Were you a bridesmaid over the summer? Do you have a gorgeous freshly-laundered bridesmaid dress hanging in your wardrobe? Think you’ll probably never get a chance to wear it again? Think again! If you’ve recently been a bridesmaid at your best friend’s wedding and you loved the dress you wore but aren’t that much of a socialite that you need a gown for balls or award ceremonies, don’t worry. With a little ingenuity you can turn that beautiful dress into something you can wear anywhere.
Shorten that skirt
There’s no need to worry about being spotted out and about in a bridesmaid dress if you customise it in some way. In fact, you can turn it into something completely different with just a few snips and stitches. Many bridesmaid dresses have pretty satin tops that flow down into a long skirt. If the dress has long ruffles or waves of material simply cut the skirt off under a ruffle to shorten it. This makes a long gown into a much more wearable-on-the-weekends cocktail dress. Plus,you can use the extra material to make a shawl for chilly evenings out on the town.
Crop that top
A dress without without embellishments can be turned into a top; just don’t be afraid to take a pair of scissors to it. If it has mid-sleeves, cap sleeves, or a vest straps, simply cut away the skirt, them the bottom edge and wear it as top with jeans. You could add a shorter skirt in a coordinating colour to turn it back into a dress for nights out.
Wear that wedding dress again
Even a wedding dress can easily be turned into evening wear; just cut it down to knee-length to make it more wearable for special events. If the gown is an off-the-shoulder style, use some of the lace or ribbon embellishment to add a criss-cross back or cap sleeves with just a couple of stitches.
Dyeing to wear it
A long bridesmaid dress can be slit up one leg to create a glamorous red-carpet style gown. If your dress is a light or pastel colour, why not dye it in a darker hue – or go for classic black – with a fabric dye? Changing the colour could make it much more wearable, you just need to add heels and pearls and you’re ready for a night at the Oscars.
Let me know how you would customise a bridesmaid dress by leaving me a comment below. Needless to say buttons, brooches, scarves and some imagination can go a long way when you’re upcycling a dress. Have you already turned your special occasion gown into beautiful dress that you can wear almost anywhere? Let me know how you did it!
This blog post is an advertisement feature that has been written in collaboration with a sponsor. The pink links in this post indicate a sponsored link 🙂
