dresses with cool peterpan collars)I would never have to shop again! Love it!
x x
Love your comment on the neck ruffle/ dinosaur comparison!
Blue Skies
Charlotte xo
p.s. totally inspired to go find some ugly dresses to re-style now!
Love this! I saw it on the Flickr set initially... Great job!
-Jeanette
http://janettethejongleur.blogspot.com/
oh wow - what you did with that 1st dress is insane! really shows how simple changes can make things so fresh and fun. I would totally wear that (daily), and probably wouldnt have even noticed the long version!
www.shirinhandmade.com/blog
I have so many vintage dresses that I need to do this to--except I'm pretty terrible at sewing. Would you ever consider doing a tutorial of shortening sleeves?
Jess - it's seriously simple! i have no seamstress training at all nor have i ever really even opened a book on the subject - hemming most dresses is easy breezy especially when they're plaid because it gives you a straight line to work with! i bet with one youtube tutorial or something of that sort you'd be set on any future potentially awesome dresses you might find.
charlotte - it was the first thing i thought when i saw this dress. ha! i'm not quite sure who would want a massive ruffle neck (save maybe queen elizabeth the first or lady gaga) but the weirdness of some garments just baffles me sometimes.
JD - thank you so much!
shirin - only since i've had a vintage shop on etsy have i bothered to really, really dig on my thrifting trips. you never know what dowdy old thing can turn into the best thing ever with 20 minutes of time on the sewing machine :)
whitney - i pretty much make it up as i go along, but i think i might just accept your challenge and document the process next time i'm altering something! i'll try my best to share my mediocre knowledge with you all haha.
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