Lace: A Re-construction To MY Style

A week or so ago before the hustle and bustle of a lengthy work week I decided to kick boredom in the bum one day and dye some lace. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, then you've seen the lovely result, but I've also been preoccupied with finishing holiday shopping and just getting around to wearing and sharing.

In all honesty I was not in love with this dress initially, because I wasn't extremely keen on the collar design on me. However, it was quite easy to slash, dye, and sew my thoughts deep into the seams.
The vision was simple: creating an ombre aesthetic, yet making the dress look slightly vintage. No sketch was required, rather the passion for a successful outcome, and merely being in good health afterward was going to be the ultimate reward; this would be a high-fumed project.

On the Agenda:
I flattened the collar, cut the length significantly, and altered the sleeves making it 3/4 length ... it was starting to look better to me. Then, I slashed the ruffles from the collar and re-sewed them in a more pleasing way, at least to my eyes. Lastly, I altered the fit of the dress and hemmed the rest of the dress, adding gathers at the waist.

I imagine this dress, (once all black with grey stitching) had an overdose of frill appeal intentionally, because that must have been the trend at that time, but I potentially saw something else in this silhouette.

My dear friend gifted me this dress a long time ago, knowing that I'd hear the little designing voice inside of me wanting to shake things up a bit, only to aid in the betterment of the dress of course! Yes, there were times when I wore the dress as it was intended, however through the years I've felt that it's my duty to do whatever is needed to make me LOVE this dress!

This little art project had me reminiscent of my design school days, having more time on my hands to dive into more crafty/art experimentation.

Next, I analysed the fabric and began to bleach the collar and sleeves, then I hung them to air dry, and to see if I achieved the result that I wanted. Lastly, I used a spray bottle mixed with tan dye, and another bottle mixed with a small amount of bleach, both with adding water and began to sporadically saturate the lace, some areas with more coverage than others. After a couple of hours I washed the dress twice, and hung it out to dry. Here's the result.

*Note: Always know your fabrics: Testing first is good beforehand, if you are uncertain about the fibres. All materials dye differently, so proper research is necessary unless you enjoy unwanted surprises!

The goods: Lace dress-DIY and altered-gifted, Knit pants-Topshop, Socks-Falke, Shoes-seen here, Necklace-here, Fan-Chinatown/SF