Breathing New Life into a Cari Borja Design

Fashionable Upcycling in Action

Following the last issue, I will share how I refashioned a one-of-a-kind dress by Cari Borja, which I wore during San Francisco Climate Week in April. This refashion project is an example of how we can continually transform the garments we have to suit our needs. Through upcycling, we can carry our garments through evolving stages of our lives, and not get stuck on a form or silhouette. 

I used to share in-depth documentation like this often on my blog before I started this newsletter, so I hope you like reading this content, too. Thank you as always for your kind support!

What the refashioned dress looks like. I am so in love with those sleeves.

The Original Dress

Sometime in the mid-2010s, I purchased this one-of-a-kind dress from Cari Borja. At the moment, I was really excited to own a piece by a prominent Bay Area designer famous for her scallop hem detail and no hardware closure. 

I was head over heels over this black-and-cream damask patterned dress. The deep V-neckline is sexy, and the extended train gives way to so much drama.

Front view of the original Cari Borja dress

Back view of the original Cari Borja dress

Train detail of the original Cari Borja dress

The dress material completed the attraction. It’s a medium-weight tapestry fabric, the kind people use to create outdoor furniture covers with. Durable and relatively light, the fabric is wrinkle resistant and machine washable. Cari Borja also used black sparkly diaphanous fabric panels for this dress. They were effective accents, however they were my least favorite part of the dress. 

Closeup of the dress fabrics

Prior to 2024, I have worn this Cari Borja dress 3 - 4 times on various special occasions. It’s a really pretty dress, however the fit was somewhat off. The torso was a little bit too long. And after a while, the train became bothersome. My lifestyle requires something more functional, less drama :)

Instead of repairing it, I attempted to sell the dress via a secondhand marketplace. However, all the offers I got were low balls, and I was compelled to reject all of them. This dress deserved a loving new owner who appreciates its inherent value, I screamed internally. But how can I continue to force this perspective when people’s values are varied and highly subjective?

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The Refashion

The opportunity to refashion this Cari Borja dress came earlier this spring, when I was set to host a panel discussion and present a mini collection of upcycled fashion during San Francisco Climate Week’s Sustainable Fashion Exhibition. The event was held on April 25, 2024.

The venue for the Sustainable Fashion Exhibition was the historic Hibernia Bank in San Francisco. The bank, constructed in 1892, is now a venue for large-capacity events. It boasts beautiful interior details, including original bank teller counters and breathtaking stained glass skylights.

Audience view of Hibernia Main Hall’s stage during the Sustainable Fashion Exhibition, during the Textile End-of-Life Panel Discussion. Photo by Logan and Nik Evasco.

I felt compelled to create an outfit that would fit the opulence of the venue, so my mind immediately went to the Cari Borja dress. This is a chance to refashion this beautiful dress to not only fit me better, but also boost my confidence in carrying my duties for the afternoon and evening.  

So I took the dress down from the marketplace, and examined the dress. After some try-ons and observations, I decided to:

1. raise the shoulder line

2. add invisible zipper on the center back

3. add a couple of inseam pockets on the waist

4. shorten the hemline and rearrange the panels

5. add elbow-length sleeves

It’s an ambitious plan to finish in 3 days. I’m a slow sewist, and I had other non-sewing preparations to complete leading to the D-day. But I was determined, and thankfully I was able to finish everything in 2.5 days.