High school prom is a special occasion. Girls in their fancy gowns and boys in their rented tuxedos spend the evening laughing, dancing, and eating like royalty. When it’s over, the tuxedos return and the dresses are relegated to a plastic hanging bag in the closet. Fourteen years after buying a prom dress in Miami, Jillea Godin found it in a thrift store in her hometown.
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To understand the significance of this, you need some backstory. Quispamsis, New Brunswick, Canada, is a tiny town with a population of around 15,000. That is where Jillea was raised. The dress was purchased in Miami, Florida, while Jillea’s family was vacationing there. She wanted a unique dress, so buying from a local boutique was not an option.
After high school, Jillea moved to Toronto. About two years after graduating, she sold her dress on Facebook Marketplace. Recently, she returned to her hometown and was out shopping in a local thrift store when she found her prom dress! We can’t even calculate the odds of that happening, but they must be pretty slim.
Now 30 years old, Jillea has repurchased her prom dress from the thrift store. As a designer, her next dilemma was what to do with the dress. In the past, Jillea has created amazingly complex cosplay outfits from thrift store dresses. Some of her creations include a Statue of Liberty and Captain Hook costumes.
Jillea polled her followers on whether to keep the dress in its original configuration or upcycle it. They voted for alterations, so Jillea set about looking for inspiration, and she found it.
Upcycling The Thrift Store Prom Dress
Once she made the decision to upcycle her prom dress, Jillea found inspiration in the vases around her home. The vintage Chinese white and blue vases contain dragon motifs. Jillea opted to begin her alterations by creating a painting for the front of the dress.
Once she decided on the alterations, Jillea made the thrift store prom dress an entirely new creation. She painted a panel for the torso area and then created a bodice to frame the chest area. Her talent and creativity are incredible.
The top section is complete, and Jillea plans to move on to the skirt. Those updates haven’t been posted yet. You’ll have to subscribe to her TikTok channel, YouTube, or Instagram for the final results. We’re sure it is going to be an outstanding transformation.
Please share if you know someone who would enjoy this thrift store prom dress metamorphosis.
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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