Money is tight these days, especially if you have other mouths to feed. This doesn't mean that you can't look fashionable, however.
If you know how to work a sewing machine, anything is possible - just take a look at these amazing creations this mom makes from thrift store items.
Hepburn Dress
Caitlin Trantham is a 33-year-old mom of three that uses her free time to make wonderful creations out of thrift store items she buys for super cheap. This one was a stretched, long Lularoe dress that couldn't possibly look good on anyone.
She turned that unflattering dress into a gorgeous Hepburn dress, which got its name from Audrey Hepburn, who usually wore dresses like this one. Now, it's a fun spring dress.
Tropical Vibes
The original dress sure looked comfortable, but there was nothing flattering about it. The grandma dress had no shape, the length was awkward, and it was way too baggy for Caitlin.
With a lot of creativity, she turned it into a gorgeous, delicate dress with tropical vibes. She made it fit her body perfectly and added a belt to embellish it. It looks completely different from the original!
Wedding Dress
Wedding dresses are extremely beautiful, but the downside is that we only get to wear them once. If you think about it, it is a lot of money spent on a dress that you just wear once, so it's good to recycle it in some way.
Caitlin transformed this already beautiful wedding dress into a fun gradient dress that is perfect for a party at a beach. She added straps and dyed the back and the bottom and it turned out gorgeous.
Spring Dress
As you can see, the original dress was a disaster. It was baggy and had an awful fit that not even a grandma would like to wear. This style was typical in the '80s for some reason, so you can always find these dresses at thrift stores.
Catilin turned it into a classy spring dress with no sleeves that looks super comfortable. She added a belt to give the dress some shape too. Who knew this dress could become so pretty?
A Huge Challenge
Caitlin makes all her creations look super easy and effortless, but they actually take a lot of creativity, skill, and time. This dress in particular took her a lot of work and a lot of time, but the result was amazing.
The dress had a lot of layers and the fabric was very thick, so it was hard to give it shape. She removed the ugly sleeves, shortened the skirt, and added two adorable bows at the top.
Blue Sundress
Caitlyn found this piece of work at Goodwill, and the dress was surprisingly unused and still had tags on, perhaps because it was so ugly nobody wanted to wear it!
She worked her magic and turned this dress that was more suited for a school teacher 100 years ago into a lovely blue sundress that fits any occasion. As usual, she complemented it with a belt and added a bow.
Date Night Dress
Does the first dress look familiar? It is the same dress as #22 but with a different pattern. This Lularoe Ana dress wasn't so bad, but it looked nothing like the dress Caitlin turned it into.
While the original one was a perfect dress for taking the kids to school or the park, the new dress is a sexy, classy date night dress that turns heads. The slit at the bottom is the best change.
Sheet Dress
There is no before-and-after pictures of this dress because… there's no before! Caitlin made it from scratch by just using a bed sheet she got at her local thrift store.
It's unbelievable, right? The dress looks super delicate, fresh, and feminine and is perfect for summer. It's very hard to believe it used to be an old sheet that once belonged to a stranger.
Shirt Dress
Caitlin decided to give herself another challenge when she chose to work on an old, large shirt instead of a dress. She basically just chose this shirt because of the beautiful butterfly pattern, but she didn't know what she was going to do with it.
She started playing with her sewing machine and ended up turning it into a lovely, retro dress. She added black fabric at the bottom because otherwise it would have been too short, and also her signature belt to accentuate her waist.
Romper
Caitlin usually works with dresses, and if she doesn't have a dress, she turns it into one. Dresses are cute and all, but sometimes we need some more coverage in order to feel comfortable.
That's why she made a small change to this dress and turned it into a romper. Rompers are super trendy right now and are great for occasions when dresses are not appropriate.
Blue Evening Dress
The original dress could only be described as a nightmare. It had no shape, it had too many layers, and most importantly, a horrific appliqué that just made everything a million times worse.
We have no idea how Caitlin removed that appliqué without damaging the dress, but this is a work of art. She also removed the underskirt to make it less puffy and used the extra fabric to create two adorable straps.
Cute 90s Dress
The fashion of the '90s is making a huge comeback now, but not every piece that was trendy then works nowadays. For example, this long, dowdy dress makes you look shorter and not stylish at all.
Caitlin turned it into a cute, fun dress that still retains the original concept but fits her body and current times much better. As always, she added a belt made with the extra fabric to accentuate her figure.
Small Changes
Caitlin loves to take up a challenge and create entirely new looks, but sometimes she goes for something simple, like this dress right here. There was nothing wrong with the original one, but it was too big.
The butterfly appliqués were cute, that's why she wanted to keep the dress. All she did was make it smaller to fit her body. Still, this small change makes a huge difference.
Sunflower Dress
This is another '90s piece that Caitlin decided to change. Much like the red dress we saw before, this one had a nice pattern and adorable sunflower buttons, but the shape was just frumpy and unflattering.
Caitlin shortened the dress and, as usual, used the extra fabric to create a belt. She does this a lot because it just looks great on her.
Cute Summer Dress
Can you believe this gorgeous summer dress used to be skirt? Being short came in handy this time for Caitlin because the skirt was too long. When she shortened it, she used the extra fabric to create the top.
She ended up with a lovely dress perfect for a summer day, and it looks super chic. She was inspired by Taylor Swift's Golden Globe dress, which was similar in shape if you remember.
60s Style
The original dress was cute, but it wasn't very stylish. It was baggy and kind of boring, so Caitlin decided to make it much more fun and flattering.
She turned this '90s dress into a two piece that totally screams "'60s". You can't see this, but she added shorts underneath the skirt because it was too short. Now, she has a super comfy, delicate, fun two piece for any occasion.
Pink Party Dress
The original dress was from the '80s, and even then it's hard to picture it as being fashionable. This hot-pink mess was probably going to remain at Goodwill for all eternity, but Caitlin decided to rescue it and give it another chance.
She shortened it to a better length, made the waist tight, and took the bow and put it right over the skirt. Now, it is an adorable '50s party dress that is much easier on the eyes.
Subtle Changes
When you first look at these two pictures, it is a little hard to notice what changed. Sometimes, there's nothing really wrong with a piece of clothing but a little subtle change can really bring out the best in it.
What Caitlin did here was change the waist and the buttons and cut the back ties and turned them into a belt. The dress fits her much better now and is much more modern like this.
Trendy Romper
The first dress was too long and frumpy and honestly did not do Caitlin any favors. But where Caitlin sees a nice pattern, she also sees potential to create something amazing out of it.
The best part of the dress was the pattern because it is trendy right now. So, she turned the dress into a romper and it now looks like something you would find at Forever 21.
Fresh Look
The original dress was nothing like the other dresses we saw before. This wasn't some old, hopeless '80s dress - on the contrary, there was nothing wrong with it. However, the changes Caitlin made certainly improved it.
While the shape of the dress was very nice, the thick fabric combined with the sleeves and the tight neck didn't make it summer-friendly. By making it sleeveless and opening up the neckline, the dress is now fresh and won't suffocate her if the weather gets hot.
A Modern Change
The original dress was already lovely. In fact, some people might prefer it over the new look because it is a beautiful vintage dress that is really trendy right now. However, it wasn't really Caitlin's style.
She preferred to turn it into a sleeveless dress and use the collar to embellish the sleeves and make the look much more relaxed.
Blue Party Dress
This makeover is just stunning. The original dress wasn't bad at all, but it wasn't really wearable. The appliqué on the chest was a little too much and limited the occasions the dress could be worn for.
She removed it and shortened the dress to a very feminine, flattering length. She used the extra fabric to create a neck piece that can be removed to reveal the gorgeous dress underneath.