Let’s start with the fact that when my Mom sees this hacked-up version of her formerly ankle-length Ralph Lauren sundress, she’s going to Kick. My. Ass. (Then again, I performed hemline surgery on the dress sans permission, so I probs deserve it. Mommy – I’m sorry?
. My rational for gettin’ snippy with it was this: The dress hasn’t been worn since 1989 and anything ankle-length midgetizes a 5’2″ frame, so if it was going to be worn por moi, it HAD to be cut. At least now it’s getting used and abused, err, enjoyed. And isn’t that the point of clothes to begin with?Scissoring a wrap dress is a fairly advanced DIY project; it must be done on the body and as such, involves a series of spinal twists.
The upside is you get to check your work along the way and make the necessary adjustments (like leaving some length in the back for the sake of butt coverage).
After I’d hacked to my heart’s content, I paired the dress with those recently-acquired Twenty-Three Dollar Etienne Aigner Boots from Burlington Coat Factory.
I liked the overall look, but there was one problem: I felt naked.
This dress is almost entirely open-backed, so a tank would have provided the necessary coverage up top. But it was a windy night, and not pulling an insert-name-of-celeb-hot-mess-here meant I needed something more substantial than a Hanky Panky under the skirt. Spandex mini-shorts were a maybe, but a tank tucked into them caused unsightly bunching at the waist.
I needed a one-piece, leotard-esque thing; something that could solve my coverage crisis in one fell swoop. Something like a Spanx Unitard.
I busted out the scissors once more, snipped the legs of the unitard into shorts and BAM! Outfit accomplished.
Thanks to my buds for their continual support of my sartorial risks. This outfit’s cheap. But good friends are priceless.
You can go throw up now.
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Love it! I have RL bedsheets with the same print…no kidding
This dress could have been half decent long — but is utterly hideous cut short. The spanks onside just adds even more raggidy-ann look. EW
sinder – you look super super hot in these pics…keep it up slugger.
I love the dress! Especially the cut on the back. I would love to see how you made it, what you did to get the dress from ankle-length to the final thing.
dear cheap jap,
serious question: how the eff do you afford to live in new york city? does blogging pay the bills?
I love your blog! I discovered it about a month ago and have read every single post. I love thrifting and have found wonderful gems. I wish I do it more often but I don’t live in Los angeles anymore. I live in Bakersfield now and I don’t really like thrifting here. By the way, I have a dress similar to your ralph lauren! Do you want it? you don’t even have to alter it. I’m thinking of getting rid of it. I received it in a a online swap. Also, thanks for posting about beacons closet. I see they have a online shop but they don’t have a contact email?!!! I want some shoes from there and I don’t see a phone number or contact. Do you know?!! Thank you so much!
That’s not so cute. I think it would look better in other combination of colors but also style.
OMG—you are too feckin’ funny! Love the DIY stuff —–I’ve added this to my favorites!