I have had this dress for 8ish years. You could say it’s a favorite. It’s just this past year that I found I was reaching for it less than usual. Then I realized it was due to the length. I no longer desired the longer length, it was proving to be less flexible in its styling options.

I decided it was time to alter it. I do this a lot with my clothes. I buy things for the long haul and adapt them over time to fit my needs.

Hemming something is a relatively easy adjustment that can make a big difference. I decided I would hem this dress from the waist. An idea I want to throw out to some of you when looking at how to shorten some of your garments. On a lot of pieces, the hem is a place where extra embellishment is added, rendering hemming at the base a problem. Next time, look to see if you can shorten from the waist!

This dress does not have a sewn in hem, it could be left raw because knits do not ravel. I didn’t trust my hand to cut the bottom perfectly straight though, which is part of why I adjusted from the waist. The other reason is that there was an inset drop band that I was not really crazy about anymore. My solution was to cut out the band and sew the skirt directly to the bodice.

Another note for the sewers out there, when sewing on knits I recommend using a very small zigzag stitch. It allows the knit to stretch without too much stress on the seam- it will help prevent popping a stitch.

Now for your 2 for 1 deal today. This is a summer dress, as you could probably tell. However, it’s still a favorite. I have a hard time packing away favorites for seasons at a time. Through your accessories you can carry garments from season to season. For this dress, I just added a jean jacket, a fall staple, and threw on a great scarf. A note on this scarf. It was originally for my mom. It’s a vintage Yves Saint Laurent that we found in a vintage store on a school trip in college. As I said, it was originally my mom’s, but I asked to borrow it so much she eventually just gave it to me. Thanks mom 🙂

 What I am wearing:

 dress is many years old (similar), Nine West shoes (similar), Old Navy jacket (similar), Vintage YSL scarf, Suzanne Juneau Bracelet (one of my favorite local jewelry designers)

Let me know how you like to restyle your outfits in the comments below!