Cobalt

I am officially addicted to the color cobalt, and it is quickly getting out of hand. I have pants, blazers, shirts, and shoes all in this wonderful color. It is one of the few "dark" neon colors that adds the perfect pop of color with the simplicity of a basic. It takes any outfit one step further, and adds a modern funky feel. It flatters most skin tones, and exudes power. I simply love it. So I pulled my inspiration from the Fall 2012 runway shows for this next project. To make cobalt the center of attention. 

                       
                               
I kept my eyes open for anything cobalt as I shopped the thrift stores and goodwills in town. When I walked past this skirt at the thrift store downtown I had to pick it up. It reminded me of a pinterest pin I had seen a while ago that I loved. 
                                             
                                         

I have been terrible at getting before pictures, but I promise I will get better. The skirt I picked up looked exactly like the skirt pictured above but in a size fourteen. This skirt was extremely tricky for two reasons. I needed to tailor the skirt (very little experience in), and it is a wool skirt which is a fabric I have never worked with before. 
After thinking about it for about an hour I figured out exactly how I wanted to do this skirt. I took a flat seem ripper and ripped both side seams out from the bottom of the skirt until the start of the waist band. Next I ironed all the seams out flat and pinned the skirt back together to the size and shape I wanted it. I tried it on and adjusted the pins until I was satisfied. I sewed the seams back together, and took the waist band in a half an inch on both sides. 
                     
                    

To finish the skirt I turned the skirt inside out. The seams had fraying unfinished edges. So I cut about a fourth an inch of the extra off and then took pinking shears to the edges along the seam. (Pinking sheers prevent fraying) Then ironed them flat on each side. 
I decided to make the style more me and dressed it down with a Marilyn Monroe t-shirt, and neon pink flats. 
                                               

Time: 2.5 hours  Price: $4.00 

Risk Taker

Bold flower prints were all over the runway for summer 2012. I have never been the type to wear or pick out super bold prints, but I picked up a silk skirt this spring that fallowed the runway trend perfectly. So for the sake of fashion I stepped far out of my comfort zone.

 I loved the mixture of mustard yellow and fushchia flowers. The skirt is so light and playful it is the epitome of summer. I have been super busy lately and needed a quick project. Sadly I do not have a before photo for this skirt, but it was a simple fix. I cut off about four inches of fabric, and did a simple hem. The more I wear this piece the more outfit combinations I fall in love with. This skirt matches nearly everything. I definitely feel bold walking around in this silk find. Risk taking always seems to pay off in the end. 
                             
                             

      

Time: 30 minutes      Price: $3.00   

                               

The Crochet Shorts

All the way back in February I saw a pair of crochet jean shorts online, and I honestly could not decide if I liked the style or not. As time went by they grew on me, and I lusted after them. Specifically this pair. 
                                                                                                                   
                              


Like always I felt exactly like this... 

So the challenge to recreate this look began. I sat on this idea for a couple of months until this last week. I was cleaning out my jean drawer and found a pair that were way too short for me. I had a nostalgic moment of inspiration to hem my jeans into shorts. I remembered how mom used to hem them when I would rip the knees out. So I decided to go all in and take a pair of old American Eagle jeans and create a crochet denim short. 

I went to the fabric store and bought a thick crochet lace. To create the shorts I cut the pants to about an inch longer then the desired length. I then flipped the rough edge out wards and ironed them into place to create the frayed unfinished look. Next I stitched the hem into place, and cut the lace to about five inches long. The finishing touch was adding the lace simply by sewing it into place. To prevent the lace from fraying I rolled the outer edge in a fourth an inch. 

Time: 35 minutes    Price: $3.50

                           

Aqua Adventure

Colored jeans have been all the rage! I have had a slight obsession with them for a couple of months. I absolutely love the style but hate the price. I have been dying for a pair of aqua colored jeans, but I could not find a pair I liked for less then fifty. So I decided I would make a pair with a maximum budget or twenty-five dollars. The first step was finding a pair of cheep white skinny jeans; which I found at Ross for eighteen dollars. The second step was finding the dye which I purchased in aqua at Mitchell's for two dollars. 

I used a powder dye, and dyed the pants the old fashioned way by boiling water, but if you purchase a liquid dye you can fallow the instructions of how to in your washing machine. I voted for the old fashioned way, because the liquid dye was all sold out. So I fallowed the instructions and boiled about two gallons of water. Once boiling I poured the water into a rubbermade tub that was about five gallons, then added the salt and dye and waited until it dissolved. When that was done I added the pants for only about twelve minutes, because I wanted a light blue. Keep in mind the hotter the water the darker the color so lessen the time of exposure for lighter color. When it was done I transferred it from the tub to a stainless steal sink (because it can't be dyed),and rinsed the pants in cold water until the water ran clear. 

                                       

The pants were a little darker then I wanted so I opted to wash them immediately instead of letting the dye set by air drying. I washed them in warm water with detergent and put them in the dryer. Since I washed mine while they were wet I ran an empty cycle with bleach to wash the dye off of the drum. Within forty-five minutes I had my own pair of aqua skinnys!
                                          

Time: 45 minutes  Price: $20.00 

                                     

How I wore it

Since I saw blue pants hit Gucci's runway back about a year and a half ago I have fallen in love with bright bottom layers. The most infamous appearing more and more in high end fashion is blue pants. After a good amount of time the style has trickled down to ready to wear retail. When I saw a pair of blue jeggings in American Eagle a few weeks ago I could not resist picking them up. No they were not up cycled!

                            


I am not super bold in color choices so I toned down the electricity of the fabric by pairing it with neutrals and contrasted it with an orange patterned scarf. I love these pants they are quickly becoming a staple and surprisingly a neutral in my closet.

Pants: American Eagle $45.00

Maybe one day I will be able to copy Burberry's yellow pant but I will have to build up to that!