Tickled Pink!

Today's "Retro Runway" dress was inspired by the following:

I really liked the piped waistband of the above dresses.  And, I also liked the fancy detail on the bodice of the dress below.  So, I attempted to merge the two ideas together and create something that was "inspired by" but not exactly a "copy of."

I picked up this pink dress for free at a clothing exchange a while back.  I really liked the soft pink checks, and knew exactly what I wanted to do with the embroidered detailing.  The blouse was purchased at a thrift store for a couple of dollars.

  

And, after merging the two together, this is the result...

The waistband was cut from the embroidered bodice and trimmed with self-made piping from the excess dress fabric.

The necklace just happened to be in my stash of costume jewelry and matches perfectly!  The purse was purchased from Goodwill for $4.99.  It was a little splurge on my part, but I'm lovin' the floral print for springtime.

I also deconstructed a full petticoat (discarding the heavy layers of netting) and used the top layer as a slip to give a little fullness under the skirt.

Yes, you could say that I'm tickled pink with the outcome of this refashion!

Continue on if you would like to see a brief tutorial of the steps taken.

The blouse already had a seam dividing the bodice from the rest of the blouse.  I picked that seam apart and then made a cut up the back.

The waistband was strips cut from the embroidered dress bodice.  Once these were pieced together, piping was added to the top and bottom edges.

The bottom edge of the blouse bodice was stitched with a basting stitch and then attached to the waistband, placing the extra ease at the bustline.  The skirt was shortened to the correct length, basted across the top edge, gathered and attached to the waistband.

To finish the inside, I stitched lining fabric to the inside of the waistband.

I finished the dress with an invisible zipper in the back.  I also machine-hemmed the bottom edge of the skirt and added a hook and eye at the neckline.

I like to link to these great parties!