Refashioned Black Shift Dress

Although the black knit dress I found at Out of the Closet initially looked a lot like a choir robe, I saw potential. After removing the sleeves and taking it in substantially at the sides, I refashioned it into a smart, preppy little shift dress. I've paired it here with a silk J. Crew blouse and a vintage tennis racket belt I found at Gem & Jetsam.

Refashioned Dress: Cotton and French Lace

I am happy to report that I successfully refashioned my salmon J. Crew dress just in time for Austin. Paired here with a mint patent leather pumps and a pair of mint and navy bauble earrings I made with wooden beads and nail polish (I'm all kinds of matchy-matchy).

The process itself was pretty simple: I just used a pair of sewing scissors to cut the floral shapes out of the lace, then hand-sewed them on to the dress using navy thread. This took about three hours total, and I used a dress form while sewing to ensure that I was honoring the fact that I am a three-dimensional human. To the left is a before view for reference...