out of season

t was a little silly because I knew we were going on a tropical vacation quite a few months ago, so as we were settling into the fall and winter months, I was still on the look out for warm weather duds.  This gorgeous dress was one of the things I snagged specifically for this trip, but when I got it the length was way too long.  I had a couple other dresses that I wanted to alter, so I took this one in as well and had the length brought up a bit.  One of my friends does costume design and custom work and in his off-time he does alterations, so it was really fun to be able to bring them to him to do the alterations.  I was expecting a simple hem job on this dress, super boring and easy, but he looked at it with the eye of an artist and wanted to maintain the proportions of the crocheted tiers instead of just hacking off the bottom.  It was such a refreshing experience to take my clothes to someone who really appreciates fit and silhouette, and even knows a ton about fashion and costuming history!  I've only had a couple other alterations done before this lot, but I'm super excited about the possibilities now.  One of the dresses I had altered was a vintage gold dress I was given by a friend that was about one or two sizes too big for me.  It was too cute to give away, but it was just sitting in a to-alter pile for at least two years.  It's especially nice to keep alteration in mind when shopping for vintage or thrifted pieces because it's not like you can say, "oh I like this, but I'll just get it in a different size."  Most vintage and thrifted pieces are one of a kind so it's that item, or nothing.  I'm no expert seamstress, but I've done quite a few of my own alterations in the past.  It's fun to be able to shop with an eye looking for potential, not just searching for the *perfect* piece.  Sometimes a muumuu can become a cute mini dress, and all it takes is a bit of easy alteration.


 

dress + shoes/courtesy of modcloth :: flower crown/handmade necklace/courtesy of joy dravecky jewelry