Shamrock Dress: Thrifty Tricks for Modest Sporty Women

Low-budget fashion tips to keep you stylish, safe, and covered while active outdoors

Dress Upcycling Technique #1

Modesty Challenge:

What to wear for outdoor cycling and gardening activities? I want modest garments covering me from neck to knees while allowing easy, safe movement, with expectation of getting grubby and sweaty.

Dollar Challenge:

Try not to spend money on it, because my income doesn't include a clothing budget. 🤔😬

My Solutions:

I found a lined cotton voile tunic dress at nearby SaveMart recycled clothing shop. (NZ$8)

It was too tight, too short, too revealing. But I could fix all those.

For improved fit, I cut two button holes centrefront and hand-edged them with buttonhole stitch. I snipped the tight elastic waistband and pulled it out, and replaced this with a longer elastic with cord ties stitched to the ends. I pulled the ties to a comfortable width, and secured with an elegant knot. (Notions sourced from my haberdashery stash.)

Next, I stitched the gaping bodice-front closed, and made it look intentional with a decorative button. (Purpose-bought, about 50 cents.)

I sewed a simple dome-front blouse to wear under the dress, covering back and shoulders and filling in the low neckline. (Cotton voile from my fabric stash.) For cooler temperatures, I can wear layers of long-sleeved knit tops under the dress.

If I had found suitable fabric, I would have lengthened the dress to just below my knees, but I wasn't able to fix this dress in that manner. Instead...

I sewed wide-leg trousers to wear under the dress. (Calico from my fabric stash.) These are perfect for gardening, but the wide cuffs are dangerous on the bike. The legs don't have enough length to clamp around my ankles, so for cycling, I bought a pair of green chinos with close-fitting ankles. ($8 from SaveMart.)

Above are the calico wide-leg pants worn with a different tunic. The outfit got a sartorial upgrade for the photo with floral hat, hair ribbon, and leather sandals. In the garden, I'd be wearing rubber jandals and a sturdy, easy-to-launder hat.

The blue tunic ($8 from SaveMart) might look dainty, but it's been fabulous for gardening. I love that I can look feminine even when I'm sweating in the dirt.

Learning the clothing tricks defined in this post has vastly increased the quantity of secondhand garments that are useful to me. I no longer feel so limited or frustrated by my clothing options.

Look out for more Boutique Narelle posts detailing liberating modest fashion techniques.

Fiat lux!
Narelle

Green Yoked Tunic Dress: Smart Fashion Tricks for Modest Women on a Budget

Following on from my post about the Speedy Tank Dress

Cotton knit doesn't hold its shape very long. Last year I looked at a favourite cami dress with its saggy top end and pondered how could I upcycle the bottom end, which still looked fresh and pretty.

Skirt Upcycling Technique #2: 

Yoked Tunic Dress

I came up with a new technique, turning a skirt into a tunic dress by setting the skirt's waist under the armpits and sewing a bodice yoke to the skirt waist band.

The old skirt's pockets are still present and useful, just set a little higher than you'd expect. The skirt is lined. The yoke is lined and interfaced. The dress is extremely comfortable to wear. The only quibble I have with this silhouette is the knowledge I'd better maintain good posture or I'll look pregnant, lol.

Now you know a fabulous trick for upcycling a secondhand skirt into a new and gorgeous dress for very little cost.

Look out for more Boutique Narelle posts detailing liberating modest fashion techniques.

Fiat lux!

Narelle

Speedy Tank Dress: Smart Fashion Tricks for Modest Women on a Budget

Some of my clothing has gone through multiple makeovers. If part of the garment has got tired, stained, or no longer fits, but I like the rest of the fabric, I look for a way to upcycle it.

Skirt Upcycling Technique #1:

Speedy Tank Dress

Five years ago, I suddenly needed new modest dresses, and I hit upon a quick way to get them. I bought a cotton knit tank top or camisole, prepared a skirt to match, and sewed the two together at the waist.

I call it the Tank Dress or Cami Dress. Using this technique, I made three new dresses in a week. 😮

Four Things I Learned

1. Use a sturdy knit. Very stretchy knit can't support the weight of the skirt hanging from it.

2. Layering a knit camisole over the skirt waist or sewing tucks to shorten it creates too much fabric movement. (Ladies, fequent twitching of your clothes is to be avoided.)

3. In contrast, layering or sewing tucks in a woven tank to shorten it does work if the lines are evenly arranged and kept below belly button level.

4. Cut the bottom off the camisole so the skirt waist sits at your natural waist. This gives the best coverage for you, the best support for the skirt, and allows a blouse to be worn over top without the camisole hem showing.

Now you know a fabulous trick for upcycling a secondhand skirt into a new and gorgeous dress for very little cost.

Look out for more Boutique Narelle posts detailing liberating modest fashion techniques.

Fiat lux!
Narelle

Your Lifestyle, and Modest Clothing Choices

Your lifestyle strongly impacts the kind of clothing you wear.

Blast from a Long-Hemmed Past

Sample of my 2019 Outdoor Lifestyle

In 2015, my lifestyle changed dramatically. In the space of four months I went from being a clean, intellectual indoors lady to an grubby, active outdoors lady who needed to be able to jump on a bicycle with five minutes' notice. My clothing style had to change to accommodate this.

Upcycling

I didn't have any clothing budget to speak of, so I mostly adapted the dresses I had, with the addition of fabric from my stash and thrifted trousers from SaveMart. In the next few posts I will share some of the upcycled outfits I created to allow me an active outdoor lifestyle and yet still feel like a lady and be modest.

Adapting

I tried very hard to find a way to stay with my ankle-length dresses, but they simply weren't safe when working with tools, moving up and down steps with my hands full, or on the bicycle available to me.

Modest Cucumber, Summer 2019

Modest Cucumber, Summer 2018

I found that ankle-fitting trousers and an A-line dress hemmed just below the knee work best for cycling. Wide-legged trousers and a shirt-dress (tunic) hemmed just above the knee work best when I'm in the garden.

Climbing a steep and slippery hillside...

 ...on a frigid day in the New Zealand bush

Another problem was that my preferred light tints couldn't elegantly sustain exposure to dirty environments. Even my dress-nicely social outing spaces weren't safe.

I remember how heartbroken I was when my ivory cashmere coat warmly embraced a large piece of chocolate cake in my sit-upon area. Not a good look for a well-groomed lady. Nothing I tried would remove the stain. Light-coloured, sensitive fabrics have been retired until my life has more clean places in it.

Touring a Medical Flight Facility

Climbing around in that small space is challenging!

Assessing

I encourage you to assess your individual lifestyle and the activities you're involved with, and have the courage to make clothing choices that are best suited to your preferences AND your needs in those situations.

Don't limit your options to what everybody else wears or says is acceptable or expected. Give yourself space to adapt. (My style transition took a couple of years.) Be creative. Be you.

Fiat lux.
Narelle

Explore your world!