Saving a Too-Short-Dress

Every once in a while I find myself at a clearance rack in a store and end up talking myself into buying a dress that is gossip-girl-short because it’s super cheap I have nothing to lose, right? Then I get it home and remember that I’m 5’9" (which Wolfram Alpha tells me is in the 98th percentile for women) and that a short dress is always a really short dress on me. Really I have no idea how Serena Van Der Woodson ever sits down. Then it sits in my closet for years while I wait for an event where I might find it acceptable to wear it.

So I decided it was time to get realistic with myself and make some of these dresses wearable! And these are what I ended up with:

Dress #1 was 10 years old (H&M in 2003!). I was a simple refashion - I cut it down and turned the raw edge into an elastic casing with just a little stretch to it so it didn't gape at the waistline:

Dress #2 was a post-prom 2011 find -  $150 Haley Logan dress which I practically stole for $7. I don’t know what I was thinking when I bought it because really it doesn’t even cover me up standing straight up, let alone in any other positions. But I couldn’t just give up the ruched tulle and sequins, so I found some jersey knit at Joann fabrics that was a pretty close match to the lining of the dress, cut off the bodice, and made a tie-back waist band:

They both ended up making for really great skirts. Maybe I should buy scandalous dresses even more often than I already do?