Today’s post is about re-envisioning items you see in the store.

I find I do this a lot, with a lot of things that I buy. So, I thought I would share some of my ideas for the next time you you see something you like, but isn’t quite right.

This is a dress I found a few weeks ago on a shopping trip where the entire contents of the mall seemed to be on sale. This got me very excited, as sales always do.

The first thing that struck me about this dress, aside from the fact that it was 30% off of a 75% reduction, was the pattern. I loved it. And still do love it. It was feminine, playful, and in colors that I like.

Upon inspecting it further, I really liked the hand of the fabric. It had a nice drape and ease to it. I thought the styling possibilities would be endless. It also had the most awesome exposed zipper!

What I didn’t like, were the sleeves. They were a little too flamboyant for me. Kind of flamenco, as I was trying to demonstrate in this picture. They would also prohibit me from wearing cardigans. As I’ve mentioned before, I love cardigans. One is pretty much always with me, even when it’s 95 degrees outside.

I saw past the sleeves though. I noticed there was a seam where the ruffles connected. Which translates to an easy modification! This made me very happy.

Ultimately, I ended up ripping out the seam where the ruffles were attached with my handy dandy seam ripper. Then I just finished off the raw edges with a rolled hem.

While making these modifications I decided to go ahead and lengthen the dress as well. It was a little shorter than I typically like.

I ripped the existing seam, which was a rolled ½” and then 1” hem. Then pressed out the crease and stitched in a double rolled ¼” seam. It ultimately gave me an additional 1”, which helped obtain the coverage I was seeking.

Finished result can be seen below! And yes, my haircut took place in between these photo shoots. Not the best planning on my part…

 

Now, the dress is exactly what I wanted: cardigan friendly sleeves, which makes it more versatile in its styling, and a little longer so I feel a little more comfortable.

Let me know if you have any modification tips. I am always open to more ideas!

What I am wearing: dress (mine is already no longer available, so this is similar), shoes #1 (similar), shoes #2 (similar)