Ball Gown from Flea Market Finds

Not long ago, I wrote about a bolero jacket titled: "Granny Goes Girlie" where I found a velvet evening jacket with beaded trim at a nearby garage sale.

I updated it with a few simple cut

s and touches to become a fun bolero to wear with a cocktail dress or jeans.

I then had the bottom of the jack

et left over and wan

ted to create something interesting with it....

A friend had given me a gown of hers and I thought "Why not combine the two?"

I created a corset type bodice with the bottom of the velvet jacket and then added the tulle skirt from my friends gown..

The result was a dress my daughters friend loved. Visit my site at www.dzynurlyf.com to get more ideas, tips and subscribe to my design newsletter.

Granny Gets Girlie

Well....I had big ideas to put this on a young pretty girl and get a picture to share with fellow refashionistas....NOT to be. Life got busy and time is flee

ting. However, I do have a few tricks in my bag and this little jacket will just give you a taste of some fun things to come.

I had the wonderful fortune of stumbling upon a garage sale of a women who liked fine things. She let me grab up plenty of beautiful items (some from Paris) for just dollars. One of them was this black seed pearl trimmed velvet evening jacket.

I am certain my grandmother (a very stylish lady) had one of these. Being that I live in Southern California and we are always seeking youth....I thought I would give it a little updating.

I simply cut the bottom away from the jacket to provide a bolero shape. I then added organza fringe with black pearl trim to make it sassy and have flare. I can see wearing this with a fitted cocktail dress, great shoes and a clutch bag. I also see it dressing up my favorite jeans, boots and a long fitted tee shirt....with great accessories.

It was fun changing the look and "age" of this jacket and I know it will be a favorite. BUT you must see what I did with the bottom part of this velvet jacket that I cut off.....The Coup de Gras! Hmmm...Maybe that will be my next post.

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".

Got an Event??

Celebrations, dances and events mark exciting and meaningful dates in our lives.....and we always remember the dress we wore.

My daughter had a stream of events in high school and needed a dress for every event.

Junior clothing is not very expensive but for me it was the value of the dresses in her closet and that they were only getting worn once.

It bothered me that these dresses were going to waste and I thought it was time to show her a way to be more resourceful and creative with what she already had.

I had been refashioning items - for the love of it and for the practicalness of it - all of my life. It was time to pass on a little knowledge to her.

I started with an already simple yet usable dress she

had in her closet.....

I wanted to add just a few simple touches that would create a new look yet not be too difficult for her to follow.

We purchased some black satin and black lace trim.

I trimmed the hem about an inch and then found the side seams on both the mesh and the lining. I then found the center front and the center back and marked them with pins.

I then ran a basting stitching throughout the hemline of the mesh. Making sure that it was even between my side seam, ctr front and ctr back.

I basted on the black lace

trim to the lining and then sewed the mesh "bubble" hem to the lining.

For the sash I used satin and a fusible interlining for body and support. I created a sash with a bow and made sure it was finished well at the side seam.

Her dress was complete and it was SUCH a hit! No one at the dance had a dress like it and we spent maybe 20.00.

My daughter was proud to tell everyone that "we" designed it and that it was from a dress she had in her closet. I was proud to show her a way to be creative, resourceful and unique.

I am always working on refashioning items. I share them on my MashUp page of my site as well as my FB page. I will be sure to post another again soon.

Urban Victorian - Mens button down

Men's button down shirts are to me, like a canvas to paint on. I grab them at flea markets and garage sales savoring the fullness, masculine lines, fabric and the opportunity to transform them into a feminine creation. I enjoy the juxtaposition of a feminine silhouette coupled with a few masculine lines. I guess that could be interpreted as "my style".

What I like about refashioning is to not hide that I have refashioned, de-constructed and redesigned the garment. The shirt on the left was a man's xtra large button down that I draped on my body form to create new lines, darts and details.

I added frayed organza to the placket and cuffs, antique lace to the repositioned pocket and antique buttons as a cinched detail on the back. I loved doing this shirt and the results of what I had produced. The step by step is more than I can outline in this blog but I will provide a detailed video on my site: http://www.dzynurlyf.com/ in the near future.

The other shirt was oversized also. Other than the tapering, darts and repositioning of the pocket, I didnt do a lot of draping on this shirt. My emphasis was the combining of patterns to create interest and style. I incorporated ribbon I picked up at a flea market for pennies, the ruffles on the cuffs are from a skirt purchased at a thrift shop and I added patterned, refashioned shorts. To complete the look, I will show this with an Edwardian ruffle type of scarf, antique broach, distressed brown boots, and a brown suede duster I found at a yard sale.

Style doesnt have to be expensive. Creating it yourself....says so much more.