Prairie Dress Reform: Part 2

praHere's a prairie dress that didn't need too much work. I originally bought it thinking it would be a fun alternative to the typical maxi dress that was out in stores, but the lace was stiffer than I thought it would be. I took a couple of close-up photographs so that you could see the pattern on the dress. It's hard to see from afar, but they're just the brightest bunch of pastel bouquets.

Before:

After:

Prairie Dress Reform Pt.1

I know what you're thinking, "Part One?" My answer, "Totally!" What you read is true, this is part one in a series of prairie dress reform posts. You may have read in an earlier post about how a color scheme seemed to snowball it's way into my wardrobe and hasn't stopped. Well it seems the compulsion has struck again, only now instead of colors, it's a prairie theme. This should be nothing new to those of you who've seen me lately, but it all started last summer when I impulsively bought a country dance circle skirt on ebay (verily the most comfortable skirt in the entire universe, and twirly-fabulous, too!). I quickly ramped up in courage and started buying things with big ruffled collars and yards of fabric, most homemade, or easily alterable if needed. I'm not claiming to be a skilled seamstress or anything, but I have made a fair share of adjustments to my own vintage wardrobe, knowing full well that these items could get an awesome second-life out of me if I could personalize them to my tastes a bit more. I know a lot of gals have an aversion to compromising the original integrity of their one-of-a-kind steals, but you'll get more lovin' out of the piece if you really like it, so be brave and personalize it!
For this cutie, I snipped off some length and removed a pair of dowdy old billowing sleeves (yes, there were sleeves beneath those arm ruffles, very generous sleeves at that) and voila! She looks like a completely different number than she was before. I tried to find photos of her from 'before,' *sigh* none to be found, you'll just have to trust me on this one!