9.14.2012

DIY: CONTRAST SHORTS


Add a little surprise—a pop of color—when you fold your shorts up. Here’s how you do this. Let’s keep those hands busy!

What you need:
1.       Pair of shorts
2.       Printed fabric (2 pieces of 4 ½” by 25” printed fabrics)
3.       Fabric glue or thread & needle
4.       Ruler
5.       Scissors
The sewing materials are only optional just incase the fabric glue doesn’t work on the printed fabric that you’re using. I decided to go with stitching because I used satin as my contrast fabric. You can ask for your mom or your house help to assist you with the sewing part if you don’t know how to. 

GREEN highlights show where the glue/stitches are placed.


Procedure:

1. Prepare the pair of shorts to be used. Mine is a recycled old jeans that I decided to crop.
2. Turn the shorts inside-out and using the ruler, measure the length of hem to be folded. The folds of my shorts measure 3 inches. That’s one and a half (1 ½) inch per fold. A 3-inch fold should be partnered with a 4 and a half (4 ½) inches of printed fabric. My printed fabric measures 4 ½ inches by 25 inches.
*The choice of procedure to use comes with the choice of printed fabric you’re using. Fabric glue don’t work in all types of fabric.
3. Prepare the fabric glue or the sewing kit, whichever you are using. Place the tip of the printed fabric on the inseam of your shorts as shown on image 3 and start gluing / sewing. You can just simply trace the original stitches of your shorts.
4. When you’re done with the inseam, bring your fabric across to the outseam and start tracing the short’s original stitches again.
5. After you’re done with the outseam, you can bring the fabric around the back of the short’s  to meet the inseam that you stitched earlier. Trim the excess fabric and again, trace the original stitches, capping it off.
*Image 5 shows six small points of stitches on the upper and lower tips on the fabric. I did that so the fabric won’t get loose when the shorts are folded.  Make small stitches on the backside too.
6. After doing the same procedure on the other leg, your shorts is finished. Image 6 shows how it looks like after the gluing/stitching from the inside. Turn it out again, bring the two folds up and there you’re done! your original pair of contrast shorts! 

Finished contrast shorts! 

*(You can also iron each fold so it is well defined and in place.)

I suggest you use baroque, Aztec or plaid printed fabrics to highlight the contrast. I found my fabric among a bunch of printed scarves in my mom’s closet, so this DIY is not really costly.

You don’t need a lot of money to follow trends; just test your wit, imagination and resourcefulness. Why buy when you can DIY?

See the online layout here.

9.01.2012

MILLION DOLLAR MAN.


Quoted from Lana Del Rey's song, Million Dollar Man. 

This was what I wore during the last day of Philippine Fashion Week Holiday 2012. Yes I know, a very late post but you know what they say, "Better late than never!" You may not agree with me but not everybody can look at someone and not judge him/her by what he/she's wearing and I think people should change that perspective. What I love about Fashion Week is that, it gives people the chance to play up different looks. Showing your adventurous self, preppy side, grunge style and you can even put the whole safari on your body and no one will judge you and look at you like you're a freak. Like me, I was too casual wearing a tank top and denim jeans before this look but this time, I went for something totally different. Anyway, they say one must own a well-fitting black blazer for it can change a whole outfit and it really does. I used it as a cape covering my wide-striped short sleeved polo, cream pants paired with nautical shoes. I add up a little *pow* wearing braided belt, round sunnies and my DIY nut & washer neckpiece.

I hope to see you this October for Philippine Fashion Week!

Photos by Jc Valencia.

Hype the whole look here.