by 3things blogger Emily Chantler
Five creative solutions to repurpose your formal dress once your end-of-year evening is over!
Revive it
A great way to repurpose your formal gown is to give it a makeover.
With the most basic of sewing skills, you could add some embellishments to your dress—a row of sequins or jewels along the neckline, bottom of the skirt or waist can help create a new look. Craft stores have a myriad of relatively inexpensive gems that you could use. From the same craft store you could also get some tulle in a contrasting colour to your dress to make an underskirt and help give your old dress a fuller shape. Another option is adding a simple sash to the waist of your dress, thereby adding more definition and formality to your look. Just as easy is adding some new, bold accessories to redefine your formal outfit.
For a more drastic change you could also cut the dress into pieces! If you had a floor-length gown you could cut the bottom half off to make a skirt and turn the top into an elegant shirt.
Formal dress fabric is also great for making everyday accessories. Use the material to make belts or headscarves. If your dress was decorated with any kind of sequins or floral pieces, carefully cut them off and glue them onto headbands or bobby pins.
Repurpose it
More creative still is to completely repurpose the material of your unused dress into things for around the house! Options include tablecloths, curtains, new pillows or even quilts.
Pass it, sell it, swap it
If you decide that you’re not going to keep your dress, you could always try selling the dress on online auction sites such as Ebay or to a resale boutique. However, if you’re feeling generous then let someone you love re-wear your formal dress. You could pass it on to a younger sister or other family member or even some younger kids in your neighbourhood. If you’ve got another special occasion coming up you may also want to try swapping your dress with a friend—a fantastic way to save your money!
Reuse it
Have a think about a few other special occasions coming up in your life—eighteenths, university balls, graduation and even weddings! Reuse your formal gown for one of these functions.
Donate it
One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure!
The best thing to do with an unwanted formal dress is to simply donate it for another girl in need. Donating is a low maintenance option and a great way of making sure someone less fortunate still gets her special day.
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About the author
Emily is heading into her second year of studying Journalism and Arts at uni. She loves reading, good music and good art and is looking forward to gaining some great experience with 3things.
