Un-Flounced

Dress? Vintage, gift Shoes? Jeffrey Campbell Purse? Tignanello, thrifted

My parents gave this vintage dress to me a few years ago. They weren't sure I would actually wear it or even fit it but they knew I would appreciate the workmanship of the embroidery, the pin tucks and the crochet panels. All that work was done by hand; someone spent a lot of time making this dress. And while I enjoy the dress on a hanger, I really did want to wear it out too. For a blasphemous minute I thought about hemming the dress to update the look but then I mentally reprimanded myself for even thinking of such a thing. I am really, really cautious with the scissors around a vintage garment. Surprisingly the need to flaunt my legs is trumped by the respect I have for quality vintage. 

After a thorough inspection, I realized I could remove the big flouncy section of the sleeves without damaging the crochet panel. And removing that extra flounce suddenly made the dress so very wearable. In a moment of future preparation, I put those extra flounces carefully away in one of my sewing drawers, in case I ever want to re-attach them. I doubt it though. I change my mind about hem lengths, my hair and sandwiches at Subway but I don't think I am ever going to get into fussy sleeves.