Lace Dress Transformation

- Outfits

Recently I was thinking about how many cocktail or going out dresses I own, and how rarely I wear them anymore.  My girlfriends and I used to get dressed up almost every weekend when we were in college, but now the occasions to throw on a party dress happen much less than they used to.  Last time I counted, I owned 30+ dresses that wouldn’t be office appropriate without some restyling.  So I challenged myself to think of ways to restyle and rewear cocktail dresses for work or other more casual weekend events.  You may remember my post where I transformed a coral cocktail dress into a few other looks, and from there I wanted to do the same with my own closet of dresses.  I thought I’d start with my most recent dress purchase: my 24th birthday dress!  This office look is based off the dress I bought for my birthday masquerade party, you can see more from my birthday post here.

The dress, although gorgeous and classy with the lace, also is a bit short and has a cutout in the back… clearly not work appropriate.  Since I get dressed up for work five days out of the week, I wanted to challenge myself to make a work-appropriate outfit from this dress, so I transformed it into a lace turtleneck by throwing on a gray blazer and a pink floral pencil skirt.  I loved the idea of pairing a floral print skirt with the lace because it makes the ensemble fun. Now I know I own a sexy yet classy black lace dress AND a black lace turtleneck I can wear to work.  Do you transform your cocktail dresses for other everyday ventures? Let me know how you rewear them to make them professional or more casual on the weekends!

Lace Dress – Victoria’s Secret (here)

Floral Skirt – Express (Old)

Blazer – Vintage

Purple Open-Toed Heels – Payless (Old)

Chain Necklace – F21 (Similar here)

 Get the LOOK

Lace Dress Transformed

 

Mango lace t shirt
£30 – mango.com

Boyfriend jacket
$45 – dynamite.ca

Skirt
$132 – thunderlily.com

Platform sandals
$50 – heels.com

 

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15 Comments

  • Reply
    Vicky
    March 3, 2012 at 8:13 AM

    Hey. Great pictures! I follow you & if you like follow me back! 🙂

    The Golden Bun | new post | follow me

  • Reply
    antonella c'est moi
    March 3, 2012 at 8:30 AM

    Like it baby!!!have a nice week-end

  • Reply
    Fashion By Alicia
    March 3, 2012 at 3:01 PM

    Great transformation! The look is totally work appropriate now. Have a great weekend!

  • Reply
    Rach
    March 3, 2012 at 7:45 PM

    love the transformation. I probably have many dresses that would need transformation to be able to wear for work. great job!

    http://www.sugarfilledcloset.com

  • Reply
    Tasia of Ruffles & Sequins
    March 4, 2012 at 2:43 AM

    Ooooo such a great idea Rachel! I’m totally in the same boat as you; I had tons of dressy clubbing shirts in undergrad and now I’ve almost completely phased them out of my wardrobe (mainly because they are low cut hehe). I love that you are experimenting to find more ways to use them – such a inspiration! I love the black cocktail dress as a shirt <3 Great idea girlie!

    Hope you have a fabulous weekend 🙂

  • Reply
    fashionhypnotised
    March 4, 2012 at 7:00 AM

    You look so elegant sweetie! Love your new look, gorgeous!
    xoxo,
    Fashionhypnotised girl

  • Reply
    Kelly
    March 4, 2012 at 3:22 PM

    What a great look! I love how you turned that dress office appropriate. It’s an awesome way to re-work your closet 🙂

  • Reply
    Dora
    March 4, 2012 at 3:41 PM

    That floral skirt fits you like a glove,Rachel! XX

  • Reply
    stylishbynature
    March 4, 2012 at 4:56 PM

    Hey you look gorgeous!!…Would be glad if we can connect at my Lookbook page too

    My Lookbook Page

  • Reply
    Patience
    March 5, 2012 at 5:17 AM

    Such a beautiful dress. I am so in love with lace.

    http://www.justpatience.com

  • Reply
    KATEFP
    March 5, 2012 at 4:19 PM

    You look gorgeous dear *.* your lace dress is so, but so beautiful! :’) kisses, KATEFP

  • Reply
    Jyoti (Style-Delights)
    March 8, 2012 at 5:14 AM

    Wow, you created such gorgeous looks by just one piece! The blazer is so posh! And I love the red gloves – so Kate Middleton! First time on your blog and loving it! Hope you are having a wonderful day!
    -Jyoti
    Style-Delights Blog
    Let’s Twitter Together
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  • Reply
    A New Green Skirt | Rachel's Look Book
    March 10, 2012 at 10:09 AM

    […] is my second post about transforming cocktail dresses into new pieces (you can see the first post here).  I bought this green, embellished dress for New Year’s this year  because I loved the […]

  • Reply
    Laura @ A Little Bit of Lacquer
    March 14, 2012 at 1:29 AM

    Amazing transformation! Love that you took pictures of each step! Thanks so much for linking up to Work It Wednesday! Can’t wait to see what you wear this week!

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