Wow-looked great before too though! I like the last outfit with the burgundy jacket the most
And some little Tarragos are on their way to me inspired by your bronze boots!
Also-don't hurt the Missoni

Excellent idea! Thank you for the tips! I love the result. That skirt looks perfect for you and your style. And I found myself nodding to what you said in paragraph 3.

This is fantastic. As a skirt, it becomes baroque, suitable for your theme. Clever!

Clever hack, and another KILLER outfit. I bet hubs loves this one especially!

Fantastic and such a good idea!! I did try this last year on my chevron tunic but failed - it was very very slippery and my patience was stretched at the time.

Your skirt is great on you and I think the other pieces will work too.

What a brilliant idea! And it turned out beautifully, to boot.

When I left the forum last night we were all on board for hacking the Missoni. Now I see there are doubts. Oh no...

Ha ha Angie. Thanks! Yes, the skirt is pretty body con! Hubs likes a swishy skirt too. His main “thing” is that he likes me to show my waist. Not a fan of sack dresses, although I don’t wear them often. When I do he always says “are you going to wear a belt with that?”

I will be back to respond later. At the dog park right now. Gotta be in the moment. Trying to persuade my husband that we need a Yorkie in our lives. Check him out with this little guy Angie. He “speaks” to us in little “roo-roo-roo” noises. I just want all the dogs!

I’m back!

Thanks so much everyone!

Suntiger and Smittie, I will try not to (needlessly) hurt the Missoni. I think it will work. I’ve played around with it by stepping into the neck band (which is quite wide). I think it will come out as an A-line skirt with a gathered waist. I’m not beyond doing darts if I have to. I will proceed with caution...

And go for bronze ST!

Thanks for the tips Vildy, Kathie and Bennett. I will make sure I use every bit.

Sal, that’s a shame about the chevron dress. Sad about lost chevron

Bijou, can’t wait to see your converted maxi dress.

Diana, I’ve been known to draft my mum into dress making projects too. Especially when it comes to zips.

Rachy and Bijou, yes. I thought it looked more in theme too!

Jessikams, I would like to have seen that! I bet you made it look good.

Lisa, thanks! I’ve really been trying to do my own thing in the last couple of years. Here my nod to trends is pretty subtle - flat boots, midi skirt, metallics, earthy colours. But the silhouette is pretty sleek and classic, and I’m happy with that.

Brilliant! I have a short DVF dress that I have worn as a midi skirt by tucking in the skimpy top and pushing it down and I am now determined to have it officially converted to a skirt. And I say go for it with the Missoni because it would be a shame to not wear the beautiful pattern and colors. I am going to eyeball all of my less worn dresses with new eyes.
And apart from inspiring you look gorgeous! I love the warm bronze tones on you. So beautiful and even regal with your coloring!

Thanks Shevia, you are so lovely.

I actually have a couple of too short DVFs too. I was thinking of donating them to a former work colleague (they are a little bit too worn to donate to DFS). Now you are making me thinking about what I could do to them too.

What a sweetie! Looks like Sam. Our sweet Rosie used to speak to us in woo woo woo noises. Yorkies are phenomenal doggies - FULL of spunk and intelligence - not that I'm biased or anything

Thanks for sharing this dress to skirt project. Just yesterday I wore a print maxi-dress from last year (100 degrees here) and the top part is too tight, too bare, and too much print. I considered making it into a skirt—I would wear it a lot more. After seeing how yours have turned out I’m ready to go ahead.

Brooklyn, you are my style hero! You are so creative and you have impeccable taste. The skirt is brilliant. The outfit is breathtaking, and so effortless. SO you.

Wow! Fantastic job at re-purposing, Brooklyn. Very aspirational. Lovely outfits as always.

Thanks for the kind words Marilyn and Katerina.

MsMaven, glad to have provided the inspiration!

Angie, our Yorkie friend is lovely. The speaking thing reminds me of a dog we used to have - a Rottweiler cross. She would purse her lips and sing to us when she was happy. So endearing. Dogs have so much character.

That would NEVER have occurred to me! I’d have donated the dress and said “oh well”. Super clever! I love both outfits here. So elegant, classy and modern yet timeless at the same time. Gorgeous!! (Love that red leather jacket!!)

I love the skirt. It is so you. I often think about alterations that would make something I own more wearable or versatile. The problem is actually doing them. Congratulations on completing the project.

#dogsarethebest

Hi Brooklyn very late to this. I did see it yesterday but wanted to be more relaxed in replying.
This is fantastic and I am happy for you that the guilty feelings are now gone and the happy ones are here! A better use for the dress than hanging unworn in your closet. It made me wonder what I could do with a few of my hardly worn items. After my editing and consigning attempts there aren’t many left, the ones that are left I am loath to let go of because I like the fabric, but they’re not right for me as they are.
It suits you so well as a skirt, awesome pattern for you with the baroque theme.
Your themes also do so much for me, along with others who post ideas on similar lines. I have just come home from the mall with hubby, looking for shirts for him to cycle in, but while looking through other shops I can see how much more I reject than I used to, even if I like something about it. Because I already have too much like it, or the fabric is nice but the style is not right, or something.
So thank you so much! I really like what you wrote to Lisap as well, about looking inwards rather than outwards for what we really like. Cheers x

Just super fab and so smart! I LOVE print skirts also. Go so well with tights.
This is a great post to encourage adaptations that “ refresh” the wardrobe for little or no $.

I recently had some older too- baggy pants taken in at waist. Not cleverly by self as you.
It did cost something, but the pants were a perfect color and summer weight and now have rejuvenated summer outfits as I had the support act already. It is sometimes hard to know whether a hack or tailoring will do the trick. Since I never sell anything, I don’t have yo worry about ruining an e- bay same, but can only compare tossing vs trying to fix.

How wonderful! I occasionally follow bloggers who do this sort of thing all the time and have started (but not finished) a couple of my own projects. They are not as easy as it might look so kudos to you!

Maybe you can explain the thing that'st he biggest mystery to me...how do you decide exactly how long to make it, in other words where to make the cut? Do you use an existing skirt?t as a "pattern"? or do you try it on and pin the elastic right where you want it, fold the fabric over it, and go from there?

Thanks Chris. It’s the latter. I put the dress on and put pins in a line where I felt the waistband should be if it were a skirt. I then lay the dress flat on a table and cut a line about 2 inches above my pins. I pinned the bottom hem of the dress together before cutting to make sure both sides came out the same. I pinned the elastic to the inside of the waistband (without pulling) and rolled the extra fabric over to enclose it. I sewed it up until there was about 3 inches remaining. Then I tried it on again but this time I pulled each end of the elastic to get a snug fit. When I was happy with the length I cut the elastic, sewed the ends together and then finished encasing it in the fabric tube. It’s a bit fiddly but actually only took one evening. It’s the cutting part that made me nervous - no going back then!

Thanks UF. I agree. I don’t begrudge spending money on tailoring but I have sometimes spent money on a fix only to find I still didn’t like it. Throwing good money after bad. So I do like a home remedy if I feel I’m up to it.

Thanks for the support Jenni, JamC and Christy.

And Angie, I couldn’t agree more.

#dogsareawesome