How to Make-Over an Old Homecoming Dress

How to Make-Over an Old Homecoming Dress

Homecoming has become so expensive with the dress, the hair and the make-up, and the accessories, that some girls are now trying to re-fashion last year’s homecoming dress and use it again.

Girls spend way more than their dates do on Homecoming because the price of formal dresses, accessories, shoes, and hair and make-up add up really fast. These costs may deter some teens from going as they feel Homecoming is all about the dress and making a fabulous statement. While it’s a big part of it, Homecoming is more a about celebrating your years in high school together. Therefore, girls are starting to find ways to reuse last year’s homecoming dress and make it look new so they can still have fun.

Tips for Re-fashioning Last Year’s Homecoming Dress

• Check your closet for a basic black dress or a solid color dress. If you don’t have one, buy one from the Promdressshop.com on sale. They carry dresses as low as $49 to $99.

• Consider re-vamping your dress in ways where you don’t even have to sew and only use other items of clothing or accessories to change the look. For example, if you want a sleek and elegant look, take last year’s strapless little black dress and wear it over a sheer black top. Add some beading to your dress, as well as jewelry and shoes in a similar tone and you’re good to go.

• Change the look of your homecoming dress by adding certain details. A popular trend is to add a colored crinoline underneath your short homecoming dress as it will totally change the look. Fun, fashion details have become trendy such as adding a colored belt, sewing on a collection of brooches, hot-gluing sequins, or even just adding a leather jacket over your dress for an almost rocker-chic look.  These are all ways of getting short homecoming dresses at an affordable price.

• Use a few snips and tucks to shorten longer homecoming dresses or change necklines. Decide if you want to change anything about the neckline, such as remove a brooch or make it a halter-style and do that first. After you’ve adjusted those, model the dress again, and ask someone to pin the dress where you’d like the new hemline to be. After that, lay your dress flat on a cutting mat and mark it before trimming it. You can choose to cut it straight or some dresses benefit from an asymmetrical hemline or even some ruffling at the bottom.

• Consider dyeing and altering your dress if you are crafty and experienced with fabrics. If you want to totally change the look of a dress, dye it carefully. Begin by filling your bathtub with hot water and then add salt, vinegar, and bottle of colored dye. Wine dye will produce a lovely pink homecoming dress. Add your dress and stir it while it soaks for an hour. Then rinse it thoroughly and allow it to air dry by hanging it over the shower rod. Once it’s dry, it’s time to alter. Bring up the hemline or alter the bodice, whatever needs work, and remember to use pink thread so it matches your new homecoming dress.

DIY Homecoming and re-vamping homecoming dresses has become a popular trend in 2015. Will it stick around in 2016? Are you planning to buy a new homecoming dress or try to re-fashion an older one?