Hello! :)
I know it's been ages since I posted an article here :) Just got so wrapped up juggling between a 9-5 job, skype chat with my husband, growing three kids and a couple of good old hobbies! So many things yet so little time. And I still want to blog hehe! Please bear with me. I hope not to get all burned out. Gotta keep my momentum going this time. So I challenged myself to post a good article a week. Let the fire up. :)
So for starters I'll share with you how I transformed a short simple dress to an awesome long gown so as to attend a formal event. Not that I saved the fashion world :) I mean I could reach out to a mom out there...
First off, you gotta grab a pencil and a paper. Draft it down, your very own design . :) Well what if you cannot draw? Come on. I bet your toddler years include you sketching your butterflies and flowers on the whitest wall of your house. :) Every kid I know loves to draw! Besides it feels pretty good to let your creativity loose sometimes. This do-it-yourself stuff, it's kind of liberating, and kind of therapeutic...
So if you're curious enough, here's my design:
Judging my sketch, it looks like a two-piece gown. I'm gonna need to make a lace top and a long skirt. But I don't have that much sewing skills! So I searched on youtube how to make a formal dress without sewing anything at all. This is when I got the idea of buying a ready-to-wear short simple dress that I could customize!
Then I listed down things that I'd need for my ambitious DIY project:
1. A white lace top. Or a cocktail dress so I could wear it again on simple occasions! Brilliant idea, aint it?
2. A fabric for the long skirt which I decided black. And a seamstress to get that skirt done. :) Luckily I got an aunt who can do it better. Haha!
3. Lots of beads and glitters. Some fancies or a brooch which shall be an accent to the otherwise plain skirt. Uh, did I just design it plain?
Next step is to head over to a hub of cheap finds which is Divisoria!
Scouting for a dress, I found my piece right there in the Prime Block. Incredibly affordable at only P350!
At first, I haven't got an idea what kind of fabric or what texture one should use for a gown skirt. Later on, passing by a stall selling a nice gown with texture I liked. The seller told me it's of taffeta. There I knew what I had to buy. I headed to Boston Clothing stall and purchased four yards of black taffeta which costs only P70 a yard. A total of P280, my pocket willingly disposed. :)
Then off I went to Michelle's Ribbon and Lace, just to get confused what accessories to pick. There lie hundreds of beads screaming at me "Choose me! I'll marry your dress in any church!" :) All those ribbons and laces seem equally pretty. Finally I picked a handful of tiny glittering beads worth P100.
One thing about DIY though is that there might be a point in time you weigh your precious time and effort over the price you would have just paid. I realize this while putting beads on my dress. Making bead works are fun at first. Challenging at times. Addictive along the way. And nevertheless fulfilling. After a couple of late-night stitches and pricks, that is.
Meanwhile, my dear aunt finished the skirt in no time. A pink scarf which my mother let me borrowed, tied around my waist was a last-minute detail. Well I suppose that pink scarf breaks the blackness of the long skirt.
Until my corporate christmas event has come.
I strutted inside a grand hotel with all those fair ladies and handsome men. Quite a number of people mentioned my gown is pretty. My cousin told me I better keep it safe cause she'd like to borrow it sometime. I smiled at her. She had no idea I dressed that well on a crazily low budget!
I know it's been ages since I posted an article here :) Just got so wrapped up juggling between a 9-5 job, skype chat with my husband, growing three kids and a couple of good old hobbies! So many things yet so little time. And I still want to blog hehe! Please bear with me. I hope not to get all burned out. Gotta keep my momentum going this time. So I challenged myself to post a good article a week. Let the fire up. :)
So for starters I'll share with you how I transformed a short simple dress to an awesome long gown so as to attend a formal event. Not that I saved the fashion world :) I mean I could reach out to a mom out there...
First off, you gotta grab a pencil and a paper. Draft it down, your very own design . :) Well what if you cannot draw? Come on. I bet your toddler years include you sketching your butterflies and flowers on the whitest wall of your house. :) Every kid I know loves to draw! Besides it feels pretty good to let your creativity loose sometimes. This do-it-yourself stuff, it's kind of liberating, and kind of therapeutic...
So if you're curious enough, here's my design:
Judging my sketch, it looks like a two-piece gown. I'm gonna need to make a lace top and a long skirt. But I don't have that much sewing skills! So I searched on youtube how to make a formal dress without sewing anything at all. This is when I got the idea of buying a ready-to-wear short simple dress that I could customize!
Then I listed down things that I'd need for my ambitious DIY project:
1. A white lace top. Or a cocktail dress so I could wear it again on simple occasions! Brilliant idea, aint it?
2. A fabric for the long skirt which I decided black. And a seamstress to get that skirt done. :) Luckily I got an aunt who can do it better. Haha!
3. Lots of beads and glitters. Some fancies or a brooch which shall be an accent to the otherwise plain skirt. Uh, did I just design it plain?
Next step is to head over to a hub of cheap finds which is Divisoria!
Scouting for a dress, I found my piece right there in the Prime Block. Incredibly affordable at only P350!
At first, I haven't got an idea what kind of fabric or what texture one should use for a gown skirt. Later on, passing by a stall selling a nice gown with texture I liked. The seller told me it's of taffeta. There I knew what I had to buy. I headed to Boston Clothing stall and purchased four yards of black taffeta which costs only P70 a yard. A total of P280, my pocket willingly disposed. :)
Then off I went to Michelle's Ribbon and Lace, just to get confused what accessories to pick. There lie hundreds of beads screaming at me "Choose me! I'll marry your dress in any church!" :) All those ribbons and laces seem equally pretty. Finally I picked a handful of tiny glittering beads worth P100.
One thing about DIY though is that there might be a point in time you weigh your precious time and effort over the price you would have just paid. I realize this while putting beads on my dress. Making bead works are fun at first. Challenging at times. Addictive along the way. And nevertheless fulfilling. After a couple of late-night stitches and pricks, that is.
Meanwhile, my dear aunt finished the skirt in no time. A pink scarf which my mother let me borrowed, tied around my waist was a last-minute detail. Well I suppose that pink scarf breaks the blackness of the long skirt.
Until my corporate christmas event has come.
I strutted inside a grand hotel with all those fair ladies and handsome men. Quite a number of people mentioned my gown is pretty. My cousin told me I better keep it safe cause she'd like to borrow it sometime. I smiled at her. She had no idea I dressed that well on a crazily low budget!
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| At the Manila Hotel lobby with my folks.... |
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| With my colleagues during our formal christmas event |
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| They haven't realized I dressed this good on a cheap, have they? ; -) |
Wow! It's an A-ffort. You inspire me to do DIY thingy. Keep blogging!
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