Todays re-do started out as one piece of a two piece outfit. My good friend Amber found this outfit at a yard sale for (drum roll please) $1! The dress part is sleevless and LOOOOONG. It goes to the floor on my short 5'2" self. That will be making an appearance another time as it has plenty to work with. For today I decided that this jacket would be awesome to re-make as a wrap shirt. Wrap shirts are wonderful for accentuating the positive and camoflaging the not so positive on my body type. Really wrap shirts seem to be universally flattering on every body type.
Ok, so this started out as a couple sizes to big and it was rather umm middle age-ish? But the good thing is - the black and white hibiscus pattern is really sharp, and being a couple sizes too big makes it really easy to convert to a wrap. Lets get started, this is a pretty easy one.
First thing to go is the white band on the bottom and the sleeves (1). That band on it's own was aging this outfit about 20 years. Those bands are being re-cycled as ties! I simply sewed two of them together to make the long tie, and used the other for the short tie. Standing in front of the mirror I played around with placement and pinned them in place (2). When creating a wrap shirt you have to create a hole in a side seam for your long tie to go through in order for it to pass around the back (3). I sewed the straps in place and tested them out, perfection!I shortened the sleeves just a tad by putting in a nice wide hem, hemmed the bottom of my new shirt and we were just about done. My last little tweak was to pin the collar down on either side. I wanted the neck line a little more open and it kept wanting to creep in. This is one of those things you don't always realize right away and only discover when you really wear something. I figured it out when I was getting ready Monday morning. Fortunately I keep some safety pins in my jewelery box and was able to use one on either lapel to keep the collar where I wanted it.
Here's the finished product, I paired it with some black slacks and my fave patent leather heels. I got compliments on this before I even got in from the parking lot at work! I also got comments on my heels from a guy on the elevator. He commented that he didn't know how women walked in those things, I laughed and proceeded to trip on my way out of the elevator, I looked back and said "Apparently neither do I!" I'm a dork, what can I say? At least I'm a stylish dork on this particular day =-)
