Last weekend I attended a bachelorette weekend in Charleston, SC for my good friend from college- the invitation requested that we pack a black cocktail dress for dinner and drinks on Saturday night. I totally didn't have one- well, I did have a dress that I bought to wear to a wedding TWO WEEKS after Noah was born that was approximately 4 sizes too big now! I decided that I would try my hand at altering the dress- taking it in a few inches and then hemming it to a more "cocktail" length.
Here's the before:
YIKES!
and the after (excuse the camera pic!):
with the bride:
It really was not as hard as I thought! Luckily, I had Jenn (who sews clothing for a LIVING and works at a bridal boutique) give me her opinion as far as HOW to take it in. My genius self was planning to take it in on the sides (but a side zipper ruined that plan) and she advised me to try taking it in at the pre-existing darts in the front and back (apparently at the rate of 1" per size down). The dress was two layers (the lining and a sheer top layer) so it took a little longer than I thought it would, but I am in love with the results! I think I will definitely wear this dress more often- but then again, I only wore it once before!
I would love, love, love to take a class or get a book on clothing alterations- this opens up a whole new world of thinking: if almost ANYTHING can be fitted to my specific body, then shopping is about to get a LOT easier! If I love the look of a dress but one size it too tight in the bust and the other looks frumpy, I would love to be able to buy the bigger size and take it in. I can't believe I've never tried this before and I can't wait to learn more about how clothes are constructed!
... and just for fun- here we are all, ready for supper at Magnolia's! YUM!
