Apr 28, 2011 | DIY
Straw orange and pink sunhats from Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2011 RTW Collection.
A little paint gives a floppy straw hat a vibrant 70’s-inspired makeover a la Marc Jacobs.
Merona Wide-Brim Floppy Straw Hat, Target, $12.99.
Tulip Fabric Spray Paint in Fuchsia and in Pumpkin, $5.79 each, CreateforLess.com.
Happy DIY’ing!
xoxox
Carly
Photo is a scan of one of the Marc Jacobs advertisements shot by Juergen Teller, found in Vogue Magazine (or something…)
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Feb 12, 2011 | DIY
So Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week Fall 2011/12 has commenced and the shows are now well underway…and I’m following the coverage as it breaks. I’m a little sorry I can’t make it out there this time around, but there’s so much going on here I just can’t tear myself away. For now, following from a distance will just have to do…and I’m beginning to formulate some ideas for DIY’s straight off the runways for the upcoming Fall season.
However, as Spring is just around the corner here are some luxury-label pieces that have caught my eye…and that you could totally D.I.Y. Here’s the five-second rundown:
Marc Jacobs Tape Sweater
Quick How-To: Attach pieces of white sweatshirt fabric onto the front and back of a loose-knit beige sweater. Use black Duck Tape
to disguise the edges of the sweatshirt pieces (and tape another piece on the inside so it won’t stick to your skin through the loose-knit). Never wash this sweater again!
Miu Miu Tiered Lace Dress
Quick How-To: Take any mini sleeveless LBD sheath and stitch tiers of lace trim around it. (I believe this type of lace is called “Venise/Venice Lace” or “Guipure Lace.”) Sure, it’s fiddly, but it will get you exactly the same look for a whole lot less!
Coach Tangle Ball-Chain Framed Small Bag
Quick How-To: Use a small clutch purse frame that has holes in it for sewing onto your bag, and attach different types of ball chain, colored chains, oxidized chains, and rhinestone chains to the holes as you sew the bag body onto it. Alternatively, just use a clutch purse that has the style of frame you like, and attach the chains near the frame using jump rings or threading jewelry wire into the purse body to hold them on.
Quick How-To: Pick a pair of neutral pumps and add a thick layer of hot glue [gluesticks for general purpose, or for fabric/vinyl crafts if you can find it], pressing tiny shells like these and these into it before it dries. Do a single small area at a time since the hot glue dries super-fast! (Yes, this is one of the few times I will actually advocate using hot-glue in a wearable DIY! Also allowed in hair accessories and brooches.;-)
Quick How-To: Attach stick-on pyramid nailhead trim around a pair of old-school visor-style sunglasses
. Poke holes with an awl into the sides and add cone spikes through the holes.
Alexander Wang Plastic Necklace
Quick How-To: Two pieces of Crystal Clear shrink plastic, colored with a thin coat of green acrylic paint, cut into a collar-shape and attached with jump rings and chains. Easy-peasy!
Christian Dior Haute Couture Flocked Dress
Quick How-To: Take a vintage, long-sleeved dress (that’s already stiff) and add colored Craft Flock Fibers to one side of it to get this lovely textural feel. Trial and error is the name of the game!
See any brand-name items that you’re wondering how to DIY? Hit me up at carlyjcais at chic-steals dot com and lmk! I’ll include them in the next round of High-Fashion DIY’s!
xoxox
Carly
photo credits: net-a-porter.com, Fashionising.com, KeikoLynn.com, StantonJames.com, thefashionspot, wireimage.
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Sep 19, 2010 | DIY
In the home stretch now, everyone! Another one of my submissions for Style Sample Magazine and New York Design Shop’s Create Couture Challenge back in early August.
Materials:
*White Sweater Style Stretch Trim
*Gold Circle Studs
Additional Tools/Materials:
*thin headband
*sewing machine + needle for knits (optional)
*hand-sewing needle
*matching thread
*hot-glue gun
How to:
1. Sew the Stretch Trim into a tube down its long side. (I sewed it on the sewing machine but you can hand-stitch it if you prefer.) Turn right-side out.
2. Cut into 3 pieces: 1 longer for the large flower, and 2 shorter for the two smaller flowers.
3. Hand-stitch the two ends of the long piece of Trim together, to form a circle.
Make 5 loops in the circle and push inwards to the center, stitching through the center area.
4. Pull the thread tight to gather the loops.
5. Sew a few times more all the way through the center to secure.
6. Repeat Steps 3) – 5) for the two smaller flowers. I made only 4 loops (4 petals) for each.
7. Dab some hot glue in the center of each flower, and glue down a Circle Stud.
8. Hot-glue each flower to the top of a thin headband. (For more security, I’d recommend hand-sewing the flowers on, looping the thread around the headband.)
And that’s it! This of course can be accomplished by using any scrap fabric or ribbon you have – though it works particularly well with “puffy” fabric like this sweater stretch trim because it creates a tube-like appearance to the flower petals.
Everything’s in bloom during the summer!
xoxox
Carly
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Jul 6, 2009 | DIY
Designers appear to have reached into their desk drawers for inspiration this spring, pulling out the New Wave accessory du jour: staples, pins, and zippers utilized in a variety of different ways: exposed, in contrast-color, haphazardly applied as trim, or twisted into 3D shapes. Interestingly, the largest zipper manufacturer in the world, YKK, was one of the official sponsors of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in NYC (even the lanyard for the press badge was a zipper). From the staples on Victor & Rolf’s beautifully cut wool jackets to Sex Pistols-style safety pins and cheeky punk jewelry by Tom Binns – thanks to this hot 2009 trend, low is the new high, and the functional…fabulous.
The hardware-heavy, craftsy felt-flower cuff by Marc Jacobs inspired us to staple, zip, and pin our own…here’s how:
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
– large piece of stiff black felt (8.5″ x 11″)
– black thread
– decorative thread or staples in gold (check the scrapbooking section of the craft store)
– 1 decorative button
– heavy-duty gold snaps (2 sets)
– gold soutache braided trim
– 1 heavy-duty jacket zipper (black with gold teeth)
– gold safety pins (1 large, 15 small)
– clear, flexible plastic (like from a vinyl tabletop cover)
TOOLS:
– snap setting pliers/hammer+die for the snaps
– stapler
– needle
– felt or fabric glue
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. MAKE THE PARTS Cut the felt into 2 abstract, oblong flower “petals” 2 flower “petals”. To make the triangle-shaped petals, cut the plastic into 2 diamond shapes. Cut the zipper into 3 lengths, each piece measuring 10″ long. Fold each length in the center to make a rounded petal shape; secure the inside with 2 gold staples (or hand-sew stitches in decorative thread).
2. MAKE THE CUFF AND BASE From the felt, cut out the base of your flower parts: a circle measuring approximately 1.25″ in diameter. Then cut a 2″ wide strip that is long enough to go around your wrist plus a 3/4″ for overlap for the snaps. Use snap-setting pliers (like Dritz), or hammer and die to set 2 snaps (and their counterparts) into the ends. Because they are strong, we chose shanked snaps; alternatively, you could use sew-on snaps.
3. ADD THE EMBELLISHMENT Using a needle and thread, hand-sew your parts onto the felt base. Start with a felt petal, then a zipper petal, then a plastic petal in a corkscrew design; repeat, attaching each new petal on top of the previous one. Wind the braided trim in and out of the petals in a figure-8 pattern, securing in the center with a few stitches. Then hide all of your stitching with a button sewn into the center. Pin safety pins haphazardly around the edge of one of the felt petals; thread 10 smaller pins onto the larger pin and attach. Complete the look by adding yet more staples or decorative thread.
4. ATTACH BASE TO CUFF Glue felt base to the center of the cuff. Secure further by sewing around edge of the circle base with decorative thread.
To let the cuff rock out on its own, wear with something demure…or do a full-on Marc Jacobs style, with a nipped-in shrunken jacket, mismatched obi belt, super-long denim pencil skirt, and teeny porkpie straw hat set akilter.
Still have questions? Email me at CarlyJCais AT FashionTribes.com. Otherwise, happy DIY-ing!
– Carly J. Cais
(runway photos via style.com)
(As posted on FashionTribes.com)
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