Oct 28, 2011 | DIY, Fashion
Continued from my first installment, DIY Ideas from New York Fashion Week Part 1 (A-M)…here are some more ideas to spice up your Spring 2012 wardrobe, DIY style!
NAHM: Create a hybrid dress by using an old 70’s-style polyester top and a button-front dress; retain the bodice of the top and add the placket and collar of the dress, as well as the skirt. Cut the hem in an asymmetrical mullet. Don’t forget the ankle socks!
Opening Ceremony: Embroider the shoulder of a white blouse in a kitty fae, and cut out the eyes. Create a gumball-cluster-style hair elastic with brightly-colored beads.
Peter Som: Find a trenchcoat that’s a little small for you at the shoulders and cut off the sleeves. Unbutton and rearrange the collar front; add a belt made from reflective tape and a sliding belt bulk (from the sewing findings section at Jo-Ann Fabrics).
Ports 1961: Fasten a bright 80’s-style suit jacket with neon cording (ended with silver cord caps) threaded through the buttonhole in lieu of a button. Pair with platforms and an equally bright pair of pants!
Prabal Gurung: Sex up a plain white dress with a handmade black corset: use black cord or shoelaces to fashion a Y-shaped harness at the front, and punch holes into a 3″-wide piece of vinyl off corsetry-style lacing.
Rachel Comey: Create a hybrid tee by sewing together two t-shirts of contrasting colors and slit the top one at its shoulders. Use extra black fabric (or 2″ wide elastic!) to create a ladderlike effect inside the slit.
Richard Chai Love: Add interest to a printed blouse by placing strategic cutouts at the shoulders and below the collar.
T by Alexander Wang: Convert a maxidress into a cut-out hybrid 2-piece. Cut off the bottom for the maxi at the front only, with a high triangle in front; turn it into a halter dress by adding a coordinating cord around the neck. Thread the cord beneath the top part of the dress and cut some thinner slits at the sleeve seams.
Thakoon: Cut the front out of a bright trench for the staggered-hem look. Use brown textured duct tape in strips on a simple pair of khaki shorts. Pain half a camel-colored hat white, using painter’s tape to mask.
Tory Burch: Create a skirt worthy of ladies who lunch by adding pinwheels, fabric or otherwise. (Do those look like Reese’s peanut butter cup papers to anyone else?) Add a rhinestone in each center; pair with a cropped white sweatshirt.
United Bamboo: A hybrid suit jacket can be made by sewing together two halves of two different jackets and chopping the sleeves off the top piece. Pair with some sassy leather cutoff shorts!
Z Spoke by Zac Posen: Paint each nail a different color of the rainbow, stud the edges of a bright clutch, and pair with a Springy yellow cardigan flecked with gray fabric paint.
Some of these I’ll probably be doing tutorials for in the coming months.
See anything you’re just dying to know how to make? Leave it in the comments section, and if it’s possible, I’ll make it so!
xoxox
Carly
All photos found at Style.com. Layouts by me.
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Oct 4, 2011 | DIY
Okay, so we saw a version of this as a DIY on PS I Made This lately…but isn’t this twisted, yarn-y confection just begging to be DIY’d as is? Cue the pompon maker and bright yarn…this would be so easy to “recreate” with a barette attached to a yarn pompon, and a couple other hair combs with a small amount of yarn wrapped around them (or even small knitted rectangles – even cut from a sweater!!). You wouldn’t have to go full-on runway-style woven-through-the-hair either…just a prim braid or chignon pinned up at the back of the head, with the aforementioned barrettes/pompon would look pretty neat!
xoxox
Carly
photo from Style.com
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Oct 2, 2011 | DIY, Fashion
Above: cut the collar of a bright shirt and wear with a low scoop-neckline neutral cami.
The Spring 2012 Carven RTW runway show was chock-full of DIY inspiration from the latest trends. Removable collars? Cut-outs? Bright color-blocking? Oh yes, give me more! 
Thrift a bright knit camisole and cut the neckline into a low scoop; finish the top with hand-stitching or machine-stitching to prevent unraveling. Wear over a white button-down.
Cut an oval shape out of the center of a simple black dress.
Cut a wavy shape out of the front of a leatherette mini=dress (check the thrift store for possibilities). Wear over a denim blouse that’s had the sleeves cut off.
Cut a zig-zag shape into the front of a bright dress. Glue black lace into the hole from the inside.
Cut a heart-shape out of the front of a white blouse. (One that buttons down the back if you can find it.) Wear with a bright decorated collar necklace that sits right in the cut-out.
Cut a wavy shape out of a leatherette mini-dress. Pull apart some metallic flowers (from the floral or the scrapbooking section of the craft store); glue onto the dress with leather glue.
Cut out a round shape at the bust of a bright dress. Splatter with gobs of contrasting fabric paint.
Change the cut-out regimen by cutting out a rectangle just above the waist of a striped dress. Add some large beads or paillettes in a similar color across the neckline.
Cut out a polygon shape from above the waistline of a lace dress. Glue black lace into the hole from the inside.
xoxox
Carly
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Photos by Marcus Tondo / GoRunway.com, from Style.com
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Sep 21, 2011 | DIY, Fashion
Whew! That Fashion Week went by in the blink of an eye (and now we’re on top London), but I’m still collecting ideas for new projects to begin later this season and into next. Spring? Already? Wha-….?
The trends on the runway were captivating; the ideas full of Spring and renewal. Who didn’t swoon over the pastel minimalism at 3.1 Phillip Lim, the bold prints at Anna Sui, and the metallic fringe at Marchesa? Though minimalism and fresh colors dominated, I was still inspired by the latest round of DIY possibilities. Hit it, girls!
Alexander Wang: Embolden a pair of basic leggings with some fabric paint – just first use some painter’s tape to mask off geometric graphics.
Alice + Olivia: Thrift a diaphanous chiffon curtain and sew the vertical sides together. Thread a ribbon through the top pocket (where the rod would go); tie at the back of the neck. Cut off the excess bottom and slice a side-slit for an easy, springy halter dress.
Band of Outsiders: Create a contrast-y dress by adding a black collar (cut off another shirt if need be, or just by covering the dress’s existing collar in black fabric, and iron-on some black trim at the waist.
Carolina Herrera: Re-invent the LBD by adding the front of a white shirt, cut out, to it. Create the unique belt by simply cutting the negative space out of a 2-3″-wide red belt.
Cynthia Rowley: Cut jagged pieces from gold lame (or use gold lace!) to embellish the shoulders of a simple black cocktail dress.
Donna Karan: Use black elastic straps and hand-sew them to a mini bustier.
Erin Fetherston: Use a graphic print to create a simple sheath (or find something that fits the bill off-the-rack). Use a fabric marker to “color in” areas of the print for a bolder, eye-catching piece.
Jen Kao: Take a simple trench and dye it military-green, reserving the bottom for a dip-dye of lavender and orange sherbet.
Juan Carlos Obando: Punch large holes with a leather punch or using a pair of scissors (or even a scrapbooking punch!!) in a leather or vinyl jacket for a sultry peep-show.
Kimberly Ovitz: Cut out triangles from the sides of a sheer white blouse.
L.A.M.B.: Take a plain tote and cover side-to-side with a layer of neon yellow-green duck tape. Add more tape (or even vinyl trim!) – this time in camel – in geometric lines across the front.
Marc by Marc Jacobs: Replace the buttons of an otherwise unremarkable blue blouse with bright orange buttons. Tack on some khaki pockets (salvaged from an old pair of trousers or an overcoat) to a pair of dark blue pants.
Michael Kors: Cut the sides out of a python-print maillot. Cut the top from the bottom, add a belt in the middle, and hand-stitch each end to the top and bottom of a belt buckle. (Don’t swim in it!)
Monique Lhuillier: A bright wrap dress (dyed?) can be made edgier with pieces of black lace affixed to it strategically.
Some of these I’ll probably be doing tutorials for in the coming months. See anything you’re just dying to know how to make? Leave it in the comments section, and if it’s possible, I’ll make it so!
Also: Part 2 (N-Z) Coming Soon!
xoxox
Carly
All photos found at Style.com. Layouts by me.
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