when i’m shopping, i see many dresses that are really cute and think, “if only it was a little longer, i’d totally buy this dress!” especially since short dresses are in style these days. so what i do is buy them anyway and modestify-lengthen the dresses longer.
before pictures of the 3 dresses i modestified.
black/cream bow-tie dress c/o Sheinside
before/after:
you can buy the cream/black bow-tie dress here, and the black pumps here.
use code: Sarah20 for 20% off! valid until april 30th.
for the two black dresses i used this tutorial, and with the beige dress, instead of picking the seams of the bottom of the skirt, i just added the contrast fabric on the bottom and sewed it along the already-there seams of the skirt, then double folded the bottom part of the contrast fabric. i also tailored the waist so it was more fitted and made the long sleeves into short sleeves.
for me the black dresses are the easiest to lengthen out since finding a similar fabric to the dress is not that difficult since matching black to a black isn’t that hard, but with dresses like the beige dress above, it’s more difficult to find a matching fabric so unless you find a fabric of the same color, it might look tacky. you don’t want the extra fabric to be noticeable if it doesn’t match, so the best option is to add a contrast color that compliments the color of the dress and add it on, making it look like it was originally made that way.
project budget: very low(mine was $1-2 per dress)
estimated time: 20 mins.
level: beginner
What a fabulous idea to lengthen your dresses. Definitely have to try this!
Mongs
mythriftycloset.blogspot.com
Hi Sarah! I loveeee your shoes!!! Can you please tell me how comfortable they are before I place my order? I wear 5 1/2 so would you recommend going 1/2 size up or down?
Hey! Great idea, I LOVE how they turned out 🙂
thanks for sharing 🙂
Much love,
The Creative muslimah
Great idea with these! I've definitely thought about doing this, but I never gave it a try. I'm pretty tall so dresses barely cover my butt. Love this!
I need to do this with one of my dresses, thanks for posting. http://www.newlifeovernight.blogspot.com
What a wonderful idea!! Although I try not to purchase too short skirts and dresses, but when I do now I know what I will be (trying) to do to make it longer. I love the beige dress and how it turned out..so IN – with the colorblock!
-Christine
http://www.delachic.blogspot.com
I've been NEEDING to make my favorite white spring dress a little bit longer. My dad put it in the dryer, ugh! You've got awesome ideas and thanks for sharing!
I LOVE this. I remember the tutorial from before, but I had totally forgot about it already. Thanks for the reminder. I've been passing up cute dresses on Dorothy Perkins! 🙂
I really like this idea! I work with young girls in a program dedicated to modest dressing and even though we've looked at lengthening dresses and skirts, the tutorials I've seen so far leave something to be desired with the overall look. The way that you've lengthened your dresses allows them to stay stylish while maintaining modesty. Good work!
http://sweetsweetspontaneity.blogspot.ca/
OK Sarah with your legs you don't even have to lengthen a dress! Although being a mom now I feel the same way. Great tutorial, thanks!
ha! That's the EXACT same thing I do! Brilliant! P.S. LOVE the last two dresses. Beautiful.
I was skeptical about the beige outfit, but it turned out the best! You actually improved the outfit!
Hi! The shoes are 6" high and I didn't expect them so high but when I tried it on, it didn't feel like I was going to fall over like I expected to. 🙂 It was surprisingly comfortable. I usually wear a 5 1/2 too or sometimes a 6 and I ordered a 6 but it was about an inch too big! So I would recommend getting it a size down. Hope that helps!
What a great idea!! I'll be sure to keep this tutorial close by! I was just thinking the other day how the dresses are too short for me!
Ok, this is awesome! I grew up in a home and church where we were never allowed to wear anything short. I still don't wear anything short but right now in the stores, anything cute is SO darn short! What a great solution to all those short outfits! Good job, mrs.!
http://www.ivypress.blogspot.com
Great tip! I featured it on our facebook page! 🙂
Oh this happens to me a lot! The older I get, the longer my skirts are! I just feel better bending etc. at work with something below my knees. Great tip, and your outfits look wonderful!
What a wonderful program to be working with! And I appreciate your sweet comment so much, thank you!
With white dresses, (if it's a summery one), I love adding eyelet lace to the bottom. Just an idea. Thanks for your comment Cherisse!
They say great minds think alike! 😉 Thanks for your comment!
Oh, you are so nice, thank you!
Yes, it's the trend especially now, which is too bad for us, right? Thanks for your comment!
Thank you so much for the feature!
xo
Thank you SO much everyone!
xo
I'm so impressed! I have a couple dresses that I don't wear much because they're just an inch or two short for my comfort. Now if only I could sew! Maybe I'll recruit a friend. 🙂
I've done this before, and I loved having a longer dress!
wow.. Fantastic.. Great how small changes can have such big impacts..
Thanks for linking up at friday fun party
Hani
craftionary.net
This is such a fabulous idea! Being an experienced sewer I am completely surprised that I've never thought of doing that before. Thanks for the tip!
The Chapstick Wrangler
http://www.chapstickwrangler.blogspot.com
Good ideas and these dresses are really so beautiful, like them very much
http://www.missesdressyonline.com/
What color would you suggest to use to lengthen a white and navy striped dress?
Thanks!
What color would you suggest to use to lengthen a white and navy striped dress?
Thanks!