Hello Hello Hello!!! And a big WARM WELCOME to my FIRST POST on the NEW WEBSITE!!! Isn’t she BEAUTIFUL!?! I’ve poured a lot of time and brainwork into this site and I couldn’t be happier with the way she is looking and the possibilities that lay ahead (seriously – some really cool shit is coming your way!)
But first, to the task at hand. I have really been wanting to challenge myself to do more refashioned posts for a couple reasons:
- I love refashioning. I love seeing the potential in a fabric or shape and turning something a little shabby or ill-fitting into something fun and wearable.
- Refashioning is good for the environment and I’m a sort-of-tree-hugger. (minimize waste and use what ya got people!)
- I’m still in the brainstorming stages but I’ve got big plans for a new clothing line that combines my love for fashion and vintage textiles and involves refashioning and working with existing and rescued fabrics. (more to come on that!)
All that being said, I bring you my first refashioning post of the year:
I acquired this coat when my cousin was cleaning out her closet. She informed me that it came from the kids section at Neimans! The coat was ill-fitting, with these horrible bell sleeves and a flared hem at a strange length that accentuated the hips in a very unflattering way… but the FABRIC!!! Oh my goodness am I a sucker for horribly shaped clothes in a great fabric. I immediately had a vision… a little tuck and snip of the sleeves and some strategic hem shaping and voila!
Changes I made: As you can see from the before picture above the sleeves were WAY too big. The length was actually technically correct but with such a loud fabric I felt like the whole coat needed to be cropped and given a cleaner look. To accomplish this I tapered the sleeves and hemmed them to a cropped length. (I’m totally into that Breakfast-at-Tiffany’s cropped sleeve look) Second, to make the coat more appealing to my height I hemmed it – a lot! I wanted to show more leg but I didn’t want it to look “pea-coat-ish” so I gave it an asymmetrical hem for a more modern feel.
The grand result of these few changes? A trendy-fun coat that looks great over skinny jeans and bright sweaters!
The below picture shows some close ups of the details of the coat. The beautiful woven quality of the fabric, the little buttons on the sides, etc.
All in all I’m super happy with the way it turned out! What was once taking up a TON of space in my “to-be-delt-with” pile, is now a very wearable piece in my closet! LOVE the way it turned out.
Original: Neiman Marcus kids coat
Adjustments: Taper and hem sleeves, adjust hem.
Final Product: A fitted, cropped sleeved, asymmetric hem coat.
Difficulty: Moderate. The lining on the coat was separated at the hem which gave me easy access, but these things can still be tricky if you dont know what your dealing with – especially the sleeves.
Finishes: Blind hem, lining bound sleeves
Time: One day – about 2-3 hours?
Do another like this? Oh yes! I love fun outter wear, and the cropped look makes it very chic!
Welcome again to my new site… poke around and let me know what you think!
So cute Amy! Good job!