Okay, so my brother's wedding is in a little over a month from now, and I have to face the fact that there's no way I can buy a new fun fabulous dress for it (and all the other weddings this spring.summer)
So I'm stuck with what I already have, and the desire to try to make it a bit better. Basically every formal dress I own is the same style...spaghetti strap, empire waist, flowy to the floor.
Any thoughts or tips on how I could alter one of them to be 'new again' and a bit more fun?!? Keep in mind that I would be doing the altering myself...by hand (no sewing machine :( ), so it needs to be fairly easy.
- shorten it and add a ribbon or lace or beading to the bottom hem. - wear a printed or solid cardigan or cropped jacket over it with a cinched belt - wear it with a shawl or pashima and brooch
I think using ribbon and brooches are great ideas. Maybe you can try using a wider ribbon to cover the straps as well. Or getting some silk flowers or other detail to add along the hem (that's what I did in high school to get my dress through 2 proms a few weeks apart).
This dress has little rhinestone clasps at the bottom of each strap and then a thin belt of rhinestones under the bust.
Maybe something like this would work if you were able to get a complementary fabric for the draped scarf:
Or you can try using a scarf, wide ribbon or scarf-and-pin combination to create a dramatic belt or bow:
Or contrasting colors at the waist and hem:
This could be difficult but you could try getting some strands of rhinestones or other beads and attaching them to the straps and then across the back like this dress that Jennifer Lopez wore to the Oscars:
What a fabulous idea. Let us know how it turns out!
Also, on hemming, you might want to get that professionally done. It can be very hard to cut/hem/sew evenly without a machine. Even if you spend $20 at the tailor its alot cheaper than getting a new dress! Good luck!
I really like the ribbon around the waist idea. Do you want to stick with a long dress? Iron on hems could work if you won't want to sew and want to keep it a long dress.
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