a day in the life

Giving the Cold Shoulder

Our last foray of the week into the 'dress as top' project. Roll up the hem a couple times and pair it with some overalls!

for the Littles:

for the Girls:

for the rest of Us:

 

Fancy Feets

Today's take on a dress as a top.....the dress that no longer fits...or rather is now too short to be considered a dress. This one works best for kids, as often they grow in height more than anything else, but there are some dresses I've worn in the past that one might question if they were actually just a long top to begin with...so you never know, this might work for the rest of us too! So...before packing that dress away, handing it down or sending it off to consignment/donation take one more look at it and ask yourself if it could use a simple reclassification in order to hang out in the closet just a little bit longer. You might be surprised with what you come up with...

for the Littles:

for the Girls:

for the rest of Us:

Straight Up

So we ended last week with a skirt that we had transformed into a top. That got us thinking about how else we could maximize our wardrobe or maybe just look at it through a different lens to bring about some new ideas. This week is the result. For the next few days we'll be trying some dresses out as tops and see what we come up with. Today we are starting with a sundress and simply layering a skirt over it. We think it works! Now on to our next dress...

for the Littles:

for the Girls:

for the rest of Us:

Boy Meets Girl

Wrapping up the week in a red/white/blue floral top....wait, no skirt...oh, no, no, it is a top, paired with some of our tried and true boys basics (we are firm believers in cross-shopping, especially if you want some neutrals in your life). Yes, our top was a skirt but it was a bit too big to wear and was just laying around so we made some straps out of a little grosgrain ribbon (less than a yard) we had on hand and now this little number has something to do for the next couple summers or so. We whip-stitched the ribbon to the waistband of the skirt and mitered the corners to form straps. Leaving the elastic waistband of the skirt free under the arms allows enough stretch to put the top on over the head without any additional closure. If/when we want to convert this back to a skirt we can simply snip the threads and we're back in business!

for the Littles:

for the Girls:

for the rest of Us:

Fade to White

Today we've taken a boys red/white/blue plaid shirt and gave it a little customization. When you bleach navy it turns pink so this combo makes a perfect candidate for a 'dip-dyed' bleach treatment.  

DIY deets:

  1. Simply dip garment into bleach until you have the coverage you are looking for (start with a 100% cotton shirt). 
  2. Set aside in a well ventilated area where the bleach will not damage anything else.
  3. it will take a few minutes to start to change color but keep an eye on it, once the color change starts to happen it happens quickly.
  4. Right before you reach the desired color change rinse the bleach out with water. The longer the fibers sit in bleach the more damaged they become and the shorter the fabric's life span post bleaching so it is best not to exceed 50% color loss.
  5. Immediate wash the garment in the washing machine to fully halt the bleaching process.

for the Littles:

for the Girls:

for the rest of Us:

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