Upcycle Before You Toss It!

In the spirit of being economical, frugal, cheap, responsible, what have you, I like to carefully examine every garment before I throw it out or thrift it, for refashion possibilities. I found two such items in my closet the other day. One was a previous refash, the other a semi formal I'd only worn twice. I searched high and low for the original picture of this first one and concluded that I either deleted it, or never took it, it was a dress that I turned into a maxi skirt, pictured here.

Really not super exciting to me, although it feels nice. It's a bit heavier fabric than what is usually used for maxis. I wore it once, it's just not me. I thought about passing it on to someone else or the the thrift store, but thought I should remake it again to give it a face lift. Here's what happened.

Much more better! It's still subtle, but more chic. It can be played up a bit with a colorful belt or jewelry that pops if I want. It's quite comfortable. Still not my favorite outfit, but I can hang on to it a bit longer now. :)

My second refash is a bit more exciting, a bit more me.

Original:

This wasn't a thrift store find, I'm almost positive I got it from Papaya a couple years ago on clearance for $10, which is still a decent price for a, what is this, semi formal? More of a clubbing dress, but anyway.. I wore it to my brother's rehearsal dinner, and maybe one or two more times. I don't party, so it was kinda just taking up space in my closet. The lace around the sleeves was starting to die, so I thought I'd try a little summin summin on it. Here's what happened. 

I chopped it. That's it. No sewing, nothing, just a chop.

Much, much more better!!! I love it!!! I don't know if I'm finished with it, I may have to sew the two layers together because the lace wants to ride up and leave the bottom layer behind.. not the end of the world, but I'm uncertain how I will be able to put it on if I sew them together.. For now, I'll leave it. I really, really love this one!