2.22.2012

doctor doctor

one thing i ADORE about los angeles is the vintage and thrift shopping scene.  even though i aim to sew most of what i wear, i can't resist.  for some reason, they're not smoking the crack like they do in new york.  hands down, in this category, the City Of Angels has the Big Apple beat.  and this, peeps, is an Important.  Category.  it makes for like 30 percent of the final grade.

and my god, the colors.  there's so much color to be had that many stores will arrange their goods by hue.  jewel tones!  primaries!  pastels!  perhaps the rainbow is here because no one's wearing it out there?  i don't care.  more for ME.


this schizophrenic baby fell smack dab in the middle of the color wheel.  here is the patient in its past life as a dress. it had a hefty price tag of 15 bucks, actually a bit high for LA vintage, especially considering much of the store was on sale for a dollar.  the owner had cut the price in half and was already lowering it to ten when i interrupted with a "yes" (must learn to stop interrupting), but that's cool.  i gave the extra five, she's seeking out a new storefront and i'm happy to enable.

what attracted me to the dress was the pleated skirt.  lady danburry had just churned out another gorgeous creation that i couldn't live without (yet could also not find the pennies for) and this seemed the perfect consolation prize.  but the dress itself was so pretty!  how could i perform this surgery in good conscience?  first, do no harm.  second, have a cocktail.  third, DO IT.

i simply hacked off the top of the dress and took in the center back seam, like you do:


but wait... what about the nice rectangular strip of newly dissected fabric... maybe i can interface it and make it into a belt... wear it with my coveted high waist six dollar forever 21 jeans (i know, don't hate, on so many levels):


BUT WAIT... that top is kinda cool... maybe i can baby hem it... give the cheapo gold button a transplant... and use my new belt...


BUT WAIT.  NOW I CAN FRANKENSTEIN IT AND WEAR IT AS A DRESS AGAIN:


healer, heal thyself.

i felt so very accomplished with this homage to the lady.  i look forward to the day i'll have a real danburry in my greedy little paws.  which could be soon.  mrs ham, an equally delightful blogger you should know, is hosting a giveaway of a danburry creation!  just hop on over to her hammy blog, aptly named the happy hour, and comment to win your pick of ANYTHING from the lady's shop. 

now look.  yes, i get another chance to win by posting it here, but really what i want to do is introduce a few peeps that don't know these awesome gals to each other.  seriously.  oh lovely peeps, meet more lovely peeps. oh lookee there!  it's wine thirty, a virtual toast to you all!

edit 7/17/13: it seems lady danburry and her blog/shop, thinking in shapes, are MIA...lady, i hope that you and yours are well...

47 comments:

  1. I've got to admit, I was kind of mad at you for cutting up this beautiful dres....then I scrolled down. Genius!!!

    What those pleats called (if they aren't just pleats). I've been trying to find a good tutorial on how to do them.

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    Replies
    1. SHUT UP. that whole situation is too awesome for words. and that hair? HAWT.

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    2. @ laeh: accordion pleats? hell if i know! i wanted to hem the skirt a bit but had no desire to re-iron all those bad boys...

      @ puu: thanks girl! i used a tutorial linked over at casey's :)

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  2. OONA YOU ARE MY FAVORITE. Ever. The outfit, the pictures, your hair, YOUR FACE. I think this is love, for real.

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  3. You are adorbs :o) how come if I try to do interesting poses in my creations I look like I'm having a seizure? Yours always look like promotional stills for a quirky comedy about a plucky sewing heroine. that blue house is your sewing studio and each week one of your friends comes by in a flap over a romantic crisis, job freakout or family drama and you solve it and send them off with a cute outfit.

    I love every piece of your redo but am most impressed with the top.

    And your updo !!!!!

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  4. Oona, come to Topanga (this weekend?) Visit Hidden Treasures (google it) and have brunch with me. I'll even let you see my treehouse :-) Hashi

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    1. ooooooooooOOOOOOOOOh. okay we need to make that happen. fear of oscar traffic hell has me indoors this weekend, though, my tv-less friend...

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    2. Yeah, this weekend's not so good. But do come while you're here :-)

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  5. The print and color are perfection! I love what you did with it - you'll get so much more use from the dress now.
    And I'm thinking EmilyKate needs to produce this comedy she's speaking of. I'd so watch it.

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  6. Oh Oona! You are a dream boat! Thank you for the links.
    The colors, the pleats, everything is so good! Drew's family lives in southern california. The next time we're down there, you'll have to let me know which shops to check out.

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  7. Holy Crap. This is so hot I'm practically hyperventilating. Love it! and 3 in 1 is always better than a measly singular 1, non?

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  8. OMG this is the best blog post I've ever read in my life. Thank you for the laughs, the JEALOUSY, and the inspiration. Bravo!

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  9. AWK! Love. Those. Colors! Seriously, great refashion! I absolutely adore the pleats in the skirt! YAY! And oh, the sunshine looks nice!

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  10. Frankenstein dress. Up do. Fabric belt. Colour. SO MUCH FRAKIZZLEBIZZDET GOODNESS.

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  11. you crazy thing.. hehee.. you are like a miracle worker, taking one regular size garment, and turning it into 3 (well, 4 with frankenstein beauty) regular size garments.. i have to learn this oona's multiplication technique

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  12. Fantastic! I'm usually a lurker, but this ensemble is great. And I totally thought you had a new model for the first couple of pictures. Gorgeous!

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  13. You cheeky gal! That fabric is technicolor-amazingness. And can I steal your doorway?

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  14. Oona, you're the best hostess on the internets, introducing all us wallflowers to each other at the party. In my few vintage excursions in LA, I've found some of the best stuff, for super cheap. Go forth and color conquer! (But leave some for the rest of us!) Seriously. Love everything about this post.

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  15. I agree with Daughter Fish! Oona, the internet was a dark and colourless place before we met you! Keep up the great work and carry on, Ms. Ambassador of Colour!

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  16. Awesome! You're such a creative and inspiring person!

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  17. Oona, you are just out of control awesome... you make sewing sound like a nonstop party, instead of hours of hunching over machines squinting at things and cursing. Love all the variations of this!

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  18. Yesssss 4 outfits for the price of one! And I am totally dying over your jeans. You look like a freakin' pin-up! Not fair!

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  19. Super cute!

    I also love your hair. Very 50s.

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  20. a) AMAZING.
    b) I was just in New York this weekend and remembered how sad thrift shopping there can be...then we snuck out of the city in my friend's car to North Jersey and there is such UTTER GOLD in parking-lot-and-suburb-land that it's almost okay.
    c) I wish I were having as much fun right now as you ALWAYS SEEM TO BE IN EVERY PHOTOGRAPH YOU POST.

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  21. Very cleaver, but I don't expect anything less from you. Go girl.

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  22. You don't even have to include text with this post. The photos alone tells the story. Ah-MA-ZING.

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  23. Aw, 3 outfits from one dress! If you also had a scrunchie that converted into an evening bag, you'd be my favorite Barbie!

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  24. THIS IS AMAZING...AND SO ARE YOU!!! i love the "hammy talk"

    great blog, i'm just in shock about this dress you created!!!

    xo
    tanandmeg.blogspot.com

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  25. ps come make another comment. since you follow and blogged...you get 2 comments!! hope you win!

    xo

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  26. Heh. Ok, you're a genius. A skirt, a blouse, a belt *and a dress* made from *one dress*! Genius.

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  27. Now that is my kind of upcycle, nothing wasted, a three-for, with the belt, infinite possibilities. Also, LA has awesomely cheap vintage... in these parts, it's sooo overpriced. Also also, did you cut your hair?!

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  28. STUNNING! I love that you have three pieces and they are all so versatile! Love the separates and the whole ensemble back together - GENIUS!

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  29. Wow its beautiful dress. I like your all pix. In this dresses colour combination is very nice as well as design and fabric also rich.

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  30. You have great collection of dresses. All dress suits you perfect and nice. I like to read your post so much. You have fantastic work.

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i thankya truly for taking the time to comment, i love a good conversation-- and hope you know my thanks are always implied, if not always written!