Refashioned holiday shorts

I don't remember where these trousers came from, or how they ended up in my refashion pile but I have some dim recollection that they were at one point part of a hideous 2 piece outfit that my mum donated to me.  As my recollection is so dim, when I say donated, I hope that's what actually happened rather than she just forgot them here at some point and they got sucked into the black hole that is my sewing space.  Either way she's not getting them back now.

Don't they look truly hideous on me?  If their purpose was to make my hips and backside look enormous and strangely flat/shapeless at the same time, they manage really well.  

They were even missing a button!  However there was potential there.  The waist fits really well and they aren't too tight on the thighs or hips (probably because there is so much extra shapeless fabric there).  This is unusual for me as I have a small waist in comparison to my hips, part of the reason why I almost never wear trousers.  I also liked the rust colour which I find strange as I'm not usually a fan of orange tones but this one seemed like it had potential to go with quite a lot of things in my wardrobe.  Also it is a linen, viscose, acetate blend which feels really floaty and lovely and screamed holiday wear to me. 

So, I hacked off a lot of leg!  

The weather has become unseasonably cold in London and so there was no way I was going to model these outside.  To be honest wearing them in the house was a bit of a struggle for someone who feels the cold as much as me.  You're all just going to have to imagine the sunshine and beautiful beach that I would like to be photographing this on.  It's not that hard, right?  I do have a palm tree!

As well as chopping off a lot of the leg, I added some details which I think make these shorts a little bit more special.  I created turn-ups and top stitched in a green thread.  I made some tabs and added a green star button from my stash.

Luckily the trousers had a spare button attached to the label so I was able to repair the waist closure without having to root around in the stash for ones that fitted the buttonholes.  I added some more green top stitching round the waist. 

I'm really pleased with my new shorts and I think they'll go really well with the tops I've got in my wardrobe.  Luckily I'm not going to have to imagine wearing them on the beach, as this time next week I'll be there-yay!!!  Finished just in time to go in the case!