DIY and OOTD: Fall Tie Dye Fashion

It’s almost September, which means it’s almost time for my favorite time of year. You already know what I’m talking about, fall! We are currently in a time of season transition. I like to incorporate fall colors and themes into my end of the summer wardrobe to make the seasons click like my heels. This is the perfect time to reuse summer fashion staples, but put a fresh autumn spin on them.

A few months ago, one of my favorite cutout dresses sustained some water damage. I believe I’ve mentioned this before in my others posts, but I’m going to reiterate the fact that I love a good cutout dress. A dress with some simple missing fabric in the right spots can turn a bland frock into over the top. For someone who is curvy such as I, it’s a great way to accentuate the gifts God created. This brightly colored orange dress was now covered in random mildew stains. At first when I discovered the damage on my dress I was devastated. I washed it and soaked it, but I was not able to remove any of the mildew stains. I refused to give up on this dress and came up with another plan.

I absolutely adore this dress because it’s light, bright, it fits me wonderfully and it has pockets! I also didn’t mention the fact that this dress is made of 100% recycled materials. As an environmentalist, I could not let a few stains allow me to toss this perfectly wearable and fabulous frock. After evaluating the dress and the stains I was reminded of Jackson Pollock and a Rorschach inkblot test. With fall approaching on the horizon I became inspired and found a way to salvage and upgrade my dress with a unique abstract print, aka tie dye. I went to my neighborhood craft store and purchased a tie dye kit. Once I arrived home I prepped my dress and went to work.

The project was super simple to do and the results turned out amazing. Here’s how I recreated my new upcycled fall cutout dress.

DIY instructions and details on my outfit below.