DIY LBD SERIES - RECAP

Things have been so busy recently - with DIYs, collaborations and a side project (more on that soon I promise!) it's felt a little out of control. I'm half way through the fourth and final in the DIY LBD series (ok so maybe more like a third of the way).  Prior to finishing it, here's a recap of the three I have done previously. I have worn the crap out of all of them - that's the remit for a LBD right?

Black Wrapped Dress | Backless Dress | Gucci Inspired Rope Neck Dress

J BRAND COLLABORATION - JASON WU INSPIRED DENIM

Recently I had the pleasure of collaborating with J Brand Jeans on a AW11 Runway Inspired DIY. I chose to embellish some jeans with lace - a la Jason Wu RTW. Was such a fun project! Thanks to J Brand for arranging it - head over to their blog to check out my post and lots of other fun bits and bobs.

Lace has been popping up everywhere for the coming fall/winter season, and I couldn’t help but drool over the scalloped lace embellished dresses, sweatshirts and jackets that came down the runway as part of Jason Wu’s amazing AW11 RTW collection. What better way to get a bit of lace in your life than by doing it yourself? Never one to shy away from a challenge, I got to work adding some gorgeous black scalloped lace to my favorite J Brand style in an amazing bright lime green. Lace + chartreuse = two of my favorite AW11 trends wrapped up in one fun little DIY package!

To do this DIY you’ll need:

A pair of jeans (go for a bright color like green, orange or red)
Around 3m of black lace, scalloped along one edge. Try to pick lace with some stretch.
A needle and some black thread.
(& some re-runs of Sex and the City to watch while you do the project!)

1. Measure out enough lace to run down both sides of jeans.
2. Cut the lace to fit, leaving a little so the ends can be folded and sewed to the underside.
3. Line up the flat edge of the lace with the side seam of the jeans.
4. Pin in place.
5. Hand sew all the way around the lace, starting along the straight edge and then moving to the scalloped edge. This is when you’ll need a supply of your favorite re-runs – it took me about 2 hours to stitch the lace. Hand stitching works best because it allows a little bit of stretch for when you put the jeans on.
6. Complete both sides.

Voila! How easy is that? The scalloped lace gives a gorgeous and on-trend look, and a friend mentioned when I was wearing them that the lace was quite flattering on the legs, um, score!

DIY TRIBAL PRINT KIMONO

Tribal and aztec prints have featured heavily in the last couple of seasons, and don't look to be going away any time soon. I recently purchased a gorgeous red printed scarf when I was in thailand, with tassels and coins on the ends. As much as I loved it, there isn't a huge need for a scarf in HK until at least December, and I was really sad seeing it just languishing in my closet. I posted a whole year ago here about wanting to make a kimono/poncho style top - and have finally got around to it! Tip: You can use the same technique as shown below to make a winter cape using a thick printed blanket or throw rug.

DIY:

You'll need a large square printed scarf, scissors, and a needle and thread. I used a sewing machine for part of the process but you can easily do it all by hand.

1. Fold your scarf in half and mark the half way line with chalk. Lay the scarf on the floor or on a large table and cut down the chalk line, cutting a little bit over half way through the middle of the fabric.

2. Sew back and forth across the end of the cut in the fabric, so that it doesn't fray or rip.  Then sew the other raw edges - I rolled them over twice and hand stitched.

3. As you can see, in doing this you have cut the neck line into the kimono. Then it on and sew arm holes by simply securing the back and front together with a stitch on the outer edge of the fabric. And its done! The coins and tassels on the edges really add to the top so feel free to add a few things like this if you like. Fringing would also be a fun addition to the ends.

Wearing: DIY kimono, Topshop bikini top, thrifted denim shorts, Nat-sui flats, Karen Walker Sunglasses.

DIY Bronze Bolt Necklace

Very simple bolt necklace using suede and a bronze bolt thingy.

If you love frizzy hair you should definitely move to Hong Kong. I recommend it.

A DIY week in pictures

Heading out to the islands on a junk
DIY bronze cuffs

Swarovski Hello Kitty Launch

DIY cactus terranium

Vintage floor tiles

Coloured Lanterns in a boutique in Hong Kong

Wide leg trousers via Elle

Vintage straw visa and fan

Late night beach party

Cropped Missoni via Elle

DIY Burberry Tribal High Heels

I recently made my own version of the gorgeous bead embellished heels from the Burberry 2012 Resort collection. I crafted mine by creating beaded embellishments to go over my shoes. This DIY is such a simple way to update your wardrobe - you can even use chains or different coloured beads for a different look.

Wearing: DIY Beaded shoe embellishments, New Look wide heel shoes, tribal mini from Thailand, Country Road singlet, Karen Walker Number One sunglasses.

DIY:

You need - brown and red wooden beads and black string.

1. I strung the beads so that I had two red and two brown strings of beads for each shoe - about 15cm long each.

2. I then tied two of each color together, securing at each end with black string, and then tying that string together in a bow at the back of the shoe. Essentially you will have 'necklaces' of brown and red beads for each shoe.

Voila! The best bit about these embellishments is you can wear them with any shoes, they also look great on some black t-bar flats I have. Instant tribal wardrobe updater.

A Pair & A Spare Spotted at Boohoo.com

The lovely Katey tweeted to me recently saying that she had spotted me in the recent boohoo.com style newsletter. How funny. This photo was taken by Wayne Tippetts at London Fashion Week last September, feels like a million years ago!

Wearing: Thrifted beaded jacket (possibly my favourite piece of clothing ever), vintage dior mens shirt, alexander mcqueen leather bustier, DIY camel shorts, thrifted envelope clutch, asos floppy fedora.

Hope you like the somewhat sour expression on my face, ha.

DIY Caramel Front Pleated Skirt - Collaboration with The Style Net

A little while ago the gorgeous Brooke of The Style Net suggested we collaborate on a DIY project to be hand picked by you (remember here?). We got heaps of votes for the front pleated skirt option so I set about making one. I tried to make mine a little different to the original (cue a Clueless soundbite - Murray after shaving his head at 'the Val' party: 'cos I'm keepin' it real. 'cos I'm keepin' it real!') , whilst sticking to the general premise of the style. It was incredibly simple to make, so be sure to check out the tutorial here at The Style Net. I chose to pair the earthy caramel of the skirt with my favourite colour of the moment - blue, and some tribal accessories.

Wearing: DIY skirt (tutorial here), A Pair & A Spare blue pocket front silk singlet, DIY bronze cuffs, tribal belt as a necklace, Nat Sui T bar flats, rope bag from Thailand.

Follow - Bloglovin | Twitter | Facebook

The Blue Fringed Bag

Another man repelling wardrobe item? You got it! I love this bag I bought in Thailand, but the bf and my brother were completely against it. Men. have. no. idea. Right?

Outfit - DIY rug skirt, blue tassel bag, AP&AS white silk singlet.

Rug Skirt Giveaway Winner and Friend In Fashion

Here's a pic of gorgeous Jas of Friend in Fashion looking banging in one of my rug skirt creations. I adore how she's styled it and don't her legs look amazing? 

What better day to announce the winner of the Rug Skirt Giveaway? The winner is:

Torill - torill.92@hotmail.com 

Congratulations!

Arabian Nights and Lazy Days

Am in the process of recovering from an incredibly hectic weekend - which was admittedly all play and no work. I had a friend's Arabian Nights themed birthday party on a HK island beach on Friday - complete with a fake bearded dj and sand getting into allll the wrong places. It was possibly the best party I've ever been to - in.my.life. Lets just say between the glitter, gold headresses, swimming and dancing there were plenty of noteworthy wardrobe malfunctions! I'll post a few more pics of the night (and the amazing outfits!) once I muster the energy to download the rest of my photos.

This was early on at the party - which in the end felt like it stretched on for days. On the back of such a crazy week I am  currently planning a 6 week body and soul detox, which I may post a few details of - if you don't think it will bore you to tears.

Wearing: DIY Jil Sander Inspired pink maxi skirt, coin scarf belt, arabian headress, DIY beaded bra (previously a dress), mountains of glitter (that turned out to be pretty damn itchy).