Showing posts with label fashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fashion. Show all posts

8/15/13

DIY: Mesh Chainmail dress, shopwasteland.com's "Chloe"

So I saw this dress from Wasteland clothing and I said, dayumn I like that dress. 
But then I looked at how much it cost.

I do not believe in that dress for $135.

So I made one myself.

For $13.

(Well, I don't know how much my labor cost me; I already have sort of a lot of free time, and I never sleep until 4 a.m. anyway, so let's just say it cost me one needle-shoved-up-my-fingernail. Yeah, Chinese torture happened in the making of this dress. I don't have a sewing machine, so I hand-stitched this motherfabric. Bro you don't even know.)

 

I even did her awkward little poses. I had a beer first.


I admit this one was the hardest ...


Fabric: Fulton Fabric, 398 Bridge St  Brooklyn, NY
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell Lita Spike
Jewelry: pendant by my father!
Hair: I grew it, that's what it does

- the end -

1/17/12

DIY Fabric-covered denim shorts

I've had this photo sitting in my "fashion" folder on my computer for some time, and recently looked at it again while at home.

(clicks through to my fashion Tumblr. I regret that I don't know the source of this photo. VERY SORRY; CONTACT ME IF THIS IS YOURS.)

I happened to have some cool fabric saved in my remnants suitable for the job. And some Levi's cutoffs from the Salvation Army.

As you can see in the picture, the fabric appears to be adhered to the denim without stitches; it looks like it's glued on. So I armed myself with some fabric glue, which I've never used before, so this was kind of experimental, and set to work.


You have to cut the tip off of it to start using it. I joked that it's Jewish glue. Mom didn't laugh as much as I'd hoped.

I started with what looked to be the hardest part, because that's the kind of gyal I am: the belt loop.



I cut one incision not quite the length of the belt loop, and two more diagonally to the corners, then folded under; that's how it sits flush with the loop. (In my opinion I did this much more neatly than whoever made the inspiration shorts ... )

First I tried just using the glue, but the shit totally doesn't stick right away and I don't know how long you have to hold it for it to bond. I don't have that kind of patience. So what I did was put glue down, press the fabric into place, and tack a small stitch into it through the glue, on each corner.

Then I went for the pocket. This was kind of tricky because it's curved. This would have been much harder with the cotton used on the inspo pair, but my fabric has a bit of leeway, so it curved nicely. I continued my glue/press/stitch method.


artfully dodged that rivet

Then I tackled the crotch area.






This proved the most difficult because I didn't cut it very smartly. Oh well.

And here's the final product!



Now I know why the original DIY'ers opted for the angular cuts around the zipper. That crotch part was unnecessarily challenging. Luckily the un-straight line doesn't show when I put the shorts on.

I opted for just one side for now, because I'm a little wary of this look ...



Also I didn't want it to be like the "skort" effect, where you think it's one thing in the front and then you find out you've been horribly deceived, by the back. I guess you could call it the "mullet" effect, too. Well anyway, there's still more fabric, if I change my mind.

8/23/10

August Thrift Store Finds

Sparkly Pegasus sweatshirt from Beacon's Closet



Men's J. Crew oxford from Buffalo Exchange, to which I added DIY shoulder cut-outs.
I learned how to do it here.

A chunky wood-and-neon-plastic necklace from Savers. Pretty last season, but hey, I'm always a little last-season.

A white embellished tank from Buff Ex; basic with a little something extra.


Tan silk blouse from Savers.



Ivory silk blouse, also from Savers. And a glimpse of the studded side-zip booties I bought at Buffalo Exchange the other day, too.

The silk blouses were inspired by the American Apparel one I can't afford.

Nice duds for the new school year, huh? Also be sure to check out my lookbook blog.

8/1/10

"Gothic Vogue"

You can always sort of guess at what a photograph is going to look like, but whenever Anna uploads her sets, I'm amazed anyway.

This photo shoot was an afterthought, because the three of us (Leah, Kira, and myself) are in Anna's music video she was commissioned to make for UK up-and-coming artist Tropics. The video hasn't been approved and made its debut yet, but trust me, I am going to hype the shit out of it when it's up.

Here are some results of our "Gothic Vogue" themed shoot from this past week:





See the rest at her Flickr and definitely check out her website, annadobos.com.

Keep checking back for the music video!

5/15/10

Recent Thrift Fashion Finds


Barbados tank: Salvation Army, $0.99
Levi's shorts: Savers, $5.99


Blouse that is gonna bring the funk: Salvation Army, $2.99



Plus-size lacy mesh shirt: Salvation Army, $2.99


Floral romper: Salvation Army, $7.99


Minimalist shoulder cut-out shirt: Salvation Army, $1.99

Kimchi Blue sundress: Second Time Around Soho, $14

1/1/10

DIY: Imitation Free People Crochet Headband

Back in early December my boyfriend made me walk with him around the mall and show him things I liked, because he didn't know what to get me for Christmas. (It felt like cheating, but thankfully he got me nothing I pointed to, so I guess it was fair.) Anyway, During this excursion we went into Free People, where I found a knit head wrap with crochet flowers on it that looked surprisingly cute on me:

... but it was $28. I didn't feel like shelling out thirty bucks on a headband. BUT the other day I checked in on Threadbanger's latest DIY videos, and lo and behold, a tutorial on how to crochet a headband:


I embarked on a project (complete with iced coffee and See's chocolate nearby):


JUST so everyone knows, flower appliques are IMPOSSIBLE to crochet, and anyone who makes them is a liar because a quadruple crochet stitch can't be done. Since I can't figure it out. After giving up on countless videos, including a really awful Threadbanger one (usually they rock, but this one was just terrible; most of their YouTube comments agree with me), I fudged some sort of frilly circular things that can pass for something floral, and tied them on.

Here is my cat, modeling the final product:



I saved the best part for last. The price!: