(Hilfiger glasses, LB-03 [Japanese brand] Mongolian fur vest, DIY’ed studded Old Navy vest, Victoria’s Secret top, jigsaw puzzle necklace from Japan, DIY’ed Alloy Truck Skinny Jeans, Venti Anni [Japanese Brand] Shoes, Claire’s wristband, YKK zipper necklace [worn as a bracelet], wallet from Honolulu)

After seeing tons and tons of double-layering vests for Fall in Japanese magazines, I decided to try my own. (They showed fur + denim, denim +lace, fur+lace, tailored+lace…such a great idea and a wonderful play of textures.)

These are technically my glasses for driving and watching TV, but I never wear them. I liked the design but was kind of turned off by the “Hilfiger” logo since I dislike the brand. I thought they gave me this nerdy-cool vibe, but now looking at the photos I’m just not sure.


Yup, it looks like I’m over the glasses.

I bought the vest from LB-03 in Shibuya-109 while I was in Japan. I had no idea how Mongolian sheeps’ wool is actually used…I thought it was shorn and then used in clothing, but upon examination it appears that the the skin of the animal must be removed in order to preserve the beauty of the curly-haired wool. More than a little turned off by that, but I didn’t notice until after I bought it. (I know it seems like I’m a PETA crusader, but I’m kind of on the fence when it comes to using animal products in clothing. I love faux – I WANT faux….but sometimes there’s nothing for it but to buy real. I so want to start a domestic business manufacturing exact replicas of animal skins/fur that is sold by the yard/faux pelt to the textile industry. I think there would be/is a HUGE demand for this stuff! Anyone want to throw $500K away my way??? 😉

 

The denim vest I wanted but was not about to spend $399 for Current/Elliot’s Sleeveless Snap Jacket. I snagged an old denim jacket at Goodwill ($8.99), cut off the sleeves, and soaked it in a bucket of bleach and water (1 part bleach, 5 parts water…you don’t want to use pure bleach, as the chemical will “burn” fabric quickly and weaken seams) for about 3 hours, stirring and mashing down the vest at intervals so it would bleach out properly. Though there are 2 areas that remain a little darker than the rest, I was really happy with the result. Then into the washing machine to allow the armholes to fray, into the dryer to set the color, and then I studded the pocket flaps with 1/4″ silver pyramid studs from Studsandspikes.com. I love the result!

Denim jacket before

Denim jacket after. 


Slightly imperfect studding.

There’s also a great tutorial here if you want to do the exact Current/Elliott version, which has studding on the collar and the back.

I wanted black ankle-zipper jeans since I saw a pair in a magazine spread…but I wasn’t about to pay $200 or something for Ksubi either. So I grabbed a pair of Truck Essential Skinny Jeans in black ($44.90) from Alloy.com in a length 3″ longer than my usual inseam…and used a seam ripper to open the side seams from the hem 8″ up the leg. Two 9″ jean fly zippers from Jo-Ann’s sewed in, the hems folded back over the zipper edges, and I had my own pair of ankle-zip jeans.

So these are the shoes that I ended up buying when I asked your guys’ opinions on which shoes I should purchase while in Japan. I love them! They’re so easy to walk in – studded, gorge just like those $117 Jeffrey Campbell things…and they only cost $56. Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

The wallet is so cool – the little change purse on the outside snaps off – multifunctional really should be my middle name.


Almost the weekend, chickadees! Mwah! 

xoxo
Carly

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