Neglected Paisley Skirt

This skirt was near the top of the list of things I've been neglecting that I still really like and want to keep.  Granted, I'm sentimental about it.  I bought the dress when John and I were engaged, wore it to my bachelorette party, on our honeymoon, and several other picture-taking occasions during the first couple years of marriage.  I just really loved it.  And then I turned it into a skirt, because the top didn't really fit anymore, but I couldn't bear to part with it.  I still love it, but the purplish-blue color in it makes it tricky for me to style.

I was going to wear it with my black sweater and black blazer, and this mint necklace, but then I switched out the sweater for this ruffly maternity tank top, and then I thought the blazer looked weird, so I went with a cardigan instead.  I've been doing that a lot lately - I think because my body isn't shaped the way I think it is, so things don't fit as expected anymore.  (Hashtag - pregnancy problems)

Cardigan: Gap
Necklace: Limited
Top: Kohl's Maternity
Skirt: H&M (refashioned from a dress)
Tights: H&M
Boots: Madden

Lazy Weekend

Happy Monday!  Since this was my first and last weekend with nothing going on for quite sometime, I am happy to report that I did a whole lot of nothing!  Friday after work, John and I met up for dinner and then caught a late showing of World War Z.  It was decent, but not as good as I wanted it to be.  I started reading the book on Saturday, so I'll probably end up doing a comparison post soon.

After staying up too late on Friday, I seriously slept in on Saturday.  I think this is the secret to controlling my caloric intake.  Sleeping until noon is the new trendy diet - celebrities should be paying me for this insight.  I just need to quit my job so I can sleep for 12 hours every night.

Saturday afternoon was reserved for catching up on laundry and running errands.  I think I ironed every single item of iron-able clothing on Saturday evening.  It's a glamorous life, I know.

The above outfit is from Sunday morning church.  After church, we went to lunch with some friends, and then I spent the afternoon cleaning up in our "extra" room, so it will be ready for my nieces next weekend!  I'm pretty excited for them to get here!

Here's a bonus for your Monday morning.  When John is my photographer, he usually convinces me to do silly things, like jump or twirl.  This is a great skirt for twirling, by the way.

Top and Cardigan: Gap
Skirt: H&M dress (refashioned)
Shoes: Target

New Skirt in Action

After refashioning this dress into a skirt, I was excited to start wearing it more frequently.  My striped top was hanging in the closet above the skirt and an idea was born!

Last week was crazy busy and the weekend was no different!  Friday evening, John and I went out to dinner and a movie (Now You See Me - pretty good).  Saturday, we had a VBS teacher meeting in the morning, and then my uncle came to town in the evening.  We went out for dinner and then played some Scrabble (John won) and caught up on life.  It was so great to see him and it made me wish my family wasn't all so spread out!  Sunday we had church in the morning, and then I headed to Fremont in the evening for an engagement party/potluck in the park for my friend Anne (who is in town for a couple weeks).  I was nervous all weekend because it kept raining, but about an hour before the party started, the rain stopped and the sun started peeking through the clouds.  It was a little chilly, but at least it wasn't pouring rain!   

After being out of the office most of last week, I'll be playing catch up on everything, so I hope it is a quiet week at work! 

Cardigan: Gap
Top: Old Navy
Belt: Limited
Skirt: H&M (refashioned from a dress)
Shoes: Seychelles

Update: I'm guest posting over at Mai-Heart today and answering questions that Crystal came up with!  She'll be answering my questions here next week!

Another update: I am linking up with Favorite Fashion Friday for this week.  

How to Save a Favorite Dress

I bought this dress at H&M a couple months before I got married (way back in 2007).  I didn't have very many dresses at that point in my life, and I really loved this one.  I think it cost about $15.  I've worn it way more than 15 times.  If I'm honest with myself, the top has never been ideal for my body type.  I always had to wear a camisole underneath to keep it decent.  In the last 6 years, I may have gained a few inches around my whole self, so the fitted top didn't really fit at all anymore.  The last time I wore it, I did the "dress as a skirt" trick.  At that point, I thought I should really chop it into a skirt.  Almost a year later, I finally got around to it!

This was really easy, and didn't take much time!  I could see myself doing this again with other dresses - maybe even searching the thrift store with skirt-ifying in mind.  Here's what I did: 

Step 1 was dealing with the zipper in the back.  I just did a little seam ripping, and then sewed a new seam where the zipper had been.  This was pretty easy, because I could just follow the thread lines that were already there!

Step 2 is where I had to commit!  I'm not a precision person AT ALL, so I just used the current waist as a guide and chopped the skirt part off!  

Step 3 was pinning around the elastic, so I would know where to sew my new band.  I left the elastic in, so I could be sure it would fit in the tube I sewed.

I left about 2 inches open, so I could play around with how much elastic to use.  I threaded the elastic through the tube with a bodkin (which is super useful) and then put the skirt on and safety pinned the elastic together where it was comfortable for me.  I wanted the skirt to still be flowy/drapey, so I arranged the fabric somewhat evenly around the new waistband, and sewed up the rest of the waistband part.

This last part is optional, but I wanted to keep the elastic from twisting, and I wanted to keep the gathers somewhat even, so I tacked the waistband in at the back and on the sides.

Here's the final product!  I'm pretty excited for my new skirt.  

 

Do you ever refashion your clothes?  Any clever ideas that I should try?

Skirting the Issue

This skirt is a dress.  I bought it at H&M in 2007 over Memorial Day weekend when we were visiting my family in Indy.  If memory serves, it was about $15, and I have worn it so many times over the last 5 years.  I love it when "fast fashion" turns into a closet workhorse!  The last few times I have pulled it out of the closet, I've folded the top under and worn it as a skirt.  The top just doesn't fit quite right anymore, so I'm thinking about committing to the skirt and chopping the top off.  I think I am getting addicted to easy refashions!  Soon all my dresses will be chopped into skirts!   

Top: Gap
Belt: Francesca's
Skirt: H&M Dress
Shoes: Steve Madden
Sunglasses: mall kiosk