Modcloth Knock-Off

This dress has been hanging out on my Pinterest board for quite some time. I'm not sure what it is, but there's something about the $99.00 Modcloth dress that makes me want to swoon every time I look at it. (Of course, virtually everything on my pinterest boards make me feel that way--an unfortunate side effect of the otherwise trendy website.) However, I am not about to drop a hundred bucks on a dress; I'd rather DIY it instead!

I found this frumpy "vintage" 80's dress in a thrift shop a couple years ago and I've been meaning to change it up newdressaday style, but I just haven't gotten around to it. If you can imagine, there were long billowy sleeves and an additional lace trim on the collar, making the dress a funky turtleneck kind of deal. After I cut off the sleeves, I wore the dress once or twice, but something was still off. But I thought it would make a great base for something similar to the Modcloth dress if I could get my hands on some lace.

Once I did, I got to work with mom's sewing machine. I cut off the top half of the dress, took in the sides, and folded the top edge over to make it a strapless number. Then, using the new strapless dress and another dress with a jewel neckline, I traced and cut out two pieces from the lace and sewed them together. Then I stitched the lining along the bodice and tacked the upper edges in the back and in the front to keep it up. It was still a little long, so I took about two inches off the fabric and voila!

My Modcloth knockoff!!

I had planned to dye it teal like the original picture or even pink, but I'm not sure if the dye will take to the fabric of the original dress. For now, it will remain cream, but I reserved the top portion I cut off to test the dye on. So this dress may make a comeback in a different color!