Recycling A Dress By Burke Does

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Every girl knows the hassle it is to wear a dress you’ve already worn. If it’s a dress you love, you can want to wear it all the time, but you would all be lying if you don’t admit that there is a stigma. I don’t have a large wardrobe- and, frankly, I don’t want one- but that means I have to work that much harder to be creative with what I do wear.

This for example is one of my favorite dresses.


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1. I wore it for the first time when I met Casey’s mom (just realizing that was over a year and a half ago. Where is time going?!). I just gotten it from Forever 21 for $12 bucks and thought it would be perfect for the occasion as it was most feminine and modest.

2. This dress made an appearance at the Kappa National Convention in Houston (#kkghouston on social media) in June 2014. Here I am pictured taking a selfie with then-Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity President Julie Leshay.

3. Last Thanksgiving, I wore this dress for family dinner. My sister and I sure do look like sisters, don’t we? Also, she’s about three hair colors later now.

4. One of the perks of having a sister is that we get to share clothes, and this is a dress we’ve definitely shared. Here Laura is wearing the dress at Selaron Steps in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

I’ve worn this dress in many different places, with many different people, in different levels of formalities. This dress isn’t exhausted, though, and I’m not ready to just give it up. I want to keep wearing this dress, and not just with different crowds of people, so this week I brainstormed new ways I could recycle this dress.

When I looked into my closet, I saw this perfect wine/deep red sweater that I didn’t even know I owned! I don’t remember even seeing this sweater before!


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I put this sweater over the dress and now I went from having a dress, to having a dress and a sweater skirt combo. With earrings and a necklace, suddenly I’ve taken the outfit to another level and turned one dress into three outfits.

There is a real and legitimate value in being able to have flexible clothing pieces. I don’t like to accumulate things- I like to accumulate experiences, so I’d much rather not spending money on more clothes than I need.


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A flexible piece like this, too, can go from a casual day dress to appropriate for work. Being able to make multiple levels of formality out of one base outfit that can be customized in many different ways means I get the chance to expand my wardrobe with out taking up any additional closet space!

Do you have an outfit that you like to mix to look like a new outfit? I’d love to see some of yours too!

 photo BD-grab-button_zpsyy03uy91.pngAuthor Information

Emilie is a recent Princeton University grad, currently living in Baltimore, MD. She is half of the brains behind BurkeDoes.com, a lifestyle blog by the two sisters. Together, they write about the struggles of long-distance sisterhood, life management tips, their favorite art projects, and their obsession with food. She also makes to do lists at MyToDoList.Me. You can follow her around the web: Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Pinterest. Bloglovin’