Today I'm going to be a tease (2/3)

Second things second.
(or In which I become a tease)

I've recently been acquiring dresses from thrift stores for Spring/Summer that I can alter. And although there hasn't been much of a demand to get them finished due to the Icelandic weather that has settled low over California, I have indeed been working on them.

Project 1



I don't have anything personal against shoulder pads, but in this case, those were the first to go.

Next up, I separated the top from the bottom since the dress was about 4 sizes too big and required more than just a little nip here and a tuck there.

This is where I hung the top because I still haven't gotten my dress form yet. (Update on that to follow)

And those are all the pictures I have for you. I smallified both pieces, shortened the sleeves and the hem, and bada-bing new dress! But alas it's packed for our cruise already (I see the glimmer of understanding of what I meant by "tease" begin to glint in your eyes. Sorry, friends).

Project 2
When I bought this dress, the man I bought it from, trying to be polite, tried to tell me it was cute. I knew he didn't really think that, but was trying to compliment my purchase, so I mentioned that I was planning on altering it, saying that I "didn't want it to look quite so..." And he finished my sentence with "Amish," making us both laugh. I love this man and absolutely will shop there again because of him.

This is an alternate spot I found for hanging my dresses. The nail it's hanging from normally has a picture frame there.
First to go were these horrifying bodice tightener things. I don't know what they are and I don't ever want to know.
While I shortened the sleeves (and took a foray into elastic ! ), I'm planning on reusing the buttons somewhere as of yet undecided.

I actually took the time to iron my hem before I sewed it.
Whoa. I'm like...a woman now...or whatever.

Bought: Pink Dress @ ARF
Price: $4

Bought: Floral Dress @ Teen Challenge
Price: $2

Disclaimer: If you live in the area and go to Teen Challenge, they do only take cash.

End Post 2
*Ding!*

Meet Your New Best Friend

I've been wanting to do this post for awhile since it plays such a HUGE part in determining what I thrift-fully buy. But being a perfectionist combined with a procrastinator, I just haven't dug up either the nerve or the drive to do it yet. So I'm going to put my perfectionism on the back burner and be both artfully lazy and innovative at the same time and use pictures that I already have, rather than new ones taken specifically for this post.
On to the point!

Alterations.

They're the key to your thrift store finds. When I shop I look primarily for fabrics that I like and move on from there. It can be size10,000, but if it's made of good fabric (i.e. nothing synthetic) you can make it work specifically for you.
(Before we move on, please note the high-tech photo-shopping program I bought to simulate what the following outfits looked like before. )

Exhibit A:
Shorts. Technically I didn't buy these at a thrift store, but they were on clearance and were hideously ugly before I bought them. Imagine bell-bottoms made for a child that fit my hips, but are so short that they hit me right in the middle of my calves. I'm mentally going "Blechh" just remembering-- and then mentally blocking out the fact that I actually wore them a couple of times like that.
But with the magic of my sewing machine...
BA-ZING!


Exhibit B:

My favorite outfit that I've ever altered. This romper was originally a jumpsuit a la' Katharine Hepburn. Unfortunately, being 30-40 years old, the legs were all stained around the bottom with no hope of ever being removed. Except by scissors! Cut. Roll. Iron. Sew. Done. *PING* Completely new romper.


Next time I'll take some actual before/after pictures, even though I know these recreations were so incredibly accurate it was probably hard to even discern that they had been edited.


And yes, that is the hotel in Runaway Bride.

Estate Sale, Pt. 2

Just singing my shoulda coulda woulda's.
If there were adequate space in my room, this sewing machine would now be mine.


Plus, were I not a cheapskate, this up-to-date informative reading material would also be in my possession. Because who really understands the elusive Hippie? Who couldn't use this book?