…what do you call it when you take a friend’s daughter’s cute little new white dress that has just a couple not-so-cute issues and fix it up so the modest young lady can wear it?
Here’s the Before:
And the After (modeled by my daughter, who does not like showing her armpits?!? J, do you have a better photo of it?).
I just sewed a rectangle of white material behind the lace at the waist and, inside the low V neck, I added a few rows of some eyelet that I thought kinda echoed the waist lace.
Here’s the rest of the dress (and another similar one which will be experiencing a much more drastic transformation soon).
They both have such a fun jagged hem and drape so nicely. I spread the bottom of the white dress out to see how the jags were created and was surprised at the simple shapes I found: a square with a circle cut out of the middle, and four smaller rectangles. I think I see a new dress in Sophie’s future…
I love that photo of the dress spread out! Rectangles and a circle cut out! It's a circular skirt but square! Love it. Yes, I am definitely inspired to use this idea to make a dress too. Maybe a fairy suit - the jagged hem is perfect!
ReplyDeleteWill you tell your daughter that I commend her for not wanting to show her armpits, even for a quick photograph? At a very young age, young ladies get used to uncovering parts that aren't considered "privates" and then as they get older, it can only get worse from there. Thus the reason the white dress was ever manufactured. I hope she never changes!
ReplyDeleteP.S. that handkerchief hem is very cute!
You would never know that your additions weren't part of that dress. The scalloped eyelet is brilliant. Out of curiosity, what size is this dress? I mean, did some whack-job designer create this dress with 10-year-olds in mind?
ReplyDeleteThe youth pastor, husband, and father (aka Mark) in our house bought these dresses on a mission trip to Mexico a few weeks ago for Hannah and myself. Gracie and Nora also have little Mexico dresses too.
ReplyDeleteThe girls begged for a dress as their gift from Daddy's travels. He doesn't normally buy any girl clothes as part of his "daddy" role...that is my job. He also has never claimed to be a fashion diva. So, he appreciates Karin's skills and willing attitude to "fix" the problems with the dresses.
Mark (as Daddy and Youth Pastor) has never endorsed immodest apparel on any female in this house or outside this house. :)
Karin, Hannah LOVES the dress. Thank you so much for your time.
ALSO...there aren't any sizes on the four dresses that Mark brought home. Maybe, they don't do "sizes" in Mexico like we do???? (Well, not in their markets) I also think that Mexican women have a different style of dress...it's just a different culture.
See you tonight, K!
Anon -- wish I knew who to thank for challenging my thinking. I want all three of my girls to understand and live "modesty". But I considered the whole armpit thing to be just a cute little quirk of my eldest, rather than a more serious step in her development of knowing and owning her body. So thanks for offering me a new perspective!!!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I maybe should've mentioned the dresses were from Mexico -- if I lived in 100 degree weather everyday, I'd probably want some venting at my waist too!
Jenny, so glad I could help out. Mark did a great job finding these dresses -- the girls all look so cute and bright in them! And I hope to do the transformation on yours just as soon as these wedding cupcakes are done!!! : )
Take your time with my dress. You can take a few months if you need to. My birthday is in November...you can give it to me then. :)
ReplyDeleteIf they are unsized, perhaps they were handcrafted in small batches and may not have had many (or any) test runs to see how they would hang on a smaller person. In that first picture, it doesn't look like the neckline would be that low. It's not until it's actually being worn that you can really tell where it falls. Hard enough to see without someone to try it on. Double tough for a guy that doesn't usually by the clothes. He chose lovely dresses. Very swishy and delicate looking and a lovely gift to bring back. I certainly intended no slight. There's a world of difference between the folks making stuff because it's pretty and the ones intentionally marketing to our little girls in an effort to make them "grow up faster". :)
ReplyDeleteKaren - I'm intrigued by the drastic transformation, especially since your small touches to the white one came out so nicely.
Jenny, thanks for the non-hurry. But I don't think I can wait til November - I'm too excited to see if I can make it look like it does in my mind.
ReplyDeleteChris, it's gonna be good, but when I said "drastic transformation", I meant it. i.e. it won't be a dress anymore... (rubbing hands together with scheming grin on face, eyebrows bobbing). Hopefully you won't be to wait til November to stop being intrigued...