dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion

The Other Ugly Dress Transformation & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up On the Edge #653

May 26, 2023 / 22 Comments
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion

Before I get to the second ugly dress transformation, I must first wish my amazing husband (and photographer) a very happy birthday! We will be celebrating both of our birthdays (mine is on Tuesday), as well as Memorial Day, quietly at home on this holiday weekend. We are expecting gorgeous spring weather which is perfect for a birthday holiday weekend staycation! And with such beautiful weather on the horizon, my mind is racing with spring and summer outfit ideas so I do think I will be playing some dress up and pretending I am a fashion model over the weekend as well. I also have to make the curtains for my newly painted bedroom so I can share the completed makeover with y’all!

In the midst of my bedroom makeover, I treated myself to a new sewing machine. We will call it my Mother’s Day/birthday gift to myself…and what a gift it has been so far. I have created three different ruana style wraps using old scarves and sarongs, I have let down the hem on vintage lace curtains for my gypsy living room, and I have upcycled two ugly dresses into fabulously dramatic dusters that are much more suited to my personal style.

I shared the first ugly dress transformation for this week’s Style Imitating Art challenge, Floral Forms by Emil James Bistttram, but that was actually the second dress I transformed. This dress with the ditsy floral print was the first dress that I turned into a duster. I was so excited for this upcycle project that I forgot to take a photo of the dress before I started cutting it! But it is the exact same dress as the one below just a different print. Each dress cost me $8 on clearance.

ugly dress, Shelbee on the Edge, upcycle project
Original Post

Long ago, I discovered that certain shirt style dresses work better on my large busted frame if I leave the buttons open and wear them as dusters instead. This discovery transformed my wardrobe into a much more versatile one. Once we begin to think outside the box of traditional styling, we open up whole new worlds of creative ideas. I had about dozen shirt dresses that I was ready to ditch over some gaping button holes across my chest and they were all saved by the simple trick of thinking beyond the expected.

Then about five years ago, Nancy and I featured kimonos for The Good Buy/Good-Bye Book because I love them so much. But Nancy didn’t own any kimonos so she improvised by cutting open a dress. The seed was planted in my brain at that point but I didn’t own a sewing machine and hand stitching is out of the question considering how many hand stitches would be required to complete such a project. If you are wondering how many hand stitches it would be, I don’t have an answer other than “a lot of hand stitches” and “too many hand stitches for me”! But with my new sewing machine, this project took only about an hour to complete. The most time consuming part was ripping out the front seam that ran up the front of the middle tier of the dress.

I made the mistake on this first dress transformation by not ironing along the edges that needed hemming. Instead I just fought with the fabric the whole time in attempt to keep the edges flat as I sewed them. I should have learned when I did the same thing hemming the lace curtains, but sometimes I can be a little dense. The result of not ironing before sewing is a sloppy hem which is really only visible upon close inspection. However, I learned from that error and pulled out the iron for the second dress which made sewing so much easier and resulted in much cleaner hemline although still far from perfect.

Once I completed this first dress transformation, I couldn’t wait to wear it and I got straight to styling yet another bohemian outfit for spring.

dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion

Initially, I had in mind to wear my maxi gauze beach dress in ivory but then I just wasn’t that into it. Actually, I never even tried it on with my new duster. It probably would look pretty great so I might have to wear them together at some point. Instead I opted for a black cotton maxi sundress with a tiered bottom. I really love that the ruffle on the bottom of the dress reflects the ruffled bottom of the duster.

The dress is super loose and flowy so I belted it for a bit more structure which was needed to balance out the volume of the duster. I added my favorite long floral scarf which has been in constant rotation this season. It is such a wonderful floral print that seems to coordinate perfectly with a lot of my other floral prints for some beautifully fragrant print mixing. I added my new painted sunflower straw hat for a little extra fun. It is the same as the painted rose hat I wore with my other new duster. I wore my white cowgirl boots and completed the outfit with earrings and layered necklaces in coordinating shades of red. And of course, my green Teddy Blake bag because I think green is the best accent color with any and all florals.

The end result is an outfit which makes me feel fabulously like myself! Happy, flowy, bright, and boho. That is me to my core!

dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion
dress upcycled to duster, ditsy floral, black maxi dress, painted cowgirl hat, white cowgirl boots, boho style, bohemian vibes, Shelbee on the Edge, thrifted fashion

Do you think outside the box when it comes to styling wardrobe items or do you feel more comfortable sticking with traditional styling methods?

Featured Favorites
Reader Favorite: Patrick of Adventures in Weseland
Adventures in Weseland
Hayward Hawaiian May Day Festival
Fashion Favorite: Joanne of Slices of Life
Slices of Life
Styling Spring Dresses With Ageless Style
Other Favorite: Esme of Esme Salon
Esme Salon
How to Make Healthy Fibre and Protein-Rich Overnight Oats

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Shelbee

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Outfit Details: Dress turned Duster-Kohl’s (Upcycled to a duster by me) / Black Maxi Dress, Belt, and Scarf-Torrid / Boots-Idyllwind Fueled by Miranda Lambert (Boot Barn) / Bag-Teddy Blake / Hat-Wona Trading / Short Necklace-Old / Two Long Necklaces and Earrings-Thrifted

I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

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