Flower Dress Revamp

This dress was something you might imagine your grandmother wearing to a tea party! We loved the soft flowing material and whimsical flowers. Only it was too huge and too floaty at the top. To revamp this or a similar dress - I cut the lining away from the waist seam. The lining was shorter than the outside top which is what allowed the dress to balloon out at the top. Once the lining is cut, the dress just hangs down straight. The skirt was cut off and the side seams taken in quite a bit. I cut about 3 cms off the bodice and reattached the skirt section, gathering up the top of the skirt so that it fit. The lining of the bodice can be stitched back in the waist seam. The waist seam was top-stitched and elastic was stretch sewn onto the seam so that the dress had some definition at the waist. The dress was hemmed at thigh length, but you could hem at any length with a similar dress. It has become another favourite!

1970s striped dress revamp

We found this dress in one of our favourite church op-shops.....there are always really old pieces there, unlike some op-shops that only have more recent clothes that don't really excite my daugther and me at all. The dress was calf length with an elasticised waist. The skirt section was pleated. The sleeves were really wide and there were shoulder pads (which I have on good authority started to be used in the early 70s and gradually became bigger and bigger through the 80s). We really loved the huge pockets. This dress must have been well-loved, because the bottom of the skirt was really worn and faded for some strange reason. Also the underarms were slightly yellowed, but my daughter loved it so much, she thought she could live with that.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a before photo of this one but this is how we revamped it: Removed the shoulder pads and the sleeves were narrowed by about 3 cms. The waist seam was made about 3cms higher. Usually when I do this, I cut the dress and re-stitch it after cutting the bodice a bit shorter, however this time I didn't want to have to re-position and re-stitch the pleats. So, I just pinned the seam where I wanted it and after it was pinned, cut off the excess material. Then I top-stitched the waist seam so that it would sit neater. Then I cut off the excess length, especially the faded material and hemmed the length at thigh length. My daughter didn't like the open lapel look, so she simply pinned it across with a brooch which she picked up from Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/sarahogren. She also wears it with a black bow. It is now one of her favourite dresses and she loves being able to put things in the big pockets when she is at work.

1980's Polka Dot Dress

This dress was too big (a maternity dress!) and just hung when on. It was calf length and had padded shoulders. The opposite stripes on the sleeves made the dress look clownish so they had to go. This revamp involved the shoulder pads being removed, the side seams being taken in and the hem being raised from calf length to mid-thigh length. Usually when taking in the side seams I take off the sleeves so that the sleeves sit right after the side seam has been taken in, but didn't need to this time as the material was so soft and the seams didn't need to come in too drastically. Loved the colour of this dress, but wasn't sure how it would look after the revamp.... but we loved it, especially with the schoolboy look jacket.

Worn with jacket and
brooch bought from Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/sarahogren

Revamping Clothes Can be Addictive! Madeline Dress before Revamp

Revamping clothes just happened at our house. My daughter could never find clothes that she liked at any stores so, unlike her older sister, she just went without and never seemed to have enough clothes to wear. She has always had quirky taste and a sense of her own style. She loves Indie music and has been known to play some of her own, and shopping at chain stores just didn't suit her style. We started looking in second-hand stores but many of these have very recent styles and didn't cut it either. We felt like we had struck a gold vein when we found a couple of stores that always seemed to have retro clothes that she loved. Problem was, most of them were way too big and way too long. What we really looked for was material that she loved, and that suited her, and neat collars or bows. In the old days, when the kids were young, I would occasionally sew simple clothes for them, to save money, but really didn't enjoy cutting out patterns, pinning etc... basically all the things you need to do to sew from scratch. I was never great at it, but knew enough that when she brought home her first 1980s dress I was able to sew it in a bit here, raise up the hem and just possibly she would have something that she could finally wear.

After that first dress, we found more tops and dresses that we could see possibilities for. I know there are lots of people out there that don't like the thought of recycling retro and vintage clothes into a totally new garment or item, such as a bag. However, I didn't think it too sacreligious to adjust the size and length and possibly take some of the fulness out of the sleeves (after removing the shoulder pads of course!) so that the dress would fit.

We have revamped about 15 dresses now and every week my daughter hits her favourite St. Vinnies and comes home with a bag of new and 'delicious' dresses and jackets from days gone by. I am embarrassed to say that many of them would have been in my wardrobe back in the 70's and 80's and every time, she laments the fact that I didn't save any of them for her!

Even though I am getting behind with the sewing, every time we get a new piece, I can hardly wait to see what we can do with it. They are not all brilliantly sewn or perfectly fitted, but with a jacket thrown over top, a bow pinned on at the collar or an artsy brooch pinned on they look great and never before has my daughter had so many clothes to wear at such a low, low price!

We are addicted!