Reporting For Duty

Bowler - Topshop

Jacket - Forces & Uniform Kit

T-Shirt - New Look

Shorts - Ark (Levi's)

Tights - Henry Holland

Shoes - Jeffrey Campbell

Necklace - Rock n Rose

Rings - H&M/River Island

This is what i wore for a girly day out with my mum (minus the shoes, i bought them on our girly day out!) We went to the gym, then to Meadowhall for Nandos and shopping, and then went to see The Amazing Spiderman which is actually amazing!

I have to talk about the army jacket which is exactly the same as the ones they sell in Urban Outfitters for £48. I did my research as i really didn't want to pay that much, and amazingly i discovered that if you buy them directly from the forces uniform website they are only £15! And they are bang exactly the same, so i don't understand how UO can sell them at more than double the price? I find that quite annoying!

I have been lusting over all the Jeffrey Campbell shoes for quite some time now, and eventually came to the decision that i had to own a pair! I decided on the black spiked heel Lita's as i feel these will go with anything i wear.

Also i haven't taken my black bowler hat off since i bought it, i love it so much!

Hope everyone has a nice weekend :)

CC x

If I Can Do DIY...

I have never been an arty person due to the fact that i am quite impatient and not very good at drawing etc. However, i have been lusting after these shorts which they sold in Urban Outfitters last year for a whopping £80! I love the frayed edges of the shorts and the cross stud detail on the back pockets (if you haven't noticed before i am quite obsessed with crosses in a non-gothic/religious way!).

I was never ever going to spend that much on shorts; especially re-worked vintage ones. For some reason it has only just occurred to me how easy it would be to make my own. So after pulling out my vintage Levi shorts that i got for £20 last summer, i first needed to re-work them a bit more as they were quite long and not distressed enough for me. So here is my step by step guide to customising your denim shorts/trousers:

Unfortunately i don't have a picture of my shorts before i cut them and frayed them as i forgot. Basically you cut the jeans/shorts half an inch longer than you would like them by marking with a pencil and folding them in half to cut them so they are even on each leg.

 

Once you have done this, you will notice that they look too neat and newly cut. So in order to fray the edges use a buffer or if you don't have one (like me) use a nail file. All you do is rub the rough side of the nail file downwards and away from the edges of the shorts, and it will start to fray the edges and pull bits of threads out. It is quite a messy process so a hoover may be needed afterwards! 

Now you have frayed your shorts to your hearts content, it is time to customize your shorts further if you desire to. To do a cross stud pattern like me, you will need some fabric glue and two strips of silver studs. I got the studs for 99p each off Ebay as i literally couldn't find them anywhere else!

To glue the studs on, i used a cotton bud to apply the glue to the studs to keep from the glue getting everywhere and making it look messy. After placing the first strip down leave for 15-20 minutes to allow the glue to dry before applying the next strip.

And here is the final result...

I think for a running total cost of £26, my own version of the £80 shorts are nearly just as good! For me this is a real achievment and i am really pleased with the results. If i can do it then anybody can, trust me! I can't wait to wear them in the summer at a festival with a slouchy t-shirt, federa hat, wellies and lots of jewellery. For now i will wear them with ripped tights, slouchy jumpers and ankle boots.

Has anybody else done any DIY themselves? Let me know if you try to re-work some of your own denim shorts!

CC x