155 The Faux Convertible Garment experiment
Above: Drop shoulder blouse worn as toga.
19 January 2009- Ah, convertible garments! I love them because they appeal to my experimental nature in fashion. From American Apparel and Victoria's Secret to the higher end Abyzz and Butter by Nadia, the convertible is a multifunctional piece of clothing that can be worn in many ways. But you do not need a garment, specially designed to be convertible, in order to wear a single piece in multiple ways. The key thing here is to take something in your wardrobe with elasticity and straps or sleeves, then let your creativity run wild in experiment. Yes, today I am not going to play with the different ways of wearing a specially designed convertible blouse. Instead, I am taking a humble blouse from my wardrobe, which I feel has the characteristics to be treated like a convertible piece.
Said blouse is a pink drop shoulder number with V-neck, drape front, and cross-back from Roses in the Loft. Pictures of it worn in its original form may be found here. From playing around with the sleeves of my blouse and the elastic back, I have discovered about four different styles of wearing the same piece. Apart from 1. its original drop shoulder form, I can also possibly wear my top as a 2. toga, 3. corset, and 4. pull it down to act as a skirt. In the following pictures, I have chosen to try it out as a toga.
Today's outfit starts with me throwing on a grey sleeveless bubble dress - the 'petticoat'. I then put on my pink blouse, pulling the right sleeve up so that it will be sleeveless rather than drop shoulder, after which I tuck the left sleeve into the smocked back of my bodice to form a toga. Next, I slip on my high waisted pinstripe skirt. This skirt is shorter than my inner dress, so the bubble hem of the latter peaks out under the skirt, like a floaty tutu or can-can.
grey asymmetrical bubble dress (inner layer) - Hong Kong
pink blouse with drape front and cross-back worn as toga (outer layer) - Roses in the Loft
grey pinstripe skirt last worn here - made by mum
asymmetrical ballerina earstuds in the style of Les Néréides - pushcart at VivoCity
white shoes with scallop edges and cutouts last worn here - August Ryan
Accompanying me in my tutu skirt today are two little ballerinas...
..and my scallop trimmed, lacy heels.
I rather enjoyed wearing my blouse as a toga. Perhaps this was because I did not have to worry about it slipping off, since I was wearing a dress inside. My only gripe was that the back of my toga looked rather weird with one strap running across my back, but since my hair covered that most of the time, what you couldn't see didn't really matter.
21 August 2009- Now the blouse is a bandage skirt, and my V-neck becomes a Basque drop waist. To secure the sleeves of my skirt in place, I tuck them in at the sides.
white ruffle neck blouse with pearl buttons - Sixties Inspired Design Studio
pink blouse with drape front and cross-back worn as skirt - Roses in the Loft
bird nest earrings - Hong Kong
nude pointy ballet flats - prettyFIT
This is how the back of my makeshift skirt looks like (I am wearing a different top here). You can see how essentially to create this style, the cross-back straps have simply been pulled down to cover the bodice. Compare with the original look of the back here.
Together with my 'new' skirt, I put on a pair of newly acquired ballet flats. They elongate my legs with their nude colour and pointy toe.
(For anyone who is interested in learning how to care for your nude shoes, the sales assistant taught me how to remove marks on faux leather shoes. Pour a small amount of medicated oil onto a cotton pad and wipe gently.)
My final touch to today's experimental outfit is this pair of silver and pearl earrings. I am sorry to say Mother Bird has been careless with her pearl eggs. She has dropped half a dozen of them down the front of my shirt (see above pearl shirt buttons).
Bird nest earrings when worn.
How did my day wearing my blouse as a skirt go? Although I clearly loved the look of my bandage skirt, I was afraid of ruining the elasticity of the garment. I also had to be extra particular about my movements, so that the tucked-in sleeves will not accidentally fall out to my utter humiliation. As a result, I did not wear my blouse as a skirt comfortably.