The goal: a complete summer outfit on a tiny budget of $20 (+ creativity and some DIY.)
The place: Value Village in NE, one hour before closing time.

A silk coral skirt transforms into a swingy trapeze dress with the snipping of some armholes. And the ensemble is complete with shoes and accessories all for a grand total of $16.64! I have a brand new summer outfit with a variety of styling options and enough change left over for a beer!

More details after the jump.

On a mission to find something especially light and breezy for these hot and humid days, I started out at the skirt rack. I instantly had the idea of transforming a long skirt into a little swingy dress. After selecting a few different options of ankle-length full circle skirts, I settled on a coral colored crinkle silk number with an elasticized waist band, which works best for this kind of repurposing. I also lucked out on choosi the skirt that happened to be a blue 50% off tag, making it $5 for the cost of my main piece. Next it was on to shoes, but a lady farted right in front of the rack, so I opted to shop the other accessories until the air quality improved.

Browsing through a rather hideous selection of scarves, i found the only two decent options I had to work with; a fringy lime green one practically a steal at $.69 and another silk multicolored scarf that I figured I'd splurge on and maybe use as a headband.

Seeing that the farty lady had left, I made my way back over to the shoes. I instantly found a pair of gently worn kitten heeled mules with a bow the exact color of the dress. But that was too easy, and I knew I'd never wear those because I need something that I'm able to walk in. There were many different options for shoes, but I fell in love with a pair of brown leather Grecian styled sandals. Not too casual, not too dressy; walking-friendly and just right. And the price? A whopping $2.99!

Finding a purse that worked proved to be the biggest challenge. The ones I liked didn't work with the whole ensemble, but I ended up going with a clutch styled purse on a chain, made of what appears to be the upholstery fabric from possibly the ugliest couch in the world. It wasn't my favorite, but it really completed the outfit and cost only $1.99.

And with 20 minutes until closing time I was ready to check out. My total came to a ridiculously low $12.68, so I added on a gold and orange stoned necklace at the counter for a grand total of $16.64.

I cut out two armholes just below the elastic top of the skirt making sure not to cut through the elastic band. I may hem around these or may not (since I broke my sewing machine last night), but it will look good either way. And there it is — a new, recycled, fantastic outfit. I wore it to work today and have already received several compliments!