Runway DIY.com

June 17, 2011

DIY Ankle-Tie Lounge Pants

Pajamas as outerwear is a trend I can fully get behind. You don’t have to tell me twice that its now socially acceptable to wear baggy printed silk pants in public. Not that I wouldn’t or haven’t done this before, but seeing it on Style.com does lend a certain degree of street cred to the trend.

Prabal Gurung’s collaboration with J.Crew is everything a designer collaboration should be- it stretches the expected norms of both brands involved. In this case it really turned out an amazing collection. I immediately fell in love with Gurung’s ankle-tie pants. Apparently everyone else in the world also fell in love with them and they sold out pretty quickly. Make your own with a pair of khakis or merge these pants and this seasons sleeper trend by using pajama pants to make ankle tie lounge pants.

Repeat on the other leg. Let the quick stitch glue dry for about an hour before moving the pants. Follow the washing instructions on quick stitch glue.

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Tagged as DIY, J Crew, Lounge Pants, Prabal Gurung

June 15, 2011

DIY Wrapped Bangles

Spring decided not to come by this year in New York. We went from the freezing cold to the tiny-sundress hot – so all my light jackets and linen scarves stayed in the closet and summer wear came out early. Color and print is everywhere for summer wear and the hippie-tribal influence of brands like Isabel Marant and the popularity of hand-made items like the bags from Wayuu Taya Foundation have laid the groundwork for a funky and cheery summer closet. Get in to the mood for summer and get in touch with your tribal campy side with some wrapped bangles!

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Tagged as bangles, bracelets, DIY, summer

June 13, 2011

DIY Dip Dye

Back in elementary and middle school, friends used to have tie-dyeing as an activity at their birthday parties. This would be fun for about one shirt, and then there would be bags and boxes of white shirts and socks left to color that no child had any creative energy left to tie up and dunk. This is when pairs and pairs of socks would start getting their toes dipped in red dye and their ankles in blue.

Dip dye is just that- dipping part of one end of an item into a dye and letting it drip down so the top is lightest and the bottom is darkest. It’s all over the runways- from leather bags to fur coats – and has even made its way into hair salons with ombre tips. Follow the DIY below to learn how to dip-dye just about anything.

Make sure you hang this over newspaper or a tarp so they dye doesn’t drip on your floors!

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Tagged as dip dye, DIY, skirt, tie dye

June 10, 2011

DIY Washer Necklace

Anni Albers is best known for her weaving in textiles, but she also made her mark with a simpler weave- one that turns washers and a ribbon into a chain-like necklace. Hardware as jewelry is popping up all over the place, and the combination of ribbon and chain sweetens the severity of the industrial supplies.

1) Thread ribbon up and through washer #1, leaving at least 6 inches of ribbon on the left side.

Repeat steps 2-5 until you are done!

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Tagged as DIY, hardware, jewelry

June 8, 2011

DIY Drop-Waist Dress

I love sleeping. I will sleep until it is dangerously close to the time I need to leave my apartment and it has suddenly become an absolute emergency for me to bolt out of bed, brush my teeth, wash my face and throw on mascara and an outfit. This is why I love dresses. One item of clothing and a pair of shoes and you’re out the door. I wish every day were seventy five and sunny so life and dressing could always be this simple and layerless. You can imagine my excitement when I saw the Band of Outsiders S/S 11 half-skirt half-shirt dress. It immediately made me think of Frankenstein- two items of clothing patched together to make a new item of clothing. No longer just a skirt or just a shirt, the DIY below shows you how to make your own easy-morning drop-waist dress.

Cut your skirt leaving yourself a foot or more of the bottom portion to work with. You might want to hold this up while you wear your shirt to measure how long this piece needs to be. Tack the pleats after you cut it to hold these down to help make the next step easier.

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June 6, 2011

DIY Draped Chain Belt

The draped chain belt Burberry Prorsum showed for spring 2011 reminded me of the black leather and silver metal belt Carrie Bradshaw wore in basically every scene of the first Sex and the City movie- it somehow goes with everything even though it has a lot of personality on its own. The hardware-heavy DIY below goes perfectly with jeans or a Carrie-like tutu.

I bought the chain at Home Depot and had them cut it for me there- 8 sections that are 1 foot long and 4 that are 1.5 feet long.

Make marks about 8 inches apart on either side of the belt. Keep these marks towards the bottom of the width of the belt.

Follow the instructions on the eyelet kit to put these in where you made your holes.

Thread the ends of the chain through a jump ring – first one 1.5 foot piece, then four of the 1 foot pieces, then another 1.5 foot piece. Insert the jump ring in to one of your eyelet holes and close it with your pliers. Repeat this so the chains drape down on either side of the belt.

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Tagged as belt, burberry, chains, DIY, Spring 2011

June 3, 2011

DIY Furball Bracelet

There is no material more hotly debated than fur. Standing at the center of an intense moral debate in fashion, fur is the object of adoration and hatred. With absolutely no physical need for fur in fashion of the modern era, the debate rages on- is it ethical to wear fur in this day and age?

There is no replacement for fur. Faux feels faux, looks faux, costs faux. The feeling you get when you wear fur couldn’t be further from the feeling you get when you wear faux fur, and the look that fur can contribute to an ensemble can’t be swapped out with a synthetic. Always the centerpiece of the outfit, a fur piece is a conversation piece. That being said,I am still uneasy about my stance on this debate, and I am not comfortable using fur and leather often in my projects.

Overall, I believe fur is a luxury, and like other luxuries it is best when used sparingly. Miu Miu and Prada, among other brands, have re-imagined the role of fur in the wardrobe this year by introducing funky, bright pieces that are not the classic heirloom standards we are used to associating with the material. The bold colors allow fur to be used scarcely in the form of small accessories and accents on larger pieces.

Mink furball is from M&J Trimmings

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Tagged as DIY, fur, jewelry, miu miu, prada

June 1, 2011

DIY Splatter Pants

Splatter painted clothing can’t be called a trend – its been seen on runways regularly since the 80′s and its ubiquity now can be plainly attributed to the Proenza/J Brand collaboration of last year. For Spring 2011 Balmain offered a spin on the splatter with a line of ink-dripped and tie-dyed pants that give a similar effect. The problem with a lot of DIY splatter painting is the scale. To get the best results, you have to drip the paint from high above the item of clothing, and you need to vary the size of the splatters from large puddles to swarms of teeny drips. Try standing on a ladder to drip on your paint, and try dripping the paint out of a cup rather than flicking it on with a brush.

Once you have finished one side, allow it to dry thoroughly before flipping the pants over and repeating this on the other side.

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Tagged as Balmain, DIY, proenza, Splatter Paint, Spring 2011

May 27, 2011

DIY Studded Oxfords

If I won the lottery I wouldn’t run out and buy a boat. I’d wait on the townhouse on 9th street and I’d stop by Hermes another day for my custom croc Birkin. Because before all of those things I’d have a bigger dream to fulfill- to go to M&J Trimming and buy up their entire wall of studs. I’m constantly tempted to stud everything I own, but the teeny bags of studs seriously add up and covering a jacket or a pair of shoes in the beautiful hardware is a serious investment. Puffy paint applied in hershey-kiss-like spikes creates a convincing studded look that requires no tools.

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Tagged as DIY, miu miu, shoes, studded

May 26, 2011

DIY Ungaro Flower Power Sunglasses

Prada started it all with their line of bold poorly-plucked-cartoon-character-eyebrow shades, and Ungaro has joined in on the fun with these funky 60′s inspired flower power sunnies that are sure to garner confused stares and giddy admiration. DIY with some H&M sunnies, a handful of buttons and a hot glue gun to be ready for the long weekend ahead!