We had a mostly lazy weekend and I don’t feel like I really accomplished much of what I wanted. But Burton and I spend a good part of Sunday tackling a task I’ve been been putting off.

Some long overdue alterations to some recent dress purchases.

There’s a store, that I love, called Torrid. They make beautiful, stylish clothing for plus-sized ladies like me. And quite a few of them are made from 100% cotton – which I don’t need to tell you, can be very hard to find these days. They also put POCKETS in most of their dresses. And let me tell you, I’m never buying a dress without pockets EVER again!!!!

So when I get a dress delivered, and it’s not quite right, I’m more than willing to make some alterations to make it suit me better. (And thankfully capable, thanks to a Mom who taught me how to ply a needle and thread)

This dress is a prime example. I’m not a super big fan of halter next dresses. I find the bother my neck. Otherwise, I absolutely loved the style, and the print. So I bought this dress knowing that I could turn those ties into two regular shoulder straps pretty easily. What I wasn’t so sure of was that opening at the back. Don’t get me started on WHY it’s open at the back… let alone on a plus-size dress. But I tried to have an open mind and see how it looked on my body. In the end, it did exactly what I thought it would do, and highlighted my back chub in the MOST unflattering way. So it got sewn up by hand, as well.

On not one, but TWO versions of the dress (green floral and this lovely dark purple). The dress is much more wearable now.

The next dress was a little easier. I bought this dress last year in a different print. While I absolutely love it and feel like a total princess in it, the big bows on my shoulders just looked silly, not to mention they drove me nuts, catching on my hair, earrings, anything that got near them. I turned them into regular straps instead of tie up straps, and the dress was absolutely perfect. When this print came up last month, I just had to have it too. So like the first, one, I turned those tie up straps into solid, sewn straps.

This next dress is part of their “Retro Chic” line. It’s green, and covered in cute little foxes. Of course, I had to have it! I have several dresses from this line, and love them all (they also make crinolines to wear under them to give them extra poof so of course, I bought a few colours.) But for some unfathomable reason, they decided NOT to put strap adjusters on this one. It wasn’t a surprise that the straps were too long for me, but at least it was an easy fix.

This last dress is the third one I’ve bought in this style (I have a turquoise floral and a black/brown plaid). And while the dress is super cute, classic and oh-so-wearable, they all have the same problem – the back hangs too low, showing the top of my bra strap. And while I can’t see it unless I look in the mirror, knowing it’s showing drives me absolutely crazy. The fix involved unpicking the casing on each sleeve at the neckline, shortening the elastic, and sewing it all back up. Easy enough, but very time consuming.

So, that’s five new dresses to add to my closet, already overflowing with dresses. But the one who dies with the most dresses wins, right?