What a good Kenmore and a little imagination can do.

I bought this dress at a random Adam+Eve sample sale in the Chelsea Market in NYC two years ago.  It would normally retail for about $300 (it's cashmere, wool and silk) and was selling for $25.  I had to buy it--even the material alone would cost more than $25. 

But I never wore it because it didn't fit well and was waaaay too revealing.  My sewing teacher: "Well, modesty might not be an issue for you."  I told her no, I hated it, let's do something with this.  So we decided to pull the band up over the chest to cover it, cut off the bikini-like top, and turn it into straps.  Voila. The before, and the after.