second-hand sunday: blue beads

 In an unexpected defer from my usual Monday-Thursday schedule, I stopped by my favorite thrift store today during my day of errand-running. The gods of fashion smiled upon me today in the form of a lovely deep blue shift, with origami-style folded detail. Unfortunately the sleeves were covered in rows of shiny blue beads making it too 80s in style for me, nothing a good seam ripper couldn't fix. 


I loved the detail of the body of this dress, which my mother lovingly referred to as "flaps" which added a great sense of movement to it. With most vintage finds, there was a slight defect in the form of unraveled threads at the sleeves which I turned into a style challenge. The beaded sleeves were distracting from the simple sheer cap sleeves so cut them off. 

The nine-year old in me wanted to keep some of the sparkle from the beads, so I left the neckline intact.







My camera doesn't do the dress justice, but here is a view of the dress after my less-than creative edits. This dress is a clear example of the adage, "less is more."


Upon further examination and a quick google search, I found out that my $7 project turned amazing evening dress was not vintage, to my dismay, but a creation by ark & co., a label sold on one of my favorite websites, piperlime.com. I can't deny the fact that I was somewhat disappointed; altering modern pieces can be quite simple and little fixes can make a piece more personal or appropriate. A true vintage enthusiast, or even someone who thrifts for the thrill of digging for their clothes, can understand the deeper satisfaction that comes from turning something old and outdated into an amazing and individual piece. Even so, this dress came out lovely and I am so excited to wear it out!


 bisous,