Revitalizing two dresses

The first dress is one that my youngest sister gave me several years ago. I've been hauling it around since, but have never worn it: mandarin collars just don't look good on me. It's a very nice stretch velvet dress (Bought for my brother's wedding, when my sister was in her early teens. She's since grown at least 6 inches, while I haven't, so I got it.), and I wanted to somehow get some use out of it. So, I turned it into a skirt.
I cut off the bodice, made a casing for the elastic, inserted the elastic, and closed it all up. Quick and easy.
I wanted to add some sort of embellishment- if I could figure out how to do it, I'd use the silver embroidered collar pieces- so I took the 3 buttons from the bodice and sewed them along the edge of the slit in the skirt. A nice little touch of bling! I think I'll be wearing this skirt sometime in the near future.

The other dress is one my MIL gave LMS. I think one of her older cousins had worn it when they were younger. Personally, I think it's hideously out-dated. Luckily for me, the bodice was stained, which gave me just the excuse I needed to tweak it a bit.
I did the same thing with this dress that I did with the blue dress, and it turned out just as good. They were both fairly quick and easy to do, and extended the life of the dresses.
However, I'm still debating the lace on the hem. I'm not sure I love it, but I'm afraid the skirt might be too plain if I take the lace off. Any one else have an opinion? I'd love to hear it!

LMS likes it, and apparently it's a princess skirt- hence the fingers holding it up.
It's also a twirly skirt!