Dress to Skirt Refashion

I bought a dress that was the cause of one of my most mortifying and hilarious (now that it’s over) moments of my life. More on that in a sec. I knew I would never wear this dress again, but I would wear it as a skirt. This was the easiest and quickest refashion I’ve ever done. If you have a dress with a drawstring belt that doesn’t work for you on the top, but you would wear it as a skirt, check out this easy fix. If you like hearing about people’s embarrassing moments, read on for that too.

The Details

• Original dress from Uniqlo, 100% rayon, purchased in Thailand in 2016
• Dress features encased drawstring waist belt, inseam pockets, high-low hem
• Refashioned to remove the bodice, finish the raw edge for a skirt with mini paper bag waist.
• Total time spent: less than 20 minutes

Why the Dress Didn’t Work for Me

Reason 1: Armholes are too tight (see picture above)

Reason 2: I don’t think this color works well close to my face. I think it makes my complexion look pinker than it really is.

Reason 3: I sweat!!!! This fabric touches anything wet and it turns a completely different color. See the photo below. Yes this is “after” the refashion, but I had to spot clean the front and it just reminded me of how severely different this fabric looks when wet. Yikes!

Can you imagine how reasons 1 and 3 combine to create the perfect storm of embarrassment?

The Most Embarrassing Dress I’ve Ever Worn

If you’re just here for the refashion and sewing details, go on and skip ahead to the next section. I really don’t mind! Anyway, if you guessed my problems with this dress had to do with sweat, then yeah you know where this is headed. My story might be a bit beyond what you’re imagining though.

I originally bought this dress in Thailand from Uniqlo, and I really liked it! The dress was breezy and kind of different from the color palette I was seeing at that time. I had plans to meet a friend for a pedicure and I planned to wear it layered with a jean jacket.

It only took me about 100 meters of walking out in the afternoon heat in Thailand that I was starting to sweat. I have the genetic makeup of someone who can think about sweating, and starts to sweat. So naturally I’m trying to balance these two thoughts, “don’t walk too fast or you’ll sweat more, ” and “hurry up and GTFO of the sun.”

I decided to take a quick peek at what I was dealing with under my jean jacket, and not only were there already dark rings around my pits, but also a couple of dark sweat spots at the drawstring waist! Took my jacket off and walked the rest of the way elbows out, praying for a breeze.

I arrived at the nail salon but because this isn’t just any old embarrassing story, this is where it gets good: I had a bikini wax scheduled at the same salon ahead of meeting my friend. This was my regular salon spot, and I’d consider myself a friendly acquaintance of the ladies who work there. These type of appointments already make me nervous, and you know what happens when I’m nervous? Sweat, baby, sweat.

The ladies invited me in and I decide to just own it. “Hi, I’m so sweaty today! Hahahah.” I said. I can speak a little Thai, but I don’t know “sweat,” so I spoke with them in English. They didn’t know what I meant until I opened my jacket a bit and they just looked at me. But they didn’t laugh with me!! That made it so much worse. They did turn on the air conditioning for me as soon as they understood.

So there I am in on the bed ready for my appointment, and by maneuvering the dress up for my wax, it was creating the most horrific sweat marks every which way, all over the dress. Chest, under-boob, butt-crack, back, lower hem…?! Everywhere. Want to scroll up to that picture above again? Yes, something like that.

I texted my friend who was about to meet me for our pedicure appointments and I told her I needed her to bring something from her closet for me to change into. She showed up with a black knit top but wouldn’t hand it over until she got a good look at the damage I’d done. We all had a really good laugh, and I thanked her for saving me. Of course, as soon as I had something else on and felt more at ease, I didn’t sweat anymore. It’s 90% mental for me I guess. If you’ve got this problem too, know that you’re not the only one!!

The Easiest Refashion!

I tackled this project during #AlterItAugust last summer, which is a challenge to go through your closet and change the neglected items into something useful and more lovable. This one fit the bill. Easy and fast! I wear it much more confidently than I did as a dress.

Cut off the bodice! Leave around 1″ above the drawstring.

Fold the raw edge under 1/4″ and press, and then fold another 1/4″ and press again.

Stitch all the way around the waist, close to the folded edge.

That. Is. It! I know, kind of an obvious project for a blog post tutorial. Can you even call this one a tutorial? Hopefully you got a little refashion inspiration, or a little kick out of my story at the very least. Thanks for reading!