Necklace - Twelve Oh Six | Shoes - Zara (similar )

The Reformation dress is $178. My DIY was less than $10.

I'm back with another Buy or DIY, and this time I decided to tackle a dress I've been coveting for months now. But, you know me. There is absolutely no way I was going to spend $178 (plus tax) on anything that isn't home decor or a plane ticket. I browsed the internet to find a nice dupe for the Mason dress, and the few that I found had terrible material. I wanted a nice weighted fabric that would last in the wash. So, off to Joann I went.

I found a cotton fabric with the gingham print for about $5.99/yard, and purchased 2 yards of it. I also bought 1 yard of lining fabric which I only ended up using 1/4 of. If you didn't know, Joann constantly has coupons so I used a 50% off one regular priced cut of fabric coupon, and a 40% off one regular priced item coupon to save some money. I already had my invisible zipper and thread at home, so I was ready to go.

In order to make this dress, I studied the reformation dress for hours. Unfortunately, they didn't have the measurements for this dress online so I had to decide what length I wanted it to be based on my own preference and the photos of the dress. The top is in 5 pieces - 3 in the front, 2 in the back. The skirt was cut to my hip measurements then I added 4 darts to help it fit around my waist and accommodate my butt (this measurement was the same as the bottom of the top tube to make sure it would fit). I didn't make my straps adjustable because the dress is made specifically for my body. 

In total, this dress took me about a week to make. The top of the dress was definitely a challenge especially since I didn't have a pattern to go off of. It was definitely worth it, though!
Reformation Mason Dress = $178
My DIY = $10
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