Vestoration

Even from the eBay picture, I could tell this dress was a little wonky (what's with the bulgy lines where there should just be a straight one?), but I let my love for the contrasting stripe of green win out over my skepticism.

My skepticism was correct, though; there was nothing wearable about this dress. It had an unflattering U-shaped hem leading into side vents, and the front looked like it had just been sewn together in a couple of places as an afterthought. I suspect that it had started out as a vest and the original owner had tried unsuccessfully to convert it to a dress. 

I converted it back. It was a simple matter of removing 5 lines of stitches from the front, and then I had an open-front vest!

I wore it over my sequined white dress (because all-over sequins can be a little too much for the office) paired with white shoes and greenish lucite heels.

 

My photographer spoke disparagingly of the vest as a "smock" (I'm surprised he was willing to take my picture at all, considering how much he apparently hated the outfit), but I still like it. I might do something about the U-shaped hem, though. Although splitting the front made it less obvious, I'm still not a fan.