Having a love for all things vintage means my wardrobe has (more than) its fair share of polyester beauties and I have a hard time passing by the groovy granny frocks at the charity shop without snagging a few vintage delights to add to my collection.
*and by vintage I mean the 1970’s and older – does anyone else find that their version of “vintage” begins in the decade they were born?
That smashing seventies dress actually doesn’t fit too awkwardly when belted but I just don’t think I’d get much wear out of it as is so I’d love to get your ideas about how I should refashion it.
Get the outfit deets and leave your thoughts below:
Glasses (had for years) €0 – Dress (thrifted) €2 – Elastic Belt (thrifted) €0.10 – Tights (had for years) €0 – Coffin Heel Shoes (thrifted online) €10.50
Total cost: €12.60
What should I do with this dress?
I love the collar but am not sure about the sleeves or the length or perhaps it would be fab as a top…?
Here’s how I ended up transforming that polyester beauty:
Being an old school romantic, I love it just as it is! 🙁 LOL. You look fab in it and OMG I had a version of those shoes in both mary janes and lace up square toe boots by Sam & Libby in the 90s! <3
If it fit better unbelted (& pinned) and didn’t have such an awfully itchy lining I would prob’ly keep as is but alas it just isn’t for body shape 🙁 I love my coffin heel shoes, but they do take some practice to walk in! 😉
I too love the idea of a more fitted look! Take some of that fabric and make a great head scarf. Break up all the floral (I love the fabric) and make a fitted pencil skirt. The top of the dress would look great with jeans if you removed or shortened the sleeves and made it more fitted and removed the skirt. Or…..you could make the top into a peplum top and still have enough fabric for a skirt. I love your site and can’t wait to see what you decide to make.
Sooo many great ideas! A headscarf (or turban-esque beanie) from the leftover scraps is fabulous! 😀
I’d chop off the sleeves and replace with skinny black knit ones, knuckle length. And shorten the skirt to knee length to show off your legs!
Aaaaah! Love the idea for the sleeves! <3
I think by cutting off the sleeves and collar there would be plenty of fabric for a separate blouse and skirt or a blouse and munchkin dress.Maybe with the thick lining, a jacket would be better than a blouse.
The lining is insane and definitely has to go, it’s that horrid scratchy thick polyester that was apparently all the rage in 70’s 😉
I love that fabric, there is just a bit too much of it like many poly vintage dresses I find. My first thought was that I would love it as a skirt. I see that you like the top so you could keep both halves and not wear them together to avoid pattern overload.
Is there an actual definition of what is considered vintage or retro by what year it was made?
I tend to call things 60s-70s and older vintage and things of the 70s-80s retro. The 70s seems to overlap depending on the style of the item. I was born in the 80s and it seems strange to think of things in the 90s as retro as I like to think it wasn’t that long ago I guess
There’s definitely an excess of fabric + a crazy thick lining 😉
“True Vintage is a period of history that runs from the end of the antique era – before the 1920s – to 20 years before the present day. Vintage defines the clothes that were made during that time and also the culture that has grown up around it.” – vintageaholic.com
Here’s the fab article the above quote is from that explains what “true vintage” actually is: http://vintageaholics.tumblr.com/post/114207089336/what-is-true-vintage-clothing
Thanks for that link. Wow, I own more vintage that I thought 🙂
Someone said they like the dress as is and I think it is cool but where I live there is not much culture and no one wears crazily pure vintage garments. I know I shouldn’t care but sometimes I feel over dressed at the playground when everyone else is wearing jeans and T-shirts and I’m in one of my un-altered vintage dresses
I hear ya, I’d love to wear more of my fab vintage & handmade outfits but unfortunately they are just not appropriate (or comfortable) for wearing everyday when my time is spent creating DIYs and running, climbing and jumping after a munchkin 😉
I think I may become a jumpsuit fan. It seems like the best combo of pretty but wont flash the world whilst rolling down the hill with a young child.
Jumpsuits are my fave! They’re so easy to dress up or down and can work for pretty much any occasion 😀 My Groovy Jumpsuits book has tutes for 8 DIY jumpsuits (including making from scratch without a pattern) + my top jumpsuit styling tips – all for a mere $3 (US) 😉 https://awesomesauceasshattery.com/downloads/coar-groovy-jumpsuits/
hello, I love the collar too maybe if we could get rid of the sleeves and use them to revamp or upcycle the shoes to match the dress.the dress would look perfect too if its to have a pencil look than the flare. As for the shoe covering the heel only would be perfect and not the entire. Hope you love my idea. Glad to have discovered you,,keep posting i love refashioning.
Ooooh! I love the idea of a pencil look! 😀 + using the scraps for a shoe re-do is brilliant!
Love this print! I prefer big bold prints like this away from my face so I’d definitely do a knee-length skirt, but I can also see a cute top hidden in there – maybe fitted a little more through the bodice, and shorten (or lose completely) the sleeves… can’t wait to see what you come up with 🙂
Absolutely! The bodice would look soooo much better with a more fitted shape!