Designs on Denim: Part 2
This story starts with a pair of jeans.
They fit relatively well when I bought them as part of my massive haul from Thrift Town in San Francisco a few months back ($5.99). Unfortunately boot cut is not the most flattering on me… I only wear skinnies!
Inspiration for these jeans came from Isabel Marant S/S 12… aren’t they fabulous!
Net a Porter had these at £225, but they are now sold out. Not to worry though, I’m making my own pair!
In making these, I used an excellent tutorial from thefashionguitar.com, which I highly recommend. Here’s my take on it.
First, I made the boot cuts into skinnies. Wearing the jeans inside out, I pinned out the excess down the outside of both legs, then stitched along the lines. You can see the bottoms have already been taken up!
Here’s what they look like right side out. Not great, but they’ll do.
Next, using the tutorial, I scrunched up the jeans adding elastic bands/elastic as I went along.
Basically you put the balled-up jeans into a bucket of bleach and leave it there until it’s changed colour.
I had to leave mine all day and all night…. before rinsing in the washing machine….
But when they came out…. WOW!
I was completely smitten with them already at this stage. I think the back is even better than the front!
All that was left to do was take ’em up a bit and then think of a way of styling them that doesn’t make them look too ‘out-there’.
Over at thefashionguitar.com, she styles her jeans with a white shirt and black jacket like so…
Which is nice, but I think something a bit more colourful would also work. Maybe something like this? (Testing my theory that everything goes with ‘nude’ sequins)
Or something in between, like this…. (taken at my friend’s Birthday celebrations at Les Trois Garcons recently…)
But which is better? There’s only one way to find out…
Charity Shop Chic 
Brilliant! I love the effect. No doubt the same technique would work with this summer’s coloured jeans to get an even more Marrant look. Now if you could just come up with some ideas of what to do with my pile of jeans that are now too big for me…
Absolutely, you could do this with coloured jeans, but I think you get the best effect from dark colours.
What a lovely set of jeans.
I used to have a set of purple velvety boot cuts like this which i wore till the material gave up :(
Might have to try this some day.
Thank you! You should definitely try this, it’s really, really easy. Have fun!
Very, very cool.
Thanks :)
OMG! I seriously love those. At first when reading I thought… “uh-oh, what is she getting herself into?” and then they turned out seriously awesome!
They have just the right amount bleached, with a great pattern (or lack of?) to them.
Good work! This is soooo getting Pinned for future reference :)
Haha thanks Ali, sometimes I wonder what I’m getting myself into as well ;-)
I am really pleased with how they turned out actually, although it was a bit a shock at first… I need to come up with more outfit/styling ideas so I can get more use out of these babies!
Super cute! As an aside, bleach will continue eating your fiber even after you have washed it, so eventually holes will appear in your fabric, a good way to neutralize that effect is by soaking your item in white vinegar after the first wash!
I didn’t know that… I thought a good rinse would be enough! Thanks for the tip.
But in a good way
:)
Love the jeans. Bleach dyeing is so easy. I always run dyed items in a vinegar bath after the bleach to stop the action of the bleach. Great job.
A good tip, thanks Shelley. I haven’t done this for these jeans but am now considering whether I should!
I must try the skinny jean refashion. Regarding your outfit preference, I’d like to see the Black Jacket but a brightly colored tee, lime, red, yellow. Another great job!
Great idea, thanks! I have a bright orange polo somewhere which would be great for a casual outfit. Thanks for stopping by.
These are smashing! I love the way they turned out! I think I’m too thick on the bottom to get away with them, but I admire them!
Thank you! Of course, you could use whatever cut of jeans suits you best…
I love them, and think your first outfit rocks x
Aw thanks Erica. I think the first outfit is going to win the poll, but I’m a fan of the white jacket version, personally.
LOVE it! I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment in the denim series :)
Don’t worry, it’s coming soon! :)
Oh I love those jeans! I love even more that you slimmed them down first-I have a pair of light blue flares that I never really wore (they never fit right and more then a bit big) that I wouldn’t mind trying this with-especially if I follow your photos and slim them down! It looks so easy to do but so pretty once done!
Bonnie MS
http://www.ridingthebonnieway.blogspot.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/RidingTheBonnieWay
Thanks Bonnie, it’s quite easy to change the legs as long as the waist already fits. I think I could have gone a bit skinnier with mine, to be honest!
Wow! Those jeans turned out really well. I think you can pretty much pair them with any outfit. They are super versatile. Speaking of which, I just want to let you know that I am passing a Versatile Blogger Award onto you. If you would like to accept it (and there is no pressure), come on over to my blog and grab it! I read your blog a lot and I’m really inspired by your creations.
Thank you! I am really glad you like them.
Thanks for the award, that’s very sweet of you. It’s always nice to be appreciated! ;-)
I love all of your ensembles!! Those jeans are totally ROCK STAR – what a fabulous refashion and it works so perfectly for everyday wear and glamour wear!
Aw, thanks Meg. I like to think I look rock star in them, but I’m not sure I’ll be brave enough to wear them very often!