Recently, my friend Rhiannon McClintock approached me with a challenge. Rhiannon, an actress with a bevy of theater credits to her name, had a treasure trove of old vintage costumes she had purchased from theaters around the city.
The problem? Vintage costumes look… well, costume-y. She needed to reinvent these theatrical pieces as modern outfits for for an office environment. (By day, she works at Columbia University.)
Any vintage and thrift shopping enthusiast can relate. Often, the selection at these stores are SO dated and period-specific, it seems like only an emergency surgery at the tailor’s can revive them. For this experiment, Rhiannon and I tried to keep the reinventions very budget-conscious. Could we reinvent this 1950s house dress without taking it in for pricey alterations?
We experimented with a patterned, vintage frock Rhiannon found for $24 at a theater tag sale at Vineyard Theater. It also came with a matching jacket and belt, which we set aside.
The stroke of genius came when we tried tucking the dress into a pencil skirt, transforming it into a blouse.
By gently pulling the dress out of the waistband, we created a delicate mini-peplum. It’s the perfect way to keep the DNA of the vintage dress without looking like she wandered off the set of I Love Lucy.
Next, we paired the look with a mixed-material Les Copains blazer that Rhiannon found on eBay. The inky satin and navy tweed in the blazer perfectly echoed the dress. And in a twist of serendipity, the dress’ built-in necktie detail suddenly became the star of the entire ensemble.
And best of all? It didn’t cost a cent. (Here’s a no-sew solution for a blazer and another for a sack dress.)
Have you ever tried to transform an outfit without alterations? I’d love to hear your advice!