Upcycled DIY culottes

The culottes trend has slowly grown on me; they're not quite gauchos (*shudder*) but wider throughout and generally more structured and voluminous... therefore somehow more flattering than the bell flare of gauchos.  Maybe I'll shudder at culottes in 10 years too, but so it is with trends.  Since this one is fairly difficult to pull off and style, I didn't want to spend too much money.



I found these very long, high-waisted, wide-legged pants (that came with a belt) at Goodwill for $2, and simply cut off about 10" from the bottom and finished with an invisible hem.  It was difficult deciding just where to crop them - culottes come in all sorts of lengths nowadays from more of a shorts style to just above the ankle - but there's enough room for me to take them lower or higher it in the future if I want a change.

They're fun to wear, and as you can imagine, super comfortable.

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Mock two-piece dress upcycle

There have been a lot of mock two-piece dresses lately, and I happened to find the perfect vintage dress (only $4 at Value Village, score!) with the right elements to make into my own.

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DIY distressed skinny jeans

There's something about distressed jeans that adds just the right amount of edge and off-ness to an outfit.  I didn't want anything with crazy patches, just something lightly worn like what Olivia Palermo is wearing above.

I started with a pair of A&F jeans that I thrifted for $4 from Goodwill, which were my size and had a nice worn in feel to them.  (Since these were a flare leg, I first turned them inside out, pinned while on, and sewed the legs from around the knees down to a skinny taper.  Then, I trimmed the excess seam allowance and turned them right side out again.)

TIP:  It's important to buy light washed jeans.  Holes on dark washed jeans just don't look quite as believable.

To begin distressing:  Cut two parallel lines running across the leg as large as you want.  With a tweezer, pull the vertical threads out one at a time.  At the beginning, it helps to loosen the fabric edges with something rough before starting to pull.

The vertical threads in denim are a mixture of blue whereas the horizontal threads are all white.  I didn't want to expose the white threads completely since the distressing would fall apart more easily with wash and wear, so I varied the rows that I pulled, pulling less around the ends of the holes.  I used pinking shears (but you can use something else abrasive like sand paper) to fade out around the holes, make them blend in better and look more naturally torn.

Repeat as many times/wherever on the jeans you'd like.  I put two small holes at the hip and one large complete cut on the opposite knee.

Lastly, I cheated a bit and dabbed Fray-Check glue on the corners to prevent further pulling and fraying.

(Sandals - Report)

Taken from my new apartment at school!  It's going to be crazy so... updates will be much less frequent.

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DIY Blazer Upcycle

One local thrift shop has 99 cent clothing Sundays, which is almost as good as free.  I figured it wouldn't hurt if I bought something to experiment on, so I got this oversized blazer.  It was made of nice material and quality construction, but of course the fit was horribly dated.  I'm not sure what brand Paul Stanley is.  I couldn't find anything online except for this old 80's rocker guy from KISS.  Maybe he got into fashion back in the day...?

I wanted something long enough to especially wear with leggings, and was inspired by a lot of "boyfriend blazer" looks such as these:

  

    

  

There was a lot of trial and error.  A LOT of seam ripping and learning as I went.  First while wearing the blazer, I chalked on the sides, shoulders, and arms where I wanted to take them in.  Measured how much I needed to "pinch" in each area, which was about 3 cm all around.  

I took a deep breath, seamripped the inner lining where necessary, and removed the shoulder pads.  I also turned the sleeves inside out and sewed a new seam (on the outer sleeve and the lining) 3cm from the old one, and took 1.5 cm from each seam at the sides (there were two per side).  

After a very frustrating time with trying to fit the shrunken sleeve into the old arm hole (it kept on puckering or poufing, which isn't what I was going for with a menswear blazer), I realized that I would have to shrink the hole at the shoulder seam too, and that it was easier just to simply take the whole sleeve out and realign it, instead of trying to minimize sewing.

(The whole sleeve removed, with lining still attached).

Because the pockets were originally located right at the edges where I took the blazer in, I had to remove the pockets, cut the hole further inward and slide the pockets over.  The blue "right side" that I'm touching was sewn to the bottom flap interfacing side.  The top portion attached to the lining "wrong" side of the pocket would be flipped to the outside of the blazer, and then be sewn to the top flap of the blazer.  That doesn't quite make sense, but you need to plan to keep the pocket open at any rate and you can reason it out that way.

Finally I trimmed and pieced back the lining using a slip stitch (tutorial here).

And viola!  It's a little lopsided (and not very neat on the inside) but when you wear it you can't tell too much.  I'd say a good first attempt!

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Redress: Rethinking fashion's eco-impact

Okay, Blogger isn't letting me post this video so I'll link it:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUgmBVI73ic

Tons of textiles and unwanted clothes are tossed each year - it's amazing how much is wasted from the manufacturing process all the way to individual closets in this fast-fashion, hoarding society.  Frankly, I've been sick of "Made in China" being an adage meaning cheap, poorly constructed, and with exploited hands, so it's refreshing to see that this movement is gaining a following in China itself.

Redress is an organization based in Hong Kong with the goal of promoting sustainability in fashion.  From challenging student scholarship competitors to use recycled fashions, to salvaging parts from donated clothes to produce genuinely fashionable quality pieces, they're finding innovative ways to build a solid reputation. "Ecochic" doesn't have to look hippie or patched together anymore.  It can be the new norm.

One reason why I've perhaps shied away from going into the fashion industry is that it can seem so frivolous and destructive and conformative.  But with groups such as this - where my serious passion for the environment in combination with style (that doesn't have to be sacrificed) - I could seriously consider such a path.  Possibly.  There are all sorts of ways to chip in and save the planet, right?

 Sorting through donated clothes and picking things that are made of quality material to reuse.

An EcoChic fashion show.  You wouldn't have known these were recycled, right?

Liora Lasalle, recent competition winner.  She transformed old worker uniforms in a totally new direction.

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New Dress a Day (and more)

 Marisa from New Dress a Day is a woman who has spent years re-designing thrift store finds into wearable pieces.  At about one piece a day, her budget is only $365 a year (aka $1 a day).  I love her quirky "before" photos of her outrageous finds, and the surprising ways she re-invents them.  Once I improve my sewing skills, I might try this out...

These thrift haul videos are making me eager to go thrifting again...  But I need a patient buddy! :(

I like how these girls take more of a current-day approach to vintage and style the pieces for now, instead of going all-out old-school.

ThriftDrifter is my favorite - plus she often includes refashion/upcycle ideas.

This intro from Riannstar gives a good explanation for why you should choose wisely between thrift stores.  Also good explanations for why she chose all her pieces, how she will style them and such.  Her hair and makeup is so pretty!

LaMadelynn's style is super cute and slightly minimalistic.

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