Reconstructed

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A big ole fat guy's sweater...into one that fits me!

I tried making this into a dress but I'm too tall and this was the biggest size they had at the thrift store. But maybe if you're short enough this could work as a dress for you. Just take a sweater that fits you now (length doesn't matter) and size it to that. Check out the t-shirt tut if you need instructions.

How to Thread Your Sewing Machine

I did this tutorial for a class here at school. Hope this helps for beginners :)

Flare to Skinny Jeans

Hey ya, I got an easy tutorial to make those outdated flare jeans into skinny minnies. Soo when you're thrifting, don't just skip over those wide legged pants(although they're making a come back in office wear..). I bought these jeans at the Goodwill in Pittsburgh for about $4. I got hips that don't lie so when I saw this....

..I couldn't really pass them up. Okay well here we go with a B4 shot..


B4

First step is to take off yo pants (and jacket) and turn them inside out. Put them on inside out.




I do my new seam in the inside leg, just incase I make a mistake, it's easier to hide. So take one leg of the pant and pull it in. Pin from the top of you leg and work your way down to the hem. About where your knee is, is where you will begin to take a good portion in. Make sure when you pin together, you are smoothing jean fabric as much as possible, as to not make bunches. (Make sure you're leaving enough space for your foot to escape when taking off the pants!)


After you are done with one leg it will look something like this.. FYI if you're a little hippier (like you've also got honest hips) try not to make the jeans as skinny. Wearing clothes is like an illusion so if you want to skew perception, make the leg more boot cut than skinny. It'll "even" you out.



Alright now take off your pants and lay on the ground and fold one leg over the other. We're going to use the pinned leg to help us pin the other leg. This will allow your pants to be more even than if you just pinned the other leg while you were wearing it.



Alright, so once the other side is pinned and free of possible bunches (is your fabric smooth??) it's time to sew. Bust out your handy dandy sewing machine and set its length to the highest setting to make a basting stitch. If there's a mistake, it'll be easy to remove the stitches and fix them. Once you're done both legs, turn rightside out and try on your pants. If they fit the correct way you'd like them to, go ahead and stitch a stay stitch (shorter length stitch). You may cut off your excess fabric and strut yo stuff in your new fashionable pantalones.

One problem you may run into is when meeting the new stitch with the existing stitch. To prevent a puckering in your pants make sure you are creating a GRADUAL stitch. No sudden jumps here please.




(See the stitch on the left wasn't gradual enough, so I fixed it with the right stitch.)


And here I am making funny faces because I am happy that I'll have a pair of pants to wear tomorrow, since all of mine have been accumulating in ikea bags to be sent home and washed...FOR FREE!

Kanye West's Runaway

If you haven't already check out Kanye West's short film “Runaway” I think you should do so soon. The style of this film is presented in a clean cut way with a very simple color palate. Kanye hired Philip Lim to design all three of his looks. For the banquet scene Kanye wears a cream colored tuxedo with a chunky black bow tie. This is my favorite look because it presents him opposite of his female costar. Victoria Secret model Selita Ebanks wore a costume that helped depict a pheonix which was made out of hand dyed feathers, covering her private areas to expose the body in a natural, sexy way. Beautiful layered wings covered most of her back. No straps were used to hold her wings down, only molds, so it created such a natural flow of human to bird. Martin Izquierdo created this piece from Kanye's vision.

Halloween Costume Ideas

Arnold from "Hey Arnold"

This is a easy costume if you've got blonde hair. First find a red flannel, pair of blue jeans, black shoes, and a teal(or blue-ish) sweater. You probably have the shoes and jeans. If you don't have the rest of the outfit, visit your local thrift store. Now for the hat. I found this awesome tutorial that you only need construction paper and a paper fastener! To keep the hat in place, tie string or glue it to an old headband. You could also use a regular size hat too, although I think the little hat adds to the Hey! Arnold flare. Once you've got that completed, time for the hair...if you have short blonde hair, part it down the middle and spike it with gel/hairspray. If you have longer hair, braid it into pigtails of your own style. Wahla, instant football head! (well, kinda..i'll post a real picture later)

Jack-O-Lantern
My friend Cheryl came up with this easy idea a couple of months ago..She was hosting a "Jack Party"..anyone who came had to dress up as a "jack" and we were JackOLanterns! First go buy an orange shirt. Short sleeve, long sleeve, dress, whatever. As long as its orange and you wont be sad to re-create it into something else. Plan your jackolanters face. Be silly, scary, simple,sad, etc. Visit any craft store to buy felt with sticky backing (or regular felt and some fabric glue). While you're there pick up some green pipe cleaners. Go home and get DIY-ing. Cut out the face from the felt, put it to your orange shirt, try it on lots of times. Find a simple headband (or make one out of pipe cleaners) adding curly pumpkin ques and a leaf. When you carve your real pumpkin, make a twin! You can carry it around with you for the night and introduce it to friends as your boyfriend!

(bad picture not made with felt but you get the point?)


Ghost
Be a ghost using the same technique above but with a white shirt. You can be cute and spooky. Easy as booberrypie!

Zombie

Getting this costume ready is as fun as being it. Bree, Laura and I dressed up as the walking dead for Pittsburgh's Zombie Walk. Go to a costume shop and buy some Liquid Latex. I bought more than enough for about $7. Play around with this stuff, its so much fun. (BTW don't apply to hair, it hurts a lot when you take it off) Use toilet paper/quilted paper towels/tissue for bigger wounds, apply with a glue stick. Get some black, red, purple, green, white face paint and layer these colors. Make blood using 3 parts corn syrup, 1 part water, and red food coloring. Create brains by making rice krisipie treats and adding red food coloring. The neat thing about this costume is you can make anything a zombie. So be an Arnold zombie, if ya want!


Adventure Time
My friend Bree and I are being Finn and Jake from Adventure Time. A friend showed me a tutorial for Finn's Hat. I made the backpack myself and will be making a sword. The rest of the outfit is easy. Bree's being Jake and her costume in progress is looking awesome. So excited for Halloween this year! Tons of adventures to be had in Pittsburgh.







I know that some people say that Halloween is the "one day of the year that girls can dress like total sluts and have it be okay" but I don't believe that. Keep it classy, only certain people want to see your cheeks and these probably aren't the people you want to be around..there's a difference between slutty and sexy!

If you have any costume ideas, share the wealth! Or if you try any of these ideas I'd love to see pictures :)

VMA's/Pittsburgh's First Fashion Week

MTV's VMAs
This year's VMAs we saw a lot of black. The men wore black, the women wore black, Some stars went with a muted black look like Lil Jon in denim, while others, like Will.I.Am, decided to go for crazier look. Lady Gaga added some color to the red carpet with her royalty dress made by designer Alexander McQueen. Her feather part and lobster-claw heels made her a sight to see. She also sported a black Armani dress, and a meat dress with matching shoes. Love or hate her, Lady Gaga is reinventing pop music with her outrageous style. My best dressed pick would be Selena Gomez. She wore silver great and added blue in the correct places to make her stand out in a good way. My Worst Dressed pick would be Kesha. I don't really understand her trash bag look. She'd be beautiful if she classed it up. But then we wouldn't really have a Kesha anymore...

Pittsburgh's First Fashion Week

Pittsburgh's First Fashion week was held September 27^th to October 3^rd. Local designers such as MarkAv, Katie Wolfrum, and Brian David. International designer, Zang Toi was a treat for this first fashion week. I attended MarkAv's show and I think they are worth looking after. MarkAv stands for “Motivational Artist Recreating Keen Avenues of Victory” these guys originally from Buffalo, New York began their clothing line as juniors in high school in 2003. The customer they design for are people just like you and me. It's a clash of urban and preppy to "fulfill all personalities and styles". MarkAv showcased mini dresses for women perfect for a night out. They also made a dress out of Steeler's Jerseys with cute little ruffles. Gray tailored vests with subtle details, such as a hood made perfect casual looks for the men out there. These young designers showed their talents and I can't wait for next year's fashion week.

NY Fashion Week/Winter Trends

Highlights of NY Fashion Week Spring and Summer Collections for 2011

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week was held September ninth through sixteenth. Designers such as LAMB, Marc Jacobs, Betsey Johnson showed off their Spring and Summer collections for 2011.

Betsey Johnson took girly prints and paired them with punky silhouettes. Large puffy skirts and cupcake evening wear, as well as sailor style were apart of the show. Outfits influenced from the streets of the city gave Bestey her "urban travel wear" look. These models sported necklaces that read "Ride Me". Bestey ended her colorful show riding a bike with training wheels with her models sporting "le tour de Bestey" T's.
Check her show out here.

LAMB by Gwen Stefani featured bold and bright prints with African and tribal motifs under crop jackets. Flannel and matching bags were also apart of her collection. Stefani would call her collection "a clash of feminine and masculine" and her show did justice to that statement.
Click here for the show.

Marc by Marc Jacobs was a seventies, sporty collection. It included stripe tops with tailored shorts. Women's wear and Men's wear were featured together on the runway. This collection had a relaxed feel with orange being the prominent color.
Click here for the show.

Winter Trends

If you don't already have these pieces in your closet, make sure when you're shopping for winter to find classic looks in black tones. With predictions that the economy will be a little more rough next year, it is important to invest. Buying looks that are versatile and that will last for the up coming year, will keep your money in your pocket. A black blazer is perfect. To spice up this look add a cute pin. Chanel Chain purses are a good investment because they are always included in upcoming season trends. Stripes are also timeless. Wear these pieces every once and a while to give your style some spunk. Black and white stripes are great for this winter. Military Jackets are great when buying outerwear. Just make sure it is made with quality and it will last you for many upcoming seasons.