Lavish Luxury Handbags- Fashionjenn

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While I was digging through my closets doing some much needed purging, I found an old garment bag containing a navy blue wool coat that had been given to me by my grandmother. I took it out and gave it the once over wondering what in the world I was ever going to do with it. I didn’t want to donate it since it was one of two items she had given me before she passed away but it was quite large for me and the shoulder pads made me look like I was wearing football pads underneath it. I put the coat back in the garment bag and forgot about it. Over the holiday I thought again about the coat and decided I would re-construct it into something I could wear and enjoy.

The Coat "Before"

I began by removing the velvet collar and shoulder pads, I kept the collar because I thought it might be useful for another project but the shoulder pads went straight into the trash!

I measured the coat to mid thigh length, marked it and began to seperate the lining and cut away the excess fabric from the bottom. Once the basic disassembly was complete I put it back on “Sophia” my lovely dress form and began marking the inner seams to tailor the coat to my size.

I re-used the fabric that had been cut from the bottom of the coat to create a large collar that could be pulled up around the neck. I love dramatic collars and they are great for keeping out the wind if you happen to forget your scarf.

While shopping this year I picked up two great pair of long winter gloves so I simply had to create a three quarter length sleeve. I love vintage inspired fashion so shortening the sleeves seemed to be a perfect fit for my new gloves.

The "New" Re-Styled Coat

Since I still had the velvet collar left I thought it might be a fun idea to make it into an accessory. First I machine stitched a left over fleur di lis that I had screen printed onto a piece of green vinyl and then hand stitched the open seam where it had been removed from the neckline of the coat.

After digging through the piles of vintage jewelry pieces, chains and buttons I collect from every place imaginable I found a few accents I thought might work. (It is after all a complete matter of personal taste when creating such an accessory.) I wanted something that looked a bit military inspired so I chose some gold buttons with chain accents and a few charms.

Re-Styled Coat Collar Neck Accessory

Re-Styled Coat Collar Neck Accessory

There is something very satisfying about turning something old into something new, it’s a great feeling to put it on and wear it out knowing that in it’s former life it belonged to my grandmother.

And I’m not exactly sure how or when I’ll bust out the new collar accessory, but I’m sure I’ll find the perfect opportunity to wear it!