The green designing women dress

THe next challenge for refashion runway #2 is emerald green. One of Pantone's color for 2013. This one was a challenge. I don't have a lot of green. And when I was shopping there is not a lot of green to choose from. Also people's definition of emerald green is really wide. I was really surprised. I went hunting for something green I did not have a lot of options. I really wanted to find a emerald hideous outfit, maybe an old prom dress, and refashion it to something fabulous. That did not happen. But what I did find was this dress straight from the '90s and off the show designing women

Just call me Miss Suzanne Sugarbaker. Omg I loved that show and the southern accents. And wow it is green but for some odd reason I liked it. Friends cringed, my boyfriend said why in the world ...? But I said yes I can! So the shoulder pads, the bad blazer feel, the gold buttons, and the wrap dress feel which didn't close- this dress needed a lot of help.

I cut the dress in half first and removed those gold buttons. I cut off the blazer part of the dress. Turned the top of the dress backwards. Added a new neckline so I would not get choked b/c the old one choked me. Took off the sleeves and fixed the arm holes. I did small pleats on the skirt to line up the lines. I angled the new back (old front) and fitted the dress more to me to fix the gaping of the dress. That helped some but I still needed something else. I decided to add a strip of fabric across the back, right where my bra strap is (so yay I can wear a bra with this dress) and with the strap I added elastic. This would pull the dress to my back, allow the dress to move with me if I was bending, and also let me put the dress on with having a back strap. But wait... not done. I didn't think this was really emerald enough. I took a stab at ombre dyeing the skirt with RIT dye dark green. The dress is a mix of poly/rayon which will partially take the dye leaving me with what I thought would be some emerald green.

I was really happy with what I got in the end. I modernized designing women dress. Complete with ombre!

The back..

I seriously jumped for joy that I finished this project on time.... I was scrambling. This dress took a lot of my time and work! I think for all the challenges I will be fighting the clock. Story of my life!

If you would like more of this process with pics etc check out my blog here.

Now go and check out Refashion Runway #2 for the other contestants with challenge #2! Good luck to the other girls!!  Now on to the next challenge! Whew! I am tired!

Cheers,
Lauren