Day 282. 83 days and $84 left to go.

Stars and stripes forever??  Kind of with today’s piece…

Day 282 - Before

This was one of the goodies I snagged at the Goodwill Outlet in Queens when I was just in NY.  It was priced per pound and actually weighed less that one lb, so I’m just going to round-up to an easy $1.

It was a dress, but it fit really strange.  It was big on top and then came together at the knees, but it just looked too awkward.  I am going the top route to get rid of the tightness at the knees.

Cutting it short!!

I trimmed off the bottom of the dress first – already I was happy with this first, big step!

Next I wanted to give the neckline a little extra vavoom, so I began turning it into a V.  I trimmed a slit down the center of the top, pinned the edges under…

V time!!

…and sewed them into place!

I next wanted to take off the long sleeves.  It was warm out and I didn’t really want to look just like my friend…

Where are you Waldo??

I took my seam rippers and began taking the sleeves off at the seam.

Taking off the sleeves!

Now that I was without the long sleeves and going for more of a cap look, I took in the top a few inches…

Sleeveless!!

…paired it with jeans and a belt and had an outfit perfect for some vegging.

Vegging or ice cream cone-ing…whatever tickles your fancy.

Day 282 - After

Sugar cones with cappuccino chunk froyo??  Sign me up…  I think that I was in sugar overload as I passed out on the couch just minutes later.

Zzzz...

Didn’t get to catch the last few minutes of the Boise State/Virginia Tech game due to my slight narcolepsy.  Thanks to my kind and adoring sibling for taking the shot of me in action.  Just lovely waking up to a flash in your face.

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Day 267. 98 days and $99 left to go.

Today’s outfit was chosen from a fun little collaboration I did with Borders on their Facebook page where viewers got to pick which outfit I was going to prep for today.  For those of you who didn’t see it, here’s what we were working with!

Borders Poll!!

Oof! won with 49% of the votes, so that’s the dress that got donned this torrential downpour of a Sunday on the streets of Manhattan (and Queens for a minute).

Day 261 - Before

This dress was a sheer, delightful lavender frock that I had some big ideas for.  The flowers on the fabric around the neck and down the center of the dress were what really brought me it.  I just wanted to make a few small changes to really make it chic.

Sleeves are coming off – it’s humid and even though it was raining all day, these sleeves had to go because I was still sweating buckets on my treks from the East Village to Queens to Midtown and back to the East Village again.

Sleeve unseaming!

Seam ripper easily got rid of both elastic cuffed sleeves.

Sleeveless!!

The body of this dress was a bit big on me, so I wanted to take it in a bit to really make it fit.  The V was being rocked and I didn’t need any drapey fabric uncovering the boobs in my flash sprints when the rains slowed down.

Tightening up!

I stitched up the body to avoid these potential flash moments and brought back my signature “pinch and cinch” move, gathering a pinch on the straps and cinching them with a safety pin!

Stitching together!!

WIth the addition of a slip, my dress was good to go!!

Day 267 - After

The day began with more brunching with the boys.

Boys Brunch Day 2!

We hit up Arcane for literally the best breakfast deal around…

Be still my chalkboard heart!!

…where it was $9.95 for coffee, OJ, Bloody Marys, and an omelet with delish potatoes.  I literally had three beverages at my reach to interchange between omelet and rosemary potato bites.

The rains picked up after breakfast as I ran to the subway and got soaked…no umbrella, no problem.  I love the hot temps mixed with the raindrops so it was actually awesome to run in.  Good thing I had a slip underneath this puppy or else the “Wet Dress Contest” would have been in full effect.

Soaked waiting for the 7

Not even the rain was going to stop my trip to Queens to hit up the Goodwill Outlet where everything was $1.69/lb.

Goodwill!!

Totally worth sifting through bins and bins of giveaways.

Post shopping we decided to meet up for a little happy hour to celebrate the soon-to-be JH’s birthday.

Happy Almost Birthday JH!!

Had a little St. Germaine/Stoli/soju/white peach puree concoction which was the ultimate treat of the day.

I couldn’t end my day without a little stop to the Time Warner Center and Borders on the second floor to celebrate the winning outfit!!

Borders Love!!

Thanks to everyone who voted!  We’ll have to plan some more interactive choosing soon…

Little sidenote as I was compiling the pictures from the day…I couldn’t help to notice all the French influences I came across in my city travels.

First off, JS ordered his fave Croque Monsieur at brunch.

Bonjour Croque Monsieur!

Because I spoke of my love of St. Germaine at happy hour, the lovely bartender gave me a souvenir (…unfortunately it was solely for the photo op).

Bonjour St. Germaine!

I literally met a lovely garçon from Paris…

Bonjour mon ami français Clem!

…before stopping off to grab a baguette for a late night snack.

Bonjour baguette!

I think it’s a sign…that Parisian layover may have to happen.

Bonne nuit!

Day 134. 231 days and $228 left to go.

Now I LOVE metallics – anything gold, silver, or shiny, sign me up.  And that’s across the board from shoes to purses to dresses.  One of my favorite tops is this grey Cynthia Vincent piece from a few years back with silver mesh sleeves…

Metallic sleeves rule!

Totally heart this, so when I first came across this puppy below, I knew it would be rocking in no time.

Day 134 - Before

Here’s a little close up of the shoulder pad action as well…

Shiny pads!!

Notice they match the fabric of the jacket.  This nondescript clothing brand was very meticulous with the creation of said pads.  Time and care to make the shoulders really pop…yep, there’s the pun!  I clearly had to take them out.

Taking out the shiny pads!

Next I took in the jacket a bit – hemmed the sleeves as well as the body of it to make it a little more fitted on me.

Taking it in...

After that, I popped the jacket on top of my wife beater and was ready for a little errand running.

Day 134 - After

To the market for some ingredients for my cooking club on Tuesday eve.  It’s Japanese themed and I’ve got the veggies, so I’m crafting two 美味いです(that’s delicious in Japanese) side dishes involving wasabi and a miso glaze.  Yummers 🙂  If there aren’t any huge 失敗 (that’s flops in Japanese), pics will follow.

PS, little shoulder pad update!!!

Bin o'pads!

It’s filling up friends!!  Woo hoo!  I smell a contest when it’s completely full – perhaps a little guessing action for a very fabulous prize?  There’s still time though…looks full, but those pads will smush down to the size of golf balls.  PS, congrats to Phil Mickelson for winning the Masters today.  That green jacket looks dashing on you!

Color of victory!

Day 51. 314 days and $309 left to go.

Today’s little garment began as a T-shirt I found at a garage sale.  I don’t tend to do a ton of T thrifting, as I always feel like I’m in competition with boutique owners looking for cheap steals to then turnaround and sell at their stores for $40.  But, I’ll snag one if there is something so incredible that I can’t stop thinking about it. My favorite find is an amazing Dos Equis T that I got for 50 cents about 8 years ago – it’s the thinnest, softest, most perfectly worn in, and fitted shirt that I own.  It’s like it was made specifically for me.  The shirt that I found today had something about it that I wanted to make mine.

It was from an exhibition at the Whitney Museum in 1987, which is one of my most favorite places in NY.  One of the museums that always struck my fancy growing up.  So, when I came across it, sifting through piles of to-be-discarded apparel at a garage sale, I held onto it tightly.  (I also held onto a New Kids On the Block T that will be used as the perfect birthday prezzie for an unnamed friend in a few months…)

Red Grooms Exhibit @ Whitney!

Instead of just keeping it as a basic T, I wanted to give it a little more flair.  I wanted to make it a little more fun, so I crafted this en route to Vegas.  I decided to add a little bit of pink lace to the edge of the sleeves to match the pink in the Grooms print on the front.

Backseat Stitchin'

I took about a foot and a half of lace for each arm and pinned it to the inside of the sleeves, accordion style.  So, as I pinned, I’d gather a bit at each inch to give it more of a puckered look.  I took some white thread and began weaving and stitching the lace to the inside of the arm which took about 30 minutes total for both which included a pit stop in Baker for some gas and a pic of the largest thermometer in the world!

Baker, CA - best known for Bob's Big Boy and thermometers

After all the stitching, this is how the T came out…

Day 51 - After (Front View)

Literally the easiest way to pump up a basic T.  Take some lace, ribbon (leftover from wrapped gifts perhaps), fabric, faux fur – anything you can think of!  Be creative and have fun with it because that T in the Goodwill pile that’s ready to be donated can be given a new life with just a small adjustment.

UPDATE:  An extreme close up of the Red Grooms print on the front for my girl Anne 🙂

ECU!!