Another drastic men's shirt makeover: dress!

Another drastic men's shirt makeover: dress!

• 7.09.2010

I've been thinking about men's shirt makeovers recently, seeing so many on the blogosphere as usual, and looking for fabric for summery clothes that isn't just simple quilting fabric.  I wanted to share with you a shirt makeover I did last summer, way pre-blog, from a high quality cotton men's Faconnable shirt I got at the Goodwill Outlet.
I was on a yellow kick and was picking up anything bright, happy yellow, and saw the gingham of the soft button-down in good condition.  Brand new, Faconnable shirts cost about $198 at Nordstrom, so I knew it was nice quality!  Tightly woven, all cotton, etc.  I bought it and thought for a while about what to do with it, and then designed a sundress using the check print and button-down look of the shirt and some white lace trim.
I am kicking myself now for not taking a "before" pic of the shirt before I cut into it (how silly of me!), but again, this was pre-blog and I didn't know I'd need one.  So here are a couple of similar shirts from eBay, just to give you a visual picture.

I used this McCall's pattern, M5806, the strappy crossover bodice, but of course made up the skirt based on how much of the skirt bodice I could use.

I added an edge of thin white Venice lace at the top all the way around, which I think plays up the white in the check and on the buttons, which I reused in the center front and on the center front midriff panel.  I gave the skirt the slightest bit of gathering to fit into the waist.  I used white cotton to line the whole thing, both bodice and skirt.
I was surprised at how long I was able to make the dress, using the shirt body!  If I remember correctly, I made the bodice from the sleeves, so I was able to use the whole front and back of the shirt for the skirt part.

I pulled this dress out of my summer box recently, with the 100 degree days we've been having, and wanted to share it with you!  It was one of my first recycled/refashioned projects, and I was very proud of myself when I did it.  I'm hoping thinking back to it will inspire me to do another complete revamp!