DIY White Button Down Shirt: REMIX

As Lena Dunham so accurately describes in her show 'Girls,' the post college era is a mess. A real shit-show. It sucks for everyone. It is confusing, poor, full of bad decisions, peppered with low self-esteem, and generally not sober. Hopefully, in spite of that, or maybe because of that, it is also a time of great growth. 

I would like (hope) to think that I have officially passed the 'post-college' phase. I have a steady job, I'm killing it on the blog (yeah, I'm tooting my own horn - my stats are excellent), I have my own apartment that I actually really really like, I finally know how to cook a healthy meal and can manage to do the dishes afterwards, I like my friends, my furniture (kind of) looks intentional, I can afford a nice meal, I have a kitchen table and I use it, I belong to Equinox - most of the ingredients for functioning adulthood. SCORE.

I first realized what a changed bird I was a few weeks ago. A foreign friend came over for dinner. We had not had a hang-in since college. He was amazed at my life and kept asking how proud my parents were of who I have become. I was confused, because even though my parents are very loving and proud, they have not been exceedingly, extra proud since I last saw said foreign friend. In fact, they were probably more proud then because, ya know, I was graduating college and that's kind of a big deal. It was clear there had been much time and space since my amigo had last come around and he was in shock to see that I was no longer a dysfunctional college student. (Go me!)

Then again, right before I headed home for Thanksgiving. I was doing Fall Cleaning (Let's make that a thing instead of spring cleaning. I am so much more inclined to stay inside and scrub when it's cold than on a lovely spring day.) and found my sketchbook from freshman year. That thing was DARK. I don't at all recognize the person in those pages. Strange, because these days I wear a lot more black, much less glitter, and absolutely no peace signs. (Not even sorry.)

Speaking of, I also found some photos from my college days and another mammoth change has been my wardrobe. Granny-chic is not my thing anymore. Nor is hippy-dippy. Nor is desperate wannabe hipster. Also, I grew out my short granny hair and decided to stop wearing particularly baggy, shapeless dresses and intentionally ugly glasses. I used to look like a person who has many, mulitple cats, and was proud of it. I don't. I have one cat and that's enough. Maybe one day I'll share a photo of my college ID, because it is HILARIOUS. Today is not that day, though.
Too soon.
Sorry. 

As I filed through old photos I began to comprehend how much clothing I have purchased and soon after discarded over the years. Super wasteful. So, point of this very long, self-appraising story, happening now: I have pledged to try to 'upcycle' my clothes before committing them to the red cross.
(See how I used 'try'? Giving myself an out. Because my follow through is lackluster at best.)

I had previously purchased an over-sized white sheer button down from American Apparel back in my I-prefer-to-wear-clothes-that-look-like-bags days. I have been thinking about eradicating the thing for a while because I never wear it. Part of this has to do with the shape (or lack there of), but I think it mostly has to do with the shitty detailing. Let me clarify: AA is great for basics. However, anything beyond a t-shirt, leggings, or tights is usually poorly sewn and has crappy details. Case in point, the aforementioned shirt. Whoever chose the buttons on that shirt should leave the fashion industry. It's not for you. 

This is what the updated shirt looks like now:

This is the lame before version:

OK, it doesn't look THAT bad in this photo, but you have to remember, this is the BEST CASE SCENARIO for the shirt. It will never actually be this clean, or pressed, or on a model figure, or professionally photographed. Notice how the fabric pulls near the seams on my shirt but not on the model's. Just sayin' - IRL, it's a very different shirt. 

So I made it better with pretty buttons. Duh. 

DIY Halloween Costume: Highlighter

For all parties concerned: I AM OK. 

Hurricane Sandy was a bitch of a storm but luckily Brooklyn killed it. My lights didn't even flicker for a hot second and I was able to watch the news for 24 hours straight. If I learned anything from the reports, it's that we were all supposed to die during the storm. There was a moment last night where I emailed a Chicago based friend asking what I should do if a "The Day After Tomorrow" scenario struck. (I'm a little very nervous about the world ending this December.) The asshole told me to run to battery park because no doubt Jake Gyllenhaal would be there to rescue me. That was a preposterous idea though, because Battery Park was already under water and everyone knows Jake lives in Brooklyn. 

The biggest take away from the hurricane is the re-affirmation of my most favorite mantra: Brooklyn is better. At this point, the whole tri-state area understands this too. Seriously. All my friends in lower Manhattan are fucked. And here I am, freshly showered, sipping hot coffee and blogging. SUCK IT MANHATTAN. 

In bad news - it looks like Halloween might be cancelled in NY. I'm not too upset because I have already explained to you how much I dislike the holiday, except for the drinking. And quite frankly - I think people are more into drinking during a freak storm than on a party night so it all worked out in my favori. 

Regardless - I kept my promise to make a cheap, easy, and not-slutty costume because I know not all of you live in NY/NJ/CT and some of you are actually going to celebrate the day of the dead. 

So here it is. Ladies and lady-like gentlemen: The HIGHLIGHTER COSTUME!

I really was hoping to get someone to photograph me in the outfit so you could see the full effect but, ya know, there was a hurricane. It kind of messed shit up. 

DIY Rhinestone Sleeved Tee

Ah, finally. A standard tutorial post. How long has it been? Too long. That's how long. 

Don't be mad, bro. I blame my absence on the tedious nature of the project I am posting right now. I also blame my friends for inviting me to so many fun things over the past two weeks. They don't lie. When it rains, it POURS. But it was mostly the tedious shit.
...kind of.
...not really. 

Before I show off the fruits of my labor, I have a very exciting announcement. 

MY SISTER IS ENGAGED!

Yeah.
If you're into this stuff, follow my new wedding themed pinterest board.

I bring up the engagement because it might affect you. I maybe, might attempt a few wedding based DIY projects. I KNOW. You don't come here for that shit. This is a usually a safe place for the sinical asshole with a cat (me). Weddings don't generally fit in here. But, ya know, it's my sister. And I want to make her wedding and engagement extra special so if it means decorating a bridal shower, then I'm gonna decorate the shit out of that shower. And then show you how to be as awesome of a sister as I am. It's not a competition, but just so you know, I would 100% win. 

And in the event that I do get a little gushy about flower arrangements and other stuff irrelevant to you, I promise to work extra hard to get the regularly programmed material out as well. Because I love you, and that's what you do for the ones you love. 

So, without any further ado, I do, give you, this tee-shirt with the crazy rhinestone sleeves:

DIY Rag & Bone Ombre Jeans

I found these super slick Rag & Bone pantalones on the interwebs a few days back:

[via]

Rad, right!?

But also, super trendy. 

In my recent effort to never invest in trendy items ever (toot toot classic pieces!) I decided to make this bleach ombre dream myself instead of purchasing. Also, I'm broke. So buying was not a legitimate option. I used a beat-up pair of BDG jeans that I was planning to throw away anyways. 

Reduce, reuse, recycle. Save the environment and some shekels all in one shot. 

You know what I always say: When the world gives you ratty-worn-down jeans, bleach 'em!

I know mine didn't turn out exactly like the Rag & Bone pair. A bit less subtle in color and fade, but bomb in their own right. In real life, it looks kind of like a flame. In my mind, these are the jeans Katniss Everdeen would wear, if only they were red...

DIY Grunge Tank

I know, it's been a while. 

But no one is enjoying September as much as I am. This month is my favorite of the months, and not just because I am a September baby. (September 22nd guys, in case you want to buy me presents and shit.) I like crispy air and new beginnings and change and birthday cake and presents and everything else about September. My second favorite hobby to crafting (running) is fun again. There's New York Fashion Week, which means absolutely nothing to me except that all of the beautiful people in the world are here. There has been a lot of excellent content and inspiration around the interwebs. And for reasons beyond my comprehension, I have a burning desire to BUY ALL THE CLOTHES. All I'm saying is, September is the tits and everyone knows it. 

On a completely unrelated note, I am supa 'cited that 90s grunge is making a comeback. Who doesn't love a healthy dose of plaid? There is nothing better then a hipster Jesus dude wearing a plaid shirt and glasses. Bonus points if he's not a pretentious ass-wipe. Ya feel me?

And, tying September (birthday) in to 90s grunge: For my birthday I asked my bad-ass parents for a moto leather jacket to complete my fall uniform; [immitation] Keds, black skinny jeans, a tee, and a leather jacket. I have it on good authority that my wish will come true, but I won't know for sure until next Saturday. 

In the mean-time-in-between-time, I am collecting and creating as many rad-sicle (new word I made up: Rad x Popsicle. Eh? Eh? I don't know, it just happened...) tees as possible. For examples, the tie tee, the heart tee, and, my personal favorite, the three wolf tee. 

And to add to my collection: A ripped up grunge tank.

Boom. Instacool. (Another new word. Instantly x Cool. This one works.) 

DIY Rhinestone Cat-eye Sunglasses

Hi, friends. Sorry about being all absent and shit. I was tending to really important things. Like my social life...

GET OFF ME, BRO! 
It's only been a week... ish. And a fun one at that. Also, advanced apologies BUT don't expect too much goodness next week. It's a holiday weekend and I plan to celebrate. On a boat. Tooooooooooot. 
Got to get that sun while it's out. Winter is coming....

On that note, I made some bomb-ass-fantastic rhinestone sunnies:

What's more?! The inspiration for this craft came from a photograph in a MAGANIZE. Not even a digital magazine. One with real pages. That I turned with my phalanges. WHOA. 
(Let's also take a moment to appreciate my awesome use of 'phalanges' in the previous sentence.)

I even took a digital photograph of my physical magazine inspiration:

I think this was from NYLON, but I can't be sure because I ripped this page out months ago. (Can you say 'HOARDERRRRR!') The original mag is hopefully in a recycling facility somewhere, if the recycling bins at my work place are in fact recycling bins, and not just regular trash bins disguised in green to make us employees stop bitching about killing all the trees. 

Regardless of the origin of the above image, or the whereabouts of my work-week paper waste, I made my own version of the above awesome sunnies. And you can too. 

DIY Tutrial: How to crop a t-shirt.

Let's all embrace our inner hipster while I reveal to you my new favorite t-shit.

Here is it in all of it's cropped glory:

It's great, isn't it?

Fall uniform: This tee, black jeans, docs, bike jacket. Instaballer. 

A few weeks back one of my more bad-ass coworkers (Hi, Adam!) directed me to this dream of an e-store. I spent hours, nay, days debating which shirt to buy. They are all so so wonderful in so many ways. It was a tough call, but in the end the three wolves howling at the moon was the one. It was always the one. I sized up and went baggy, because the shirt is a men's cut and I have boobs. Pre-crop, it was quite long and the sleeves were too baggy for my lady arms. It looked alright when I rolled the sleeves up, but I wanted a muscle tee. And, as my bad-ass coworker Adam said, "Suns out, guns out." And you know, I think that's a truth we should all live by. 

Here I am being a derp and wearing the muscle-t for a night out on the town. 

I think I look great. But that's just my opinion. 

And here is Dwight wearing the same tee on The Office:

Howl on, Dwight. Howl on. 

I obviously didn't make this shirt BUT I did crop it, and I cropped it well. Some people are reluctant to bring scissors to their clothes in fear of ruining a perfectly OK item. I gotchyou bro. I gotchyou. You see, my ultimate goal in life to to eliminate the fear of bringing scissors to fabric. We all have our purpose in life. This happens to be mine.  

DIY Spiked Sneakers

Another day, another craft. Except this one is AWESOME. 

I know I say that all the time, but I really mean it. 

SEE:

I may have a semi-serious shoe addiction. But, hey, recognition is the first step to recovery. And in the meantime, my feet look damn good. 

Despite the fact that another pair of shoes is probably the last think I need, these turned out bangin' and I loved wearing them out on the town. Got loads of compliments and boogied so hard I lost a few spikes. (All spike suicides were mourned and then, when enough time had passed, replaced with new spikes.) 

DIY Tie Tee: Olsen Style

I have a raging girl crush on the Olsen ladies. All three of them. (There are only three, right...) 

They always look so... cool. It's uncanny. 

A few days back I found this photo on Olsen's Anonymous and I was like, "Whoa. I want to be wearing that t-shit."

[via]

Needless to say, this is a totally obtainable look. I marched my little patootie over to H&M and bought myself a tee for $5.95 and BOOM, I made an Elizabeth Olsen tee:

My fall wardrobe is expanding by the day. 

DISCLAIMER: I do not look nearly as 'cool' as Ms. Elizabeth when wearing this shirt. I lack her 'cool' factor. Plus I have like [more than] a few pounds on the girl.

DIY Asos Bleach Heart Tee

Here's a major life question: Why buy when you can DIY? 

I know, I'm deep and shit. And I rhymed it. Like a boss.
(This was put much more eloquently in today's MR post.) 

I made the mistake of surfing the e-commerce world whilst broke and now I want all the clothes. I was drooling (only a little) about this bad-ass Asos tee:

[via]

For a hot second I thought about dropping some 30 dollars for this tee. But then I remembered that H&M sells amazing basic tees for $7.95 and I already have bleach. You know, for cleaning shit. 

So I made it myself!

Good work, me. Pat on the back, me. 

Studded Bikini Top

It's bathing-suit season, and I've got to keep up my post-vacation Mediterranean tan. I'm usually more vampire-ish about my sunning habits, but when my skin reaches this level of brownness there is only one option: keep it going darker. 

(Major Lazerrrrr. Anyone? ANYONE?)

The issue: I have maybe one good bathing-suit (because I usually avoid being naked in front of Mr. Sun). Solution: Buy more bathing-suits. Crafty solution: Cover it in studs. 

So I made this bomb-ass studded dream of a bikini top:

Tres chic, oui? 

I totally stole this idea from an adorable boutique I passed one night in Tel Aviv:

Not the best image but you get the idea. 

I was inspired and shit. Whatever. Let's move on. 

Metallic Hair Bow

You guys. I am having a moment with metallic silver. It all started with these docs. Then this bag. And finally, with the help of an amazing sale and free shipping promotion, these shoes. So, when I saw silver pleather trim at M&J I knew it had to be mine. 

Obviously, I made a metallic hair bow. Because that's just the kind of shit I do.

It's all very 'space-age'. Pretty soon I'll be walking around in head to toe metallic. Kind of like this:

Yeah, that's me. 

You know you want a piece. 

Varsity T

I found these fun lil' T-shirts on Net-A-Porter a few weeks back. 

[via]

My inner monologue went as follows:

"Oh. That's super cute. I can totes make that." Followed by flashing images of M&J's varsity letter section. Yes. I have the store visually memorized. 

And then I pulled a Barney Stintson and was all "Challenge accepted!" even though no one had actually challenged me. Also, the "Challenge accepted!" part was out loud. Scared some coworkers. It must be entertaining to sit near me. Or horribly, horribly annoying. I choose to believe that my I-love-Martha-Stewart-and-glitter rants are endearing, but I could be very very wrong about that. 

Anyways, I was being for real serious about the "Challenge accepted!" remark and I made it:

It's pretty much the exact same thing, I think. Except the fancy version is 75 dollars and mine could not have been more than 15. 

CRAFTING WIN MUTHAFUCKAAAA!

Sprinkle Dyed Tank

I was so excited to receive this awesome tie-dye kit from Tulip:

I was even more excited to find all of this goodness inside:

-Gloves to protect my hands

-Surface cover to protect my floor

-Rubber bands

-Bottles with dye powder

-Packets of dye powder. 

I decided to try an unconventional technique that we shall call "Sprinkling" going forward. I promise I'll show you why... after the jump!

DIY Anya Hindmarch Wallet

I fancy this wallet:

I fancy it bad. 

[via]

If I made boat loads of money, I would have bought myself this wallet before it was sold out.

I don't make boat loads of money. So I didn't buy if before it was sold out.

So I made my own. 

Check it. 

This is what dreams are made of.

Is anyone else singing the Lizzie McGuire song in their head?

Here's a hint for everyone who is totally lost right now:

Hey, now! Hey, now! This is what dreaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmssssssss are made of!

This is poetry, my friends. Poetry. 

I make fun, but I'm 100% listening to this right now. On repeat. 

This is why I'm single. 

Virtual Shoe DIY

Good news. I have some supa-fly crafty tutorials coming your way this week. (Think studded hearts and metallic silver.) I am also participating in a focus group and getting a crispy 100 dolla bill for my input. All that money is going directly to M&J, where I plan to replenish my very hungry craft closet.

In other fun news, I found this pretty rad site where you can custom design a pair of shoes! It's virtual DIY. No fuss, no muss (and no mess). The only issue is that the product is hella expensive. I suppose 280 dollars is the price we pay for custom-made shit. 

I designed a sleek white snake skin wedge:

I don't know. Lately I am obsessed with wearing solid black, white, and metallic silver. I can't stop. I won't stop. 

And I actually 100% know why. I follow the lovely Ivania Carpio of Love Aesthetic and her style is rubbing off on me. Loves it. 

So what shoe would you virtually DIY? Clicky clicky here to get designin'.

DIY Pixie Market Sweater

The internets are a dangerous place for a me to roam free.

I'm one of those shoppers where I see something and my reaction is, "Holy shit. I NEED that. I have no idea how I lived without this item until now. This is essential. A staple. Totally worth it despite my skinny wallet. I'll be happy I bought this later." And then I compulsively buy.

I found one such item on pixie market the other day and had the inner monologue summarized above. Then, an epiphany. I can make this! 

Boom: 

Mine was free-ish because I already owned all the materials.

The real shits:

172 dolares, por favor. 

That's a lot of shekels.

MAYBE this one is an angora wool blend, and mine is cheap cotton. So what? Who the hell wants wool this time of year anyways.

Crafting always wins. 

Cole Haan Inspired Brogues

A few months (weeks) back I bought a few pairs of shoes from Asos so I could craft them into more exciting versions of themselves. First, I made the J.Crew inspired gold loafer. Then, the neon tipped pair. This weekend, I made this rad pair of Cole Haan inspired brogues.

Check it:

Here is the original pair:

You can buy these for a cool $178.00 from Zappos. Or, you could go with the crafty route and save yourself a good hundred bucks. Crafting win!

That's Right. I made Glitter Sunglasses.

Last night I made me some glittery sunglasses. Yes, on a Thursday night, while you were out drinking with your friends, I was at home crafting. It was EPIC. (But for real, I swear I have friends. Lots of 'em! It's just - I'm running this marathon on Sunday so I'm trying to limit my partying until after I do that.) 

Now, I know what you are thinking. This is only my third post and I have used glitter two times already. That's a lot of glitter. 

LISTEN UP, PEOPLE: there is going to be tons of glitter on this blog. Why? BECAUSE I FREAKING LOVE IT. That's why. I will, however, offer alternative materials some times when appropriate for all those glitter haters out there. This does not happen to be one of those times. SO DEAL. 

Anyways, I have fallen head over heels in love with Miu Miu's Fall 2011 Noir sunglasses: 

I want them. I need them. I decided that they would be mine, whatever it took. I called my mom in September letting her know that I found my Hannukah gift and that she could pay me back for them at her earliest convenience. I marched myself to the Miu Miu store in Soho to secure my pair. Lo and behold, they are VERY MUCH sold out, and the lovely sales ladies didn't know when they would be back in. They did not offer to put me on a waiting list. RUDE. I offered my phone number so that they can call me when they expect a new shipment. They took it down on a post-it. A POST-IT. There is no way they are going to call me. Ever. About anything. 

So the only option at this point was to make my own pair. That being said, should these babies become available for purchase again, I WILL be buying them. The ones I made are great, but Miu Miu's are better. No, not better - they are perfect. I don't care that they cost almost 400 dollars! I'll starve for a few weeks. That's no big deal, I could stand to lose a few pounds anyways. I'M WATCHING YOU MIU MIU. I'M READY TO POUNCE. 

What you need to make your own Miu Miu Noir sunglasses:

1. White spray paint from Michael's

2. ModPodge from Michael's

3. Paint brush from Michael's 

4. Masking tape from my local hardware store

5. Glitter from Michael's (I chose Martha Stewart's Rose Quartz)

6. A pair of old sunglasses (or buy new cheepies, maybe from Urban Outfitters)

Step 1: 

Tape off the lenses 

Step 2: 

Spray paint glasses with the white spray paint (Glitter shows up better on a light surface. Only take this step if your glasses are dark like mine.)

Step 3: 

Mix equal parts ModPodge and Glitter with your paint brush

Step 4:

Paint your sunglasses with the Glitter/ModPodge paste

Step 5: 

Let dry

Step 6: 

Peel off masking tape

Step 7: 

If it's looking a little thin in certain areas (like mine), touch up with your Glitter/ModPodge mix.

And here is a low-quality picture of me wearing my new faux-designer sunglasses. At night. In my bed.

 SUPERCUTE! Now you make some! Or e-me and I will be happy to take your custom order! Ciao!