Altering waist on jersey dress.

[Nitgel]

I recently bought this Boden dress and wore it yesterday. I think the waist is too high. It has a thick elastic sewn in and a tie.Can I just take the elastic out and put a belt lower down or will that ruin it?

I only just got it and can't send back k now ive worn it.

i think it’ll look like it’s got two waist bands then?

If there's any spare fabric in the seams at the top of the shoulders, you might be able to let it out there so that the waist lies further down.

If the waist is too high, unpick the shoulder seam and add in a strip of white fabric to lengthen the bodice length??

@MargaretRiver cross post!

When you say the elastic is sewn in, do you mean the elastic is loose in a channel sewn into the material or the elastic is sewn onto the material? Because if it's loose in a channel it should be fairly easy to take out and then the dress will be more or less straight up and down and you can experiment with belting it lower and see how it looks. But if the elastic is sewn to the material it's a lot of careful unpicking and you risk the material getting damaged with small holes too.
I doubt there's enough fabric in the shoulders to make any appreciable difference by letting them down, and it would be a major faff to do that with almost no gain. Wouldn't recommend that route.

That sounds good but I am not great with a machine. Could I turn it into a v neck and use that material?

I think it is loose not sewn in.

If you're not experienced in altering clothes I wouldn't try anything fancy like trying to turn it into a v neck and use the material in the shoulders! Nooo. 😂
You'll be making yourself a few expensive dishcloths!

Why not recoup your losses and sell it on vinted? Or try removing the elastic if it looks easy. If that doesn't improve it it'll be fairly easy to put it back. Then try selling it! 😂

You're right temporarily. I do like the dress so will try just removing the elastic.