what do you do with an ugly dress?!

My mom bought this thing, because I like plaid.  When I saw it, I think that there was a mental block -  I can usually see something cute in an old-fashioned piece of clothing like this, but this one took me a while!  

It had detachable sleeves and silly pleats that make the one side much wider than the other.  First I carefully cut the stitching in the pleats to open them up.  Because I wanted to keep the side pockets, I had to remove the button bands instead of take in the sides.  And for the back, since I didn't want a center seam, I made a long pleat.  Actually, I really like the fit that I ended up with!

I think it must have been the color that did it, but now I think it looks great!  A point for Mom!