Introducing: {Re}fashion

As a kid I dreamed of becoming a fashion designer.  But my parents felt that I should get a music degree, as it was apparently “more useful.”  Hm.  Well,  my degree from a good liberal arts school did help me score a corporate gig that’s made my life a lot easier, at least financially.  But it’s done nothing to satisfy my drive to create things with my hands.  I’ve felt especially oppressed lately, now that I sit in a small, dark cubicle.

So when I’m not working, blogging, or working on my future business, I’ve got a new hobby.  It stems from my creative, fashion-designer-wanna-be urge and an even stronger drive to not purchase new clothes, but to work with what’s on hand:  Refashioning old, awkward, boring, or downright ugly garments into fabulous new pieces that I actually want to wear.

It all started in May, with my new sewing machine and a $1 thrifted little black dress that I purchased four years ago.  As I was packing for my long weekend in South Beach with my favorite ladies, I realized I didn’t have a little black dress.  And you’ve got to have a little black dress for Miami, especially when you’re hanging out here:

and here:

So I grabbed that ankle-length $1 dress, hemmed it short, and changed the two-spaghetti-strap neckline to a one-shoulder neckline, and  created:

The one dollar little black dress.

credit:  Photos by Crysty

Oh, how I wish I’d taken a before picture.

I loved my one-dollar-dress so much that I wore it out every night.  Paired with my favorite shoes, I felt like a million bucks instead of $1.

If you dig this fun and frugal hobby as much as I do, then stay tuned for the next installment of {Re}Fashion next week, when I share a revamp of my mom’s 1960’s era hipppie dress.

Is there anything gathering dust in your closet that you think you could rework into a fun piece you’d actually wear?

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