My "Chanel"

I parallel thrift shopping to life..."Go in with a goal but be open the outcome. The results are far better." When I shop at thrift stores, flea markets or garage sales - I am rarely looking for that "one item"because it never will be found. My approach is to be clear on my own style or the trends I am creating and then see what happens.

I was out searching for event dresses that I could refashion into even better gowns (I will share more soon) and came upon a dress that had my name on it. Clean lines, with a bold graphic - so me. Five dollars later I was on my way to creating a nice dress I would mainly wear to weddings - since I had a few of them on my calendar for the end of summer.

As always, I put it on my body form and looked at the "bones" of the dress. I knew I could give this graphic silhouette some flare. It was a size ten floor length sheath with a knee height slit in the back. It looked matronly and I wanted it to have some style.

I carefully pinned in the side seams without making the dress pull and then I gave it open tucks on the front and small darts on the neck in back.

I had to adjust the shoulder and armhole a bit and I had successfully sized it down to a size 2 and gave it an updated look.

Next, I cut the bottom to an above knee length for myself. I then stitched the side seams. That was the most challenging since I had to stop precisely at each color, re-thread the machine, stitch, stop, rethread and then stitch. I hemmed the dress and sent it to the cleaners where it was drycleaned, pressed and ready to wear. I wore it with a pair of Gucci shoes and paired it with a Micheal Kors clutch I found at a resale boutique.

I got several compliments on my dress at both the weddings and didnt divulge its "wear abouts".