DIY Bleached Pants

I made my first successful DIY! Snaps for me! I had a pair of black pants that were not getting a lot of wear because they were so tight they were hard to get off... : /. This problem lay mostly in the fact I had to roll them a lot so they would be okay length wise. So, I decided to cut off the extra length and make the pants a lot more interesting!

First, I put the pants on and marked off where I needed to cut them off with soap. I cut them off in "small" chunks so I didn't cut off too much.

The pants now have a 26 inch (66 cm) inseam. Yay! I cut about 4.5 inches (11 cm) off.

I've wanted to bleach tie-dye something for a while and these were perfect for it. The method I used was a little different that how you die stuff as a little kid. Instead of squeezing color out of a bottle, you soak the jeans.

To get the jeans ready, I folded them up a bunch.

What you need for the bleach-y part:

Bucket
Bleach
Gloves (bleach will hurt your hands)
Two wood stakes, sticks, 2x4's, ect.
Rubber Bands


This next part is hard to explain, but that's why I have pictures!! Take the jeans and put the wood stakes of either side of the jeans. Then put rubber bands around the jeans and stakes. The jeans should now be stuck in between the two wood stakes. Anything the isn't covered by the stakes or folded inside will get bleached. Basically, if you can see it, it will get bleached.

 

My bucket was not big enough to submerge the pants totally. To make sure everywhere got bleached, I stuck one end in for 5 minutes and then a different end in for 5 minutes until every end had been submerged.

What concerned me as I was bleaching the pants was this weird rust-y looking colour seeping off the jeans. If you have that, don't be worried, that's the black die being bleached. Your bleach-water will take on a pee-like colour, but the bleach will work just as well. :)


After you've done all the bleaching you want to do, pull the rubber bands and stakes off the pants. You can now clearly see your handiwork! Before you wash them or really do anything with them, you should hose them down. I did it under my back deck on gravel so I wouldn't kill all the grass.

As I let the rest of my laundry finish, I let them drain on my clothes line.

You MUST wash them before you wear them. When you wash them, wash them by themselves or they will bleach anything and everything else in the load.

Once you've washed and dried them, wear them!

Outfit 1

Outfit 1:
Shirt- $45, Nordstrom, no longer in stock, but similar ones here and here
Necklace- DIY
Belt- $2.99, thriftted
Pants- $50, Nordstrom, no longer in stock but similar ones here and here
Shoes- Steve Madden, but had them for ages, don't know price or where I got them

Happy DIY-ing!

xoxo,

Caroline

Back to School Shopping

I was in Oregon this weekend visiting my Grandma for her 75th birthday. It was lots of fun and I got to see two of my uncles that I rarely see. My family is ridiculous when we get together.


Anyways, I love going to Oregon because they have no sales tax! Where I live in Washington, sales tax in 9.5%. It kills me. So, when we are in Oregon my family take full advantage of these "discounted" prices. I got three pairs of pants and two shirts.

I only shopped at two stores: Vanilla Urban Threads and American Eagle. Vanilla is a local store who's stock and price range is a cross between Urban Outfitters and Antropologie. You can't buy anything online, but they update their facebook regularly. If you're ever in Bend, OR, go there. You won't regret it.

The two shirts are I got are great staple pieces. The first is a statement blouse while the other one is a simple t-shirt. I love the statement blouse because it can be worn up or down.

 

Outfit 1

This is the first pair of pants. They fit really well in the thighs and butt, but of corse, they're too long. For  the short term (and for these photos) I just roll them. Rolled jeans can look really cute, just some times it's annoying to have all of your pants rolled. These are also a great addition to my wardrobe because I didn't have any colored pants. These make a statement with out being in your face about it.

Outfit 2


The other two pairs of pants I bought were from American Eagle. I prefer unique stores, but I have to give-in for their jeans. They stock short jeans like no other store. I don't need to roll these jeans which almost never happens to me when it comes to pants! I got skinny jeans in black and gray-purple-y colour (I just checked their website; they are apparently "putty-brown").
Here's the link for these amazing, well fitting pants

Outfit 1 Recap:

Statement Blouse- $42, Vanilla Urban Threads

Purple Sweater- $79, J.Crew

Jean Shorts- $45, no longer in stock, but here are similar ones at Nordstrom 

Sandals- Don't know. I've had them for 3 years.

Outfit 2:

Statement Blouse- $42, Vanilla Urban Threads

Skinny Leather Belt- $35, J.Crew

Plum Jeans- $54, Vanilla Urban Threads 

Flats- Steve Madden, but don't know where I got them or cost

xoxo,

Caroline 

Hello!

Hello Reader!

This is my first real attempt at blogging. I've tried before, but, just no. It was bad.

Anyways! My reason behind creating this blog is three-fold.
1. It always seemed that when people complemented my outfits they would then proceed to ask me where I bought such item. My answer was almost always "My sister's closet." :)
2. I recently delved into the addicting, amazing, and super fun world of DIY crafts. I've followed some tutorials and I've made some stuff up myself this summer. Starting DIY crafts has ended up becoming a big influence on my wardrobe and how I dress.
3. I'm short (5'2") and have an athletic build (big rib cage, big thighs, massive calfs...) and I believe that short, thick girls don't get enough advice on how to dress or body love. When ever magazines give body specific clothing ideas, the short girls are always tiny and super skinny while the athletic girls are 6 feet way bigger than me

So, this blog is going to end up being a fashion/DIY blog. I hope that someone will read this one day!

xoxo,

Caroline