Teacher's Dress into...Still Kind of a Teacher's Dress

Hello, Refashion Co-op! My name is Erica (4EverMoody is a tag/label I often use) and I'm a 30 something educator in New England. I started my blog Craft, Thrift, or Die over the summer as a way to cope with my depression and anxiety. Don't be too bummed, I try to make it as fun as possible. I consider myself the antithesis to most craft/thrift blogs. I don't live a beautiful life and I don't know what I'm doing!
I don't exactly sew very well and I use the sewing machine set up at my folks' place because I don't own one. In another nod to my mental health diagnoses, I refer to the way I complete my projects as "crafting with ADHD." I have Adult Attention Deficit Disorder, and often see the symptoms in my refashions. People with ADHD like instant gratification, and I tend to jump right into a project before fully planning. So, basically; I'm no expert!
As is the case with this dress, sometimes my refashions are very simple and I find myself doing very little to change the look of the original garment. As a lover of vintage styles, I usually like to stay true to the vintage look of a dress. This is what I call a "teacher's dress." It's long, comfortable, not at all hip or sexy. Ya know.. think a corduroy dress with an apple embroidery on it.

That dress is not very appealing, is it? See? I'm like an old school marm. But, what if I told you that this dress was only $.50?
Are you feeling it, yet? I'm not sure if it was the memory of cold winters from the past that lured me to that real wool or maybe it was the cute pockets (for lip balm while I'm walking around the classroom) and elastic waist that made me take it home. Anyway, here's how I gave it an easy fix.
I planned on making it a little shorter, but after trying it on with comfortable heels, I decided I kinda liked the length. So, if I wanted to look "cool," I would have to find a way to make it edgy, maybe a little bad-assery involved. First, that neckline...

I started by making it just a little sexier with that little gather. What do they call that? A sweetheart neckline? Anyway, I basically pinched up some fabric and pinned the little gathers before hand sewing it. Very easy. Next, I thought I would add detail to the pockets. I had a ton of rick rack, but I didn't want to go there; too cutesey.

I had those little bows that I bought from the craft store awhile back, and I had already hot glued them onto those pin backs, making them like little brooches. I think I had tried them on another project but never used them. To make them look a little "tougher", I used my BeDazzler and added some studs. Yeah, we're dealing with a badass over here.
I thought that pocket was big enough that maybe I could add something else. Here are a few things I decided against:

square studs? round sparkly buttons? black lace? Nope

Ok, fine. I'll see how rick rack looks:

Ok, rick rack works for me. I just wedged it under the seem of the pocket so the little curves showed.

 

Did I mention how I like to cheat? Step 3: don't bother trying to sew it, use fabric glue to glue little details into place. 

Woah, the picture quality is not always great. Anyway, step 4 is to add a belt. I went with that shiny vinyl one. 

At the last minute, I added another step, but neglected to photograph it because...you know, I was busy or something (and I'm not doing it now, pics are already uploaded). I decided that I needed to take in the bodice by making two darts in the back. I turned the dress inside out and grabbed up a little material on the right, a little on the left, and pinned in place. After trying it on and adjusting maybe once, I just used the old needle and thread to sew where I had pinned. This was easy with heavy material. 

Here it is: the Minimally Altered Teacher Dress.

Sorry, I get carried away with pictures sometimes; I'm a narcissist.

After reviewing these pics, I realized my mistake. When it's cold enough to wear this thing, I certainly won't be interested in my right to bare arms (pun?) What kind of sweater would work with this?

Thank you for your looking!

Erica 4EverMoody