Dots and Gingham (With a Before & After Skirt Alteration)

Rescued from the mangled trenches of the sale rack, this Banana Republic skirt was on my list of items to check out earlier this season, but sold out quicker than I could get my act together. It must have been a return, because it certainly wasn’t there the last time I was in store. It was a big fit, and some of the embroidered threads that make the polka-dot print had been pulled from rough handling, but I snatched it up immediately.

Before alterations – it sat too low on my waist, was a bit too long, and had no shape on my figure:

And, here she is now:

After a waistband adjustment, side slimming and shortening * (it looks a bit shorter in these photos – due to an upward camera angle – than it is in real life. Luckily most people look down on me rather than up…ha! **), I knew exactly what outfit I wanted to put together for it’s inaugural voyage. This pin (from this blog, which is becoming a new must read for me) has been sitting in my Pinterest boards for months, and always in the back of my mind as something I’d like to recreate.

* Note 1 – Thank you to the helpful ladies on Twitter who gave me tips to fix the loose embroidery threads! After an evening of unsuccessful attempts to fix them myself, I pointed them out to my tailor to see if there was anything she could do. When I picked up the skirt a week later, she was kind enough to have fixed them, free of charge. San Diego ladies…Kim’s Alterations in Encinitas has been great for simple alterations (she’s great with denim), and then Francois of La Moda has been handling my complicated alterations flawlessly.

** Note 2 – Fellow shorties…do you ever look in the mirror at your outfit and think it looks great, only to see photos of you in that same outfit, by someone taller (so the photo was taken from above), where you look dowdy? That’s happened to me quite a few times now, and usually in skirts that I’ve left a little longer, around mid-knee or so.  Since most people see me from above, I’m experimenting with hemming my skirts at least to the top of the knee to try and avoid this.

This is definitely a new favorite, and I foresee this outfit on repeat all summer long.

Outfit Details – J.Crew Crewcuts shirt (post) :: Banana Republic skirt (altered) (similar at a steal) (interesting silhouette) :: Ann Taylor belt :: Jimmy Choo shoes :: Chanel handbag :: Kate Spade watch (customized) :: Pearl bracelets :: J.Crew necklace :: Loud Love Jewelry ring (c/0) :: Essie Ole Caliente nail color