Tuesday, May 10, 2011

classy shirt dress (aka karate dress)

This is the kind of dress that I wish I could get away with wearing. It seems, though, to only look good on slender, not so curvy body shapes. I definitely don't qualify right now, but even after all the baby weight comes off I still won't be able to pull it off. My daughter, however, does so brilliantly with a style all her own.
 
 
 
 I made this dress from a man's dress shirt I found at the Bargain Barn.
 I loved the linen material. The finished dress brought to mind images of a safari. Or perhaps a zookeeper. But I resisted the urge to add a silhouette of a monkey coming out of the pocket.

My daughter, on the other hand, decided the dress looked like a karate outfit and claimed it enabled her to do karate moves like the pros. When not flying her kite this weekend at the beach, she intermittently practiced karate and greeted me with "Konichiwa", her hands pressed together. Where did she even get that from?
This kid cracks me up.

6 comments:

  1. Cute dress - I love the sleeves! Do you have any ideas on how to remake a man's polo shirt into something new? My husband is getting rid of several old work shirts that are still in good condition - all khaki colored. I would just donate them, but they all have a big 'USDA' emblem on the chest and I don't know if it would be a good thing for a bunch of people to go around impersonating government employees (the horror!). The only thing I've come up with so far is turning them into tote bags, but I don't know if the material is right for that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. When did you have time to do this? I stand in awe. It is adorable. Konichiwa?

    ReplyDelete
  3. the sleeves are great, as are the karate moves. konichiwa, indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The horror indeed! :)

    Hmmm... I've never attempted a polo shirt remake (my husband doesn't wear them). But I actually do like the idea of making them into a bag! With some pleats to taper it in at the top, maybe? Or I wonder if you could even braid strips of the polo shirt material and then sew it into a circular rug? Let me know what you come up with!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a perfect thrifty creation!

    ReplyDelete
  6. oh, this is great! I admire your ability to turn a shirt into something so adorable!

    ReplyDelete