Sunday Sew-Day: 90s Floral Dress

Here's another piece from the clothes swap last autumn - a stunning early 90s number in navy floral with a quaint little lace collar.

Reminds me of a little girl I once knew...

I don't recall the occasion for the portraits, but if memory serves, I believe the dress was originally purchased for Easter. All the more reason my newly-acquired dress was the perfect choice for a holiday cookout this afternoon.

Thursday Thrift Score + The Red Herring Dress

Before I jump into the next series, I thought I might knock out a few refashions I've had in mind which don't really fit into any theme. So without further ado, I give you The Red Herring Dress.

Sunday Sew-Day: Denim, Part IX

As with the jeans-turned-skirt from two weeks ago, these guys had seen better days.

Thursday Thrift Score: Clothes Swap Edition

This week, I had a lovely time perusing other ladies' cast-offs at the spring clothes swap hosted by Echo Theatre. I totally lucked out too! Apparently, someone my size was unloading lots of garments, so my wearable-to-refashionable ratio ended up a lot higher than it usually is.

First, let's tally up the good-to-go pile!

Six sweaters (one Gap)
Five t-shirts
One tank top
Two button-down shirts
One dress
One pair of Gap jeans
One Fossil bag

And in this corner, we have the refashionables:

Five skirts
Two dresses
One pair of slacks (which might be wearable as is, I haven't decided yet)
One blouse

All for just $20 and a box of donated clothes lacking refashion potential. Now to do some laundry and get to work!

Sunday Sew-Day: Eco-Friendly

I had this week's denim refash all planned out in my head - another cute skirt for summer - but alas, the weather took a turn for the cool and rainy this weekend. I just couldn't get motivated to work on a flowy little skirt when I knew I would have to suffer through an "after" photo shoot. So instead, I grabbed another project I've have on my mind. A friend of mine has set out on a weight loss journey of her own recently. She's doing really well (50 pounds gone so far!), and gave me a big box of refashionable clothes she's undergrown. In it I found several well-loved t-shirts, like this one (front and back).

Thursday Thrift Score: Denim, Part VIII

I have, admittedly, been a tad reluctant to accept the return of 80's fashion. I realize styles are usually cyclical and everything old will be new again eventually. However, my full absorption of the trend took me by surprise when I found this denim vest in a box of garage sale leftovers and thought, "Ooo cute!"

It came as an even greater shock when I immediately thought of pairing it with my bright, bordering on neon, salmon maxi skirt (courtesy of Target's clearance rack).

I decided to forgo the trifecta though and skip the side ponytail.

Sunday Sew-Day: Denim, Part VII

This weekend's project had to be a quick one since I had other important things to do. So I grabbed a pair of jeans I've had for a couple years now. I'd altered them once already, but now the bottom hems were getting pretty ragged. I felt it was time to give them a new life. And yes, I forgot to remove my phone from my pocket before taking photos. Oops.

Thursday Thrift Score: Denim, Part VI

Apologies for the tardiness of this week's thrift score. We were experiencing slight technical difficulties last night, which is to say Flickr was updating their site and not cooperating with my picture posting. Better late than never!


Step 1: Take one free denim shirt, leftover from someone's garage sale, and discover sleeves are too short.

Check.

Step 2: Roll up sleeves.

Check.

Step 3: Be super comfy and trendy in your "new" free top.

Check.

Sunday Sew-Day: Denim, Part V

Okay, so I realize there is a difference between denim and chambray, but the thing is - I don't care. For the purposes of this series, chambray is close enough to denim.

Now that we have that cleared up, check out this 'before' dress! If it looks familiar, well, it should. I've already remade another dress from the same source, and now it's this one's turn!

I came across this cute little chambray sundress on The Fancy Pants Report, via Pinterest naturally. Her dress came from Target and has adorable little white polka dots all over. My version will be sadly lacking in the polka dots department, but I'm hoping it will still be adorable as well.

Thursday Thrift Style: Denim, Part IV

So you may have asked yourself this past Sunday, "Why didn't she just over-dye that striped denim jacket to make it darker instead of wrestling with bleach?" Well, there were a couple reasons. First, I wasn't sure if dying it would actually even out the stripes or just make them dark stripes on a medium background, which wouldn't have been an improvement in my opinion. Secondly, I didn't need a dark denim jacket because I already had this one!

I found this in my favorite thrift shop, Thrift City in Richardson, Texas for... $5 tops. I've had it a couple years now, and I love it.

I just wish I could wear it more, but I hesitate to pair a denim jacket with blue jeans. Awkward!