Taking in a Dress that Doesn't Fit

Remember a few posts back I wrote about "resizing a dress that doesn't fit?" Well this post is just the opposite. I found this dress for $5 at a resale shop. It's in great condition with the exception of a few tears in the seam along the hip/leg. But that's okay because I'm going to take it in. The original size tag was removed from this dress but the store tag estimated it to be size 13-14, which is 3 sizes too big for me, so more material to work with!

Here is the dress on my dress mannequin. Size aside, the dress style is totally unflattering. If you removed the elastic band on the inside of the waist, you'd have a big rectangle of fabric, shapeless. Overall, the dress needs to be taken in, top and bottom.

Also, if you look at the way the dress hangs, the elastic should be at the natural waistline of the wearer, but when I tried it on, it sat several inches lower. So, the waist needs to be lifted which I will do by taking it up in the shoulders. 

Now, look at the droopy sleeves, if you look at the profile shot below, you'll see that there are intentional slits on the arms. Another unflattering addition. I'm going to cut off the sleeves and make an elegant, boat-necked tank dress out of this glorified potato sack! 

Obviously I didn't fall in love with the style of the dress but the zig-zag pattern in emerald and navy. 

Since I'm laid up right now 24 hours post-knee surgery, I can't finish this project right now. But come back in a few weeks and I hope to be done with it. Here is what it'll eventually look like (except it'll be about knee length):

In the meantime, since the dress is just laying around, I'd love to hear your ideas for an alternate remake. Post your comment below or, if you're too shy, e-mail me!