DIY: Fab Summer Dresses for Cheap!

This summer I was invited to two weddings, and all I could think of was ugh... more money to be spent. I had some dresses but nothing I thought would be really appropriate outfits for the weddings. So I decided to go out on a mission to find some cute, affordable dresses.


I went into Sirens and headed straight to the sale rack... and lo and behold, it was jam packed with all kinds of fun, summery dresses. I picked out a couple of them, and made my way to the dressing room with my mom and sister. The first few were a straight up 'hell no' and then I tried on this black strapless dress with a peek-a-boo underskirt of pink satin and a scalloped hem. The size was perfect and the fit was stunning... the only problem was the large black eyelet pattern on the chest with pink satin beaming its way through... gross. I looked at the price tag and saw $15 and for that prince, I decided to go for it, and use my Montreal Fashion Mind to redesign it myself into the perfect dress.


The next dress I found was this gorgeous 50s inspired ultra colorful, floral patterned strapless dress. I fell in love right away. It fit, almost just right, I just felt it was a little flimsy in the boob area and needed some more support. So again... I looked at the price tag and saw $15 and decided for that price I could take it home and adjust it to my liking. It was two great purchases that cost me 30$ flat (I have a discount card as well that covers tax :D)


I went home and sat and stared at the dresses for a while, trying to come up with an ingenious plan to make them fabulous. I started with the black one, as that wedding was only 2 days away. I knew I had to start by covering the big pink flower in order for this dress to be a success. I cut out a piece of black satin fabric I had, in a circle a little larger then the eyelet part of the dress. I took a pencil and stuffed the black fabric through one of the little holes and smoothed it out to cover the entire pink underlay. I then sewed all around the edges of the circle and voila! In 15 minutes, I had transformed my 15$ dress into a fabulous one of a kind party dress!



After that dress was a hit, it was on to number 2. For this one, I decided to hit up my local seamstress, who has helped me in the past. I told her it was a little large on the sides my chest and flimsy with lack of proper support. She measured the dress to fit like a glove and then we both talked about a solution for the support I needed. Strapless dresses can always be iffy, especially if you're planning on dancing all night and have a larger chest. So, we decided to add some wire piping on the seams of the bustier part of the dress to have it hold my girls up (LOL). Four days and 8$ later, I went back to check out the scene and was pleasantly surprised to see that the dress was perfect! In the end I paid 23$ for this dress and have no complaints!

I outfitted both dresses with my 6 inch Michael Kors patent heels, pashmina (2 for 15$ @ Ardene) and my black and gold clutch I thrifted at Salvation Army. Both dresses were a hit and I felt fabulous in my chic but cheap outfits! Never underestimate the sale rack, your creative mind and motivation to be fab on a dime!

Cheers!