Sheer dress refash!

I bought this dress last year just before Halloween at one of my local thrift stores. The owner of the shop asked if I'd be using it for a costume, to which I calmly replied, "No." I think she was surprised and not quite sure what to think as the dress was clearly too big and dated. Here she is before:

Now, I LOVE that the black portion of this dress is sheer, and I LOVE the beautiful mixture of colors on the printed portion of the dress. Two things were immediately obvious, however...the sleeves and the collar had to go! It was just a little too much :)

So, I started out by cutting off the collar, making sure to leave a small amount that I could use to finish off the neckline cleanly. I then seam picked the sleeves off which left me with a sleeveless dress that was too long in the torso and too loose in the waist.

At this point, I pinned the elastic waist up about 3 inches and ran it through my machine to shorten the torso. I trimmed off this excess fabric, and zigzagged the edge as this fabric likes to fray.

I used a thrifted belt to cinch the waist in a bit, and a black knit pencil skirt pulled up like a mini dress underneath so as not to be indecent ;)

Now all that is left for me to do is to decide how to finish off the sleeveless edges...meaning, I'm not sure if I want to bring in the shoulders to make the "straps" around 2 inches wide or if I should leave them about 4 inches wide...Here are a couple of photos to help you help me decide!

So, a little wider as shown on the left? Or thinner, as shown on the right? Not a huge deal or anything, but once in a while I simply tire of making the decision :) Call me lazy, if you must.

Can't wait to wear this in real life! Definitely on the top of the pile for my hubby's and my next date night :) Hope you enjoyed and are inspired to buy that dress that someone else might only see as costume material and make it cute and current!

Peace,

Andrea

LittleDidYouKnow