//Spring greens//

In 2009 I purchased a cream flamenca-style shell top to wear to a friend's [lovely, joyous] wedding, and the top performed its duties on the day admirably. But … what next? Sartorial exile in clear-walled prison of a dry-cleaning bag? The bin? Or … rehabilitation?

My cream flamenca-style shell top had spent almost 2 years Anne Frank-ing it under my bed when I extracted it to prove that the rehabilitation of wedding guest wear is possible; that you can have fun with a one-off look and later massage it into an item with wider application. Or, at the very least, you can try.

The job was a two-part-er:

//Task 1: De-ruffle-ification// Having carefully unpicked the stitches anchoring the parasitic ruffle to its host shell, a few hand-sewn stitches were all that was need to give it a polished finish. What struck me working with this gorgeous silk shell (I wish you could touch it, dear reader), was the fabric's ability to "heal" itself; punctures in the fabric closed up hours after the violent stitch is removed, and by the end of dying process they were completely gone.

//Task 2: Re-colour-ification// On a roll after my Coat Therapy post, I dipped back into the Dylon collection and, taking inspiration from the season unfolding around me, selected a dye called Rainforest Green.

I couldn't be happier with the result. It's got pop and wearability and the rebirth of this gem is what Spring is all about.

xo Linds.

[nude belt, asos]

... the original ...