Missoni is one of those iconic brands that that tends to find its way onto your wishlist, but never on your actual buy list. Because, uh, it’s stupid expensive. I recently got my chance to add it to my closet via a Kijiji swap. I had this pretty DVF wrap dress up for sale – because, let’s face it, my size 4 days are long behind me – and someone contacted me to ask whether I’d be interested in a swap. I took a quick peek at her listings and … hello, classic Missoni knit dress!

Now, this is not a dress that’s entirely within my style wheelhouse; it’s probably a bit too far along the boho-chic spectrum for me, at least as far as everyday wear. However. It is a classic, and pretty much timeless in its own 70s-inspired way. A knit dress never goes amiss in this climate. And I do sometimes like to get my boho on, come the weekend. All in all, I figured it wouldn’t make a bad swap for a dress I would never wear again, and wouldn’t make very much money selling. A classic for a classic, as it were.

Plus, I was intrigued by the colour palette. I rarely wear brown, especially warm-toned browns, so I decided to take up the challenge. And I thought it would pair nicely with this rust brown cardigan that’s been languishing in my closet.

Please excuse my scuffed up boots. Just look at the pretty purse instead. And all the (clashing) shades of brown here.

Anthro lovers out there might recognize this skirt; actually, it used to be a dress. This one:

I thrifted this dress, new with tags, towards the end of my last pregnancy (if memory serves). Basically, I loved the print and figured the size would more or less work – or be made to work – with my post-pregnancy body. Except it didn’t. At all. It was too big in the bust, and gave me the dreaded Strapless Sheath Pooch. (You know what I’m talking about, right?) Even from the best angle, it looked … not good.

I tried to sell it, but quickly realized that I would never get my money back (all $20 of it), and I couldn’t quite bear to part with it for the $5-8 I’d make through consignment. I still really loved the print. What to do? The bottom half of the dress fit nicely, so making it into a skirt seemed like a good solution. (Side note: I used to be really reluctant about drastically altering clothes until I realized that there is nothing special, necessarily, about the original design. It may or may not be the ideal design for my body or preferences. If your chances of recouping a good portion of the purchase price through resale are low, I say go ahead and alter clothes to your heart’s content.)

All in all, I think things all turned out for the better. In my line of work, one can never have too many cute pencil skirts. Can’t say the same about Strapless Sheath Pooch.