DIY - A €3 Dress

At the weekend I trudged out in the rain for coffee and a jaunt around the local monthly flea market. As I stood sheltering under the cover over a slightly messy stall a golden glint caught my eye.
Ever a magpie for things of a tacky nature, this dress sang out to me. I fully expected it to be a tenner at least, so I was delighted to be told it was only €3! BARGAIN.

I pulled it out of the pile fully and was quite disappointed to see it was quite large. But for €3 it was definitely worth chancing a bit of a DIY project.

First I chopped off the underskirt. And I was left with a lovely, tacky gold & black oversized top. My initial plan was to just wear this over pleather skinny trousers, but it was so oversized that it just looked like a sack of potatoes.
Next I cut the arms off at the seam. At this stage I tried it  on again and was disappointed that the "shift dress" I was hoping for was, again, just a sack of potatoes.
I felt slightly defeated and threw it in a pile of clothes to be customised, vowing to take it in with a sewing machine at some point to make it less...voluminous.
And then I had a brainwave. The most obvious of brainwaves and Gok Wan's favourite piece of style advice - I added a belt.
And voila! Here is my €3 dress.

Excuse the bad quality photos, blame the iphone. 

I've caught the bug now and i've been scouring eBay for 80's peplum dresses so I can make more. MORE!