The endurance of Free People

The August Free People catalog has been sitting in my room for a while. I tend to sort of ignore their catalogs because their stuff is notoriously the same from season to season and I can never afford it even though it is meant to look like worldly and ethnic stuff collected while backpacking through third-world countries.

The formula works, though, and I decided to flip through this catalog and pick out new and old trends that work and that I can easily rock without shelling out hundreds of bucks toward corporate clothing.

1. Random-ass braids.





This is an old FP standby, which is also pervasive right now. I can get behind this super trendy hair situation because I'm lazy. As long as you have a braid here or there--but not a perfect one, mind you, it must look like it was formed accidentally by the swishing of your locks--your hair can be a fucking rat's nest. I'm off to a good start!

2. Piles of bracelets belonging to other cultures



Basic tee from Walmart? American Eagle jeans? NO PROBLEM. Even your most boring outfit is Free People-worthy if you put on at least 25 ethnic bracelets--those ones we all have from when Aunt Sarah went to Jamaica.

3. Maxi skirt and sweater





Am I the only one who bought an amazing maxi skirt this summer but found it was too fucking hot to wear it? Didn't think so. Thank goodness Fashion decided to cut us a break.

4. Summer dress = Fall dress





In the same vein ... this is actually probably what I love most about Free People. I'm not exactly rolling in dough over here, and the clothes that I own, which include Springy and Summery dresses, never get a break. But they showed me that if you add socks and a sweater, IT'S OKAY to be poor and only own little dresses! Free People is about, well, excess, for one thing, but also quick fixes: neglected hair? Add braids! Bam! Boring outfit? Add every bracelet you own! Bam! Little dresses? Underused maxi skirts? Add sweaters! Bam!

5. The "ethnic" bag



Oh, the ethnic bag. What is there to say? Everyone loves the eclecticism, the cheap chicness, the worldliness, of a bag made by someone brown. People compete with these things. Look at MY ethnic bag that I got in Nevada. Look at MY ethnic bag; it's Tibetan. Why I like them: well, god damnit if they aren't really pretty. And, any street fair. No, really. ANY street fair. You will find one, and it will be twenty bucks. And you will feel as if you have won.

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.

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!: