A Vintage Wedding Gown Get's Prom-Ready

My daughter was asked to the prom ( last week ! )

and she wanted a vintage prom dress

I work well under pressure but ...

I had my doubts we could pull something off this last minute

We pushed up our sleeves put on our foolish optomism hats

and headed out to the antique stores. 

Low and behold ( cue the angels )

we scored a GORGEOUS 1950's wedding gown at a shop called Gypsies.

It fit like a dream, was in pristine condition

and best of all ?  It was only 65.00 !

Before ...

After ...

Here's how we did it:

We 1st removed the old sleeves & purchased some white tulle
for the new straps. ( yes, you CAN dye tulle ! )

Saving the old sleeves to experiment with the dye,
we made the perfect shade of vintage robins egg blue using
regular liquid Aquamarine, Teal and Tan RIT dyes.

Using 2 xtra large Rubbermaid containers
one was filled with water
and the other with a tepid dye mixture
( we started the dye bath by diluting all the colors
in hot water 1st and then mixing and stirring it in well with cool water )

We dipped the dress in the clean water
pulled it out and carefully shook out the excess water ( never wring )

then dipped the dress and tulle in the dye bath swishing it around
with a big plastic spoon to ensure even coloring. 
The longer you leave it in the darker it gets.
When you're happy with the color just put it back in the clean water,
swish it around and add more water till the rinse water is clear.

We hung it on a hanger with strong plastic clips ( metal can rust )
and let it dry in the sun.

Sewed the armholes, added the new dyed tulle straps,
cut and hemmed the length

... and voila !  A happy girl in a pretty dress !