DIY Refashion: Men's Tee into Peplum Tee

Now that I'm a stay at home mom, I don't quite have the clothes shopping budget that I used to have and take for granted. It's been quite the adjustment, believe me! I looooove clothes (what normal woman doesn't?) but I also like having food on the table and bills being paid on time so clothes shopping has been completely wiped off my list of to-do's.

With the long dreary winter and my new role at home, I just didn't feel the need to update my wardrobe. I live in my jammies most days anyway. The only times I needed to really "dress up" was when I went to the grocery store but sometimes, I didn't even bother matching my outfit because my long wool coat covered me from shoulders to knees. All anyone saw if they deigned to look at me were my pants and boots. And yes, I'm ashamed to admit- sometimes I even wore the jammie pants out if it was just a quick run I had to make. I used to balk at women who did that before. Now, sadly, I'm one of them!

Now that I can smell spring coming, I'm determined to clean myself up and present myself in public with some dignity since I can't wear that long coat anymore without drawing more attention than I need! So what's  a broke mama to do? Why- refashion my old stuff or cheap stuff I find at thrift stores of course! I enjoy sewing and I've made a few modest things here and there. Later, I'll share the dresses I refashioned for my daughter. Yes, sadly, I will not be buying her a ton of dresses every spring like I used to. She'll get a new one or two, but most will be made using her old ones.

Before: a too large t-shirt.

Anyway, back to MY refashion! I'm really loving those peplum tops I've been seeing just about EVERYWHERE but I needed something more casual for everyday wear that would still look cool and fashion forward. I saw a peplum tee refashion somewhere on Pinterest and knew I'd found what I was looking for. So while I was grocery shopping at Walmart yesterday, I passed through the men's section and saw that they had a couple $5 clearance racks. I browsed through and found this awesome Beatles Yellow Submarine black tee shirt in a size large. Bingo!

A few pins here and there, some cutting, some sewing back together and voila: a cute peplum tee in my size! I love it and am looking forward to making a few more for myself and my daughter. They look great with colored skinny jeans and flats: my usual spring go-to outfit.

After: a fitted, flared, and  fashion-forward top.

And I must apologize for my dusty mirror in the "after" shot. You can tell I haven't used it all winter long, lol! It's amazing what you can do with a big tee shirt, isn't it? I'm off to make a few more refashions in different styles! Hope this inspires all you stay at home moms to start vamping up your spring wardrobes on the cheap! I'm going to really enjoy doing mine and I'll share some more of my refashions as I create them, including the stuff I made for my little girl! Happy spring sewing!