Thrift Store Thursday: The Sometimes Less is More Frock

I found this Calvin Klein dress at the thrift store last week for only $1! It was way too long and way too big. I liked the gauzy fabric and matching slip underneath. It has these tiers that are finished off with a white embroidery stitch. You can sort of see them in the close up photos.

I thought it might be nice to make a sash or some sort of ruffle embellishment but when I really thought about it I decided that less was more. The dress had some nice details already and I thought anything else might just end up looking busy so all I did was take in the sides and trimmed the bottom.

Now again let me preface this series with a disclaimer. These are NOT refashions. Or at least I don’t consider them to be. These are simple things that YOU can do to thrift store finds to make them look good. 

There was an invisible zipper in the side of the dress. This makes taking in a dress somewhat trickier. To do fix this thrift store find, first I turned it inside out, pinned it to my body and took it off. But since the zipper was on the side I made a new opening in the back, used the old zipper and sewed it in the back. Then I stitched up the sides that I pinned to my form.

Finally I trimmed the bottom. I didn't even have to add a hem to this dress because each tier is finished off by an embroidery stitch. All I had to do was cut off the last tier.

Super easy!