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.
