How to Maximize Your Closet: 1 Skirt, 7 Ways

Today's post is about maximizing your closet.  Regardless of budget, I think most people want to get as much versatility as they can from their clothing.  This year, I won't be adding much to my current wardrobe (see why here), so I wanted to play dress up practice making my clothing more versatile.  Here's a simple accordion-pleated navy and cream polka dot skirt (thrifted in Japan for 300 yen~$4) worn 7 different ways.  I probably could have made 20 looks with this simple skirt, but my photographer (Moneyman AKA my hubby) got tired after 7.  :)

 **A similar style navy skirt can be found here, here, here, and here.

Spring/ Summer Looks


Casual Look
T-Shirt & Bracelet (F21), Necklace (Max & Chloe), Bag (Mango), Shoes (Tory Burch), Pin (made by me)

Teacher Look (I am a teacher, after all.)
Cardigan (Target), T-Shirt (thrifted in Japan), Jewelry (Francesca's), Belt (thrifted in Korea), Shoes (Style&co),
Bag (emilie m. from T.J. Maxx)

Frenchy Look
Ascot, Shirt, Belt (thrifted in Japan), Shoes (Naturalizers from T.J. Maxx)

 

Date Night / Girls' Night Out Look
(I just hiked up the skirt a little higher to make it look like a one piece dress!)
Top (), Bag (Mango), Shoes (Style&co)

 

 Fall/ Winter Looks



Stripes, Polka Dots, and Mustard Yellow
Cardigan (Rope Picnic), Top & Boots (thrifted in Japan), Belt (Burberry), Bag (Coach), Head Scarf (gift from my sister)

Simple Navy and Tan Look
Shirt (Rope Picnic), Belt (F21), Boots (Zara), Bag (Coach)

A little spin on the classic red, white, and blue look
Shirt & Boots (Zara), Bag (Coach), Necklace (thrifted in Japan)

*Today I'm linked up with We are THAT Family 

**So, what do you think of these looks?  Have you been restyling any favorite pieces or just playing dress up at home? 

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Game Day Dress Tutorial

Like I mentioned in this post, I really had no idea what I was doing when I turned my husband's t-shirt into a dress.  I just cut, sewed, cut, sewed...until it turned into something.

I also got hungry often during this upcycle... so my attention wandered frequently.

Here's the tutorial.  I apologize that there aren't pictures of every step, eventually I got so tired excited that I forgot to take any pictures. 

Step 1: Choose an oversized t-shirt.

 

Step 2: Cut your neckline into your shirt.

Step 3: The sides of the shirt will be huge.  Put it on (inside out) and pin it to fit your body.

Step 4: Sew along your pinned line.

To keep both sides even, I only sewed one side, then I folded the shirt in half and marked the other side along the sewn edge with a pencil.

Step 5: Put it on and see what you think of it so far!  That's what I did anyways.  I discovered a few things from this step: 1) It was WAY too short! 2) The unfinished arm holes bothered me 3) I was off to a good start.

Step 6: Finish the dress to your liking!  I added bias tape around the arm holes, added a belt, lengthened the bottom with another fabric, and added ruffles around the neckline.

HOW TO MAKE BIAS TAPE: Sarai explains it WAY better than I can.

HOW TO MAKE A BELT:
 
1. Cut the fabric twice as thick as you want your belt.  I cut two strips, because I wasn't sure how long I wanted my belt. 

2. Fold the fabric in half (inside out) and sew along the long edge (leaving the ends open).

3. Pull the tubed fabric right-side-out.  Cut it to your waist size.  Finish the ends (fold the unfinished edge inside and sew).  Sew velcro to the ends so they close securely.

(No pictures, sorry.)

HOW TO LENGTHEN A DRESS: Sarah explains it way better than I can, and she takes pictures of her projects. (I'll have to simmer down next time and actually do that.)

HOW TO MAKE RUFFLES & FLOWERS: 

1. Take a strip of fabric and sew it up the middle.  Adjust your machine so it does long, loose stitches.

 

2. Pull 1 thread tight and scrunch the fabric down the length of the thread.  DONE!

 

3. I sewed several of these onto the neckline.  I also glued 2 of these in a circle on the belt to make the flower.

 

Now, let me wow you with the ridiculous quantity of pictures I took of the finished project:

I may or may not have a hair problem happening...

This is my "I have no clue how to pose for pictures" pose.



I still don't know how to pose for pictures... but I'm improving!

I'm not even posting the other back-side-of-the-dress pictures. 
My husband was the photographer, and the camera tended to wander...

 

 *Today I'm linked up at Handy Man, Crafty Woman. and Someday Crafts.



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Game Day Dress

College football season is upon us!  This weekend, Moneyman and I will be meeting up with some fellow alums from our college to watch the first game of the season.  Unfortunately, I don't have a t-shirt from my alma mater, since I threw most of them away long ago.  Living in San Diego, I can't exactly buy a t-shirt locally for my college (Purdue University in Indiana).  More importantly, I only have $100 for a year to spend on clothing and a $20 college t-shirt is NOT how I want to spend that money.  So... I had to get creative.

Moneyman was a swimmer in college, so he has a plethora of old college t-shirts.  He was kind enough to give me one of his old shirts for my use. 

A little big for me...

Now, what to do?  I've seen a lot of cute t-shirt tutorials on Pinterest, but I've also seen some amazing game day dresses.

I loved this one, but I have a hard time keeping strapless dresses up.

Found here.

 I also liked this one from Etsy.

Found here.

 I decided to try to make my own dress using Moneyman's t-shirt, but I'm terrible at following directions.  I decided to just cut, take pictures along the way, and hopefully it would turn into something cute. 

 I LOVE IT!   Tutorial will come soon!Pin It

Jean Short Bohemian Upcycle

Printed pocket shorts are popular this summer (see: here and here).  DIY printed pocket shorts might be even more popular, like these ones from Restyle.Restore.Rejoice.  I decided to jump on the style bus and try to make my own. 



I had an old pair of denim cut-offs that I never wore.  They were once a pair of stretch skinnies.  Does anyone have a pair of stretch skinny jeans that they love?  I LOVED this pair when I first put them on... then, an hour later I would have a serious case of saggy knees and hate them.  That's how they became shorts. 

 

They are MUCH happier now that they are shorts, especially after this jazzy makeover!

 I'm loving their makeover too, especially since it was FREE! :)

Ignore my crazy hair in the picture below.  I was at the San Diego Sailing Festival, and it was crazy windy!


Shirt (Eddie Bauer), Shorts (upcycled F21 jeans), Bag (Fossil), Flops (Reef)

*So what do you think about this upcycle?  Have you jumped on the patterned pocket craze too?  

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Anniversary

The Moneyman and I just celebrated our 4th anniversary this weekend.  We never buy pricey gifts for anniversaries (or birthdays or Christmas...), but we take trips instead.  Since we live in Southern California now, we decided a trip to Hollywood was fitting. 

My Outfit: Shirt (Loft), Shorts (Gap), Sandals (Kohl's), Jewelry (gifts)
His Outfit: Shirt (Gap), Shorts (UNIQLO), Sandals (Birkenstock) 

We found a great deal for Loew's Hollywood Hotel (formerly The Renaissance).  The location was prime and parking was inexpensive.  We were right on Hollywood Blvd next to the Grauman's Theater, Highland Place, and everything else we could want close to quintessential Hollywood.

Of course, we stopped at Madame Tussaud's, and I spent some time with the wonderful Patrick Swayze.  My husband is a huge fan of his, as well, but he didn't want to pose with him for some reason.

My Outfit: Shirt (same as above, Loft), Pants (Forever21), Shoes (thrifted), Necklace & Earrings (Francesca's)
His Outfit: Shirt (Gap), Jeans (Levi's), Shoes (Sperry's)

We also got tickets for Cirque du Soleil's Iris show in the Dolby Theater (where the Academy Awards are held).

Purse (Mango)

  Clearly, I loved the show and recommend it!  The next day we went to Hollywood Farmer's Market for breakfast and Venice Beach (Muscle Beach) to work out and enjoy the water.  Moneyman is a HUGE Arnold Schwarzeneggar fan, and Muscle Beach is where he used to train for Bodybuilding shows. 

 

Overall, it was a wonderful mini-trip and a great way to celebrate 4 wonderful years!

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Cleanin' out my closet

Anyone else start busting out the Eminem lyrics?  "I'm sorry momma!"  I'm actually apologizing to my real momma.  She's a bit OCD, and when she sees the pictures of my messy closet... when she sees that not all of my hangers match... when she sees that the "after" is still not as organized as her "before"... well..."I'm sorry momma!  I never meant to hurt you!"

 Here's the before:

Things that bother me: My cats are obsessed with that window.  I have to keep the blinds up, so they don't destroy them.  Do you know how many times I have forgotten that the blinds were open and walked in there after my shower to get dressed? umm... too many.

Another view of this side of the closet.

 

The other side of the closet.

Things that bother me: The general messiness. The fact that it's overflowing with things I don't wear. The general messiness.

 

 

And finally the AFTER...

Can you see the difference?  Yes? No? Yes?

 My husband immediately thought I was nuts. 

OK, I covered up the window with shelving.  I know that is wrong, BUT our neighbors were getting an eyeful....often.  It feels more like a walk-in closet now than it did before.   

 

I organized a bit too... see my pretty belts below!

I'm actually so relieved to have this done!  I "rediscovered" a few items that I had forgotten about.  Now, I actually know what I'm working with for the next year.  I also took this opportunity to remove some items that I never wore, mainly because they don't fit me any longer.  Those items will pop up in later posts, because I have big plans to recycle some of them into new pieces of clothing!

 

*Is anyone else cleaning out their closet?  How about cleaning out a litter box? No?? 

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Zara

Have you ever started a diet, and immediately food that you never crave seems irresistible?  You find yourself rummaging through your cabinets...
Is that a twizzler?!  YESSSSS...  wait, it's just a piece of string.  HUMPH.
Is that a cupcake?! YESSSSSSSSSSS!  It expired a few months ago?  ehhhh... these things don't go bad.

Since starting my "clothing diet," this phenomenon has already begun.  As I was driving yesterday, every clothing store was calling me.  I felt like they were all singing "Come on over.  Come on over, baby!"  Anyway, I managed to escape and came home to online "window shop".  Zara is one of my favorite stores and has been ever since I lived in Madrid.  Did you know it's a Spanish brand?  Fun Fact #1.  I want to take these babies home (and love them forever):


Top, Skirt, Shoes, Bag, Pants

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