From Dress to Tunic: What to do when your Favorite Minidress Shrinks

Hello! We've all been there before: rushing around to do three loads of laundry in less time than it should take as we hurry to check everything else off our "to-do" list and still step out the door in time for whatever meeting, work commitment, etc. that's waiting for you. It happens. Okay, maybe it happens to me about every week or two. Doing laundry is not always a top priority especially when free time is limited. But when it happens, you also run the risk of ruining your favorite dress/romper/top that absolutely cannot go in the washer/dryer. You may not spot it in your laundry basket and in your rush, accidentally toss it in with your laundry. And when you're folding your laundry and realize your mistake, you decide to try it on only to discover it has shrunk about two sizes and that dress that hit you mid-thigh now hits you nowhere close to an acceptable length.

So what do you do? Rethink that garment. It's not dead yet, it just needs to be re-imagined, re-worked. And dear god, please do not toss it in the trash can. It breaks my heart to know that there are people who literally throw away clothing in the trash can. No, no, no, no; please take it and even if you can't re-work it, please donate it to someone who can instead of filling up yet another landfill.

Recently, I encountered exactly the situation that I described above, which is actually what prompted this post. I accidentally sent my absolute favorite minidress through the washer/dryer without fully realizing it only to pull it out of my clean laundry basket to almost burst out in tears when I saw how short it had gotten. There's no way that this beauty will ever be worn as a dress again (unless I sew a layer underneath the dress to create a tiered dress and now that's an idea I may just try out...stay tuned.) However, the retro print, rich colors and flowy silhouette definitely make it a piece that I want to stay in my wardrobe. So I decided to re-imagine the dress as a tunic instead of a dress. And hey, it works.

For this look, I slipped a rich pink turtleneck under the dress to make it slightly more winter-appropriate and styled it with a sleek pair of black denim. I'm actually ecstatic about how this dress works as a tunic and may like it now more than ever despite the little laundry fiasco. I styled it with a statement pink coat, vintage pink purse and stylish black booties to play up the colors in the dress/tunic. Simple details like a chic pair of cat-eye sunglasses, clay tassel necklace and a bright pop of pink lipstick pulled the look together.

Black denim: BDG via Urban Outfitters
Floral dress/tunic: Urban Outfitters
Black booties: Jeffrey Campbell via Urban Outfitters
Pink purse: Vintage
Cat-eye sunglasses: Rumors
Lipstick: ColourPop in "Fetch"
Clay tassel necklace: ShopGlister

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