You know we’re always trying to look like a million bucks, but what about looking like $25? YouTuber and maker Shay (AKA Crescent Shay) figured out how to make cheap look stunning with a design she shared a few weeks ago. This isn’t just cheap fashion, though. This is penny-pinching fashion—literally.
Inspired by modern flapper looks and an unconventional dress-making supply, Shay introduced the world to a dress made of pennies. Totaling 2652 pennies (collected from Shay and friends’ loose change), the dress is a stunner. The pennies have their own unique shine and the penny fringe along the dress’s hem gives it a unique sound, too…but the dress isn’t a total dream.
Shay revealed that the pennies were not very forgiving as a fabric (she used a scale mail technique to create panels of pennies for the dress), so you can’t do anything but stand. That doesn’t cover the weight either. According to the US Mint, a penny weighs 2.5 grams, meaning the dress weighs in at nearly 15 pounds! Imagine getting jazzy all night with that hanging on your shoulders!
“I really do love this dress, and I’m really proud of how it came out,” Shay said in her video as she reflected on her project. (ICYMI creating looks from unusual materials is kind of Shay’s thing.) Some of her favorite features are the detail and shine from the metal that gives the dress a unique look that isn’t your average sequin sparkle.
We’d be lying if we said this dress was anything short of incredible. Don’t get your hopes up about Shay nickel and diming her way into another coin dress project, though. “I am never doing this again!” she said.
Would you wear this dress to your next 20s party? While you’re thinking it over, check out Shay’s video on the weeks-long process of machining and sewing this unusual item together!
