"Marisa Lynch set herself a challenge: Transform 365 unattractive frocks in 365 days, for $365. Just before her 30th birthday, she got laid off. To some, losing a job means hitting the streets with a resume or wallowing in grief. But for Marisa, it meant getting the sewing machine out and upcycling thrifted fashions. Every day.
“I was just in this not-feeling-good, crummy kind of mood, and I didn’t know how to kick it,” says Marisa. That’s when Marisa saw the movie, Julie & Julia. “[Julie] was finding something to do every day that made her feel great. I was jealous. I thought, I want to find that.”
Thus, New Dress a Day entered the blogosphere. The task: To make a new fashion piece a day — on a budget of a dollar a day — for an entire year.
Think the uber-frugal budget and tight turnaround requirements can only mean shoddy, unfashionable duds? Not for Marisa. All you have to do is take a quick glance at New Dress A Day to see that while this West Hollywood resident may be short on money and time, she’s never short on style.
She’s also got an imaginative fashion sense, serious sewing skills, and some awe-inspiring powers of transformation. In each of her daily posts, Marisa shares the story — and impressively fugly before photo — of an old vintage dress found at a thrift shop or garage sale. Then comes the chic and cute after photo — along with details of where she wore the new-again outfit and how it was received."
So here's my attempt at making my new dress from an old:
Giant Nightgown thingie I got in India. Loved it when I bought it, but always wished there was something more I could do with it
Adding giant button holes on the side for the belt to go through
I then accessorized with a leather belt and leather shoes I got in Europe!
I'm addicted. In fact I'm heading to the D.I. right now to find something else to transform.
