So ever since I saw these bad boys on Alexander Wang's Fall 2008 runway..
..I've been seriously wanting a pair for myself. There are so many great DIY tutorials online, so I figured it was time for me to give it a try. For those of you who claim to be craft-cautious, don't worry, this isn't a difficult project. Just ask my sister. who faithfully helped me document this attempt: I still can't figure out the right way to hold a pair of scissors without injuring myself and innocents around me.
Before I get too ahead of myself, here's my end result..
Ta da! Pretty nifty, right? I cheated a bit on the chains (they're not fully attached yet), but I'm too excited about how everything turned out to delay this any longer. Also, I decided to be ambitious and bleached the denim(!), but that's definitely not required to get this grungy look.
1. Start out with some reliable denim. I picked these up earlier today at the local Goodwill for $5. There're a little lengthy, so I decided to do some basic altering the only way I know how (read: scissors). Personally, when I shop for shorts, I look for a fit that's snug everywhere but the leg holes. Shorts that give your legs room to breathe tend to make you look slimmer, as opposed to too-tight material creating rolls around your thighs.
2. Oh look, I'm out of order already. Here's my toolbox. Scissors for shortening and distressing, bleach, gloves, and tub for staining.
3. I tried on the shorts and marked where I wanted to make my first cut. It's almost impossible to make a straight cut, so you'll probably end up making return trips with the scissors to straighten everything out. Keep in mind, it's definitely better to make a few extra cuts than to accidentally proceed straight into hoochie-mama territory. You'll actually want some extra material to fray with later, so it's okay if things don't look perfectly even for now.
4. Using the blade of your scissors, practice scoring horizontal and vertical lines across the denim. Do this in areas where denim would naturally show wear, such as around the pockets and near the sides. When you see the material begin to open up, hold the blade flat to the cut and rub away the threads. DO NOT simply just cut holes--it looks tacky and fake.
5. Seriously, this part takes forever. I moved outside because I was making a mess of threads.
6. Be careful about making your holes too wide! Unless, you go for that sort of thing. Then go right ahead.
7. After an hour, my neck's cramping up, the sun's gone down, and my shorts look like they've just crawled out from a lawnmower attack. They'll look better after they're washed, I swear.
8. Wasn't really content with the color of the denim, so I decided to treat them with a bleach soak. Two cups of bleach will be more than enough for shorts like these. I mixed two parts bleach to one part water, and applied the most solution on where I had distressed the denim. I crumpled the shorts up and stuck them under something heavy (the bleach container, so lazy) because I wanted cool, bleached-in wrinkles on my denim. I let that sit for about 20 minutes and then rinsed everything out in cold water. To finish, I simply tossed the shorts into the laundry machine along with half a cup of baking soda, to neutralize the bleach.
If you fray the bottoms, don't forget to hem right above them, so that you don't lose an inch each time you pop them in the wash. You can wear the shorts as they are for a great, retro look, or dress them up with chains and studs for a true Wang imitation (oxymoron?). I plan on studding mine by following this other tutorial I found, but that's a story for another day :)
..I've been seriously wanting a pair for myself. There are so many great DIY tutorials online, so I figured it was time for me to give it a try. For those of you who claim to be craft-cautious, don't worry, this isn't a difficult project. Just ask my sister. who faithfully helped me document this attempt: I still can't figure out the right way to hold a pair of scissors without injuring myself and innocents around me.
Before I get too ahead of myself, here's my end result..
Ta da! Pretty nifty, right? I cheated a bit on the chains (they're not fully attached yet), but I'm too excited about how everything turned out to delay this any longer. Also, I decided to be ambitious and bleached the denim(!), but that's definitely not required to get this grungy look.
1. Start out with some reliable denim. I picked these up earlier today at the local Goodwill for $5. There're a little lengthy, so I decided to do some basic altering the only way I know how (read: scissors). Personally, when I shop for shorts, I look for a fit that's snug everywhere but the leg holes. Shorts that give your legs room to breathe tend to make you look slimmer, as opposed to too-tight material creating rolls around your thighs.
2. Oh look, I'm out of order already. Here's my toolbox. Scissors for shortening and distressing, bleach, gloves, and tub for staining.
3. I tried on the shorts and marked where I wanted to make my first cut. It's almost impossible to make a straight cut, so you'll probably end up making return trips with the scissors to straighten everything out. Keep in mind, it's definitely better to make a few extra cuts than to accidentally proceed straight into hoochie-mama territory. You'll actually want some extra material to fray with later, so it's okay if things don't look perfectly even for now.
4. Using the blade of your scissors, practice scoring horizontal and vertical lines across the denim. Do this in areas where denim would naturally show wear, such as around the pockets and near the sides. When you see the material begin to open up, hold the blade flat to the cut and rub away the threads. DO NOT simply just cut holes--it looks tacky and fake.
5. Seriously, this part takes forever. I moved outside because I was making a mess of threads.
6. Be careful about making your holes too wide! Unless, you go for that sort of thing. Then go right ahead.
7. After an hour, my neck's cramping up, the sun's gone down, and my shorts look like they've just crawled out from a lawnmower attack. They'll look better after they're washed, I swear.
8. Wasn't really content with the color of the denim, so I decided to treat them with a bleach soak. Two cups of bleach will be more than enough for shorts like these. I mixed two parts bleach to one part water, and applied the most solution on where I had distressed the denim. I crumpled the shorts up and stuck them under something heavy (the bleach container, so lazy) because I wanted cool, bleached-in wrinkles on my denim. I let that sit for about 20 minutes and then rinsed everything out in cold water. To finish, I simply tossed the shorts into the laundry machine along with half a cup of baking soda, to neutralize the bleach.
If you fray the bottoms, don't forget to hem right above them, so that you don't lose an inch each time you pop them in the wash. You can wear the shorts as they are for a great, retro look, or dress them up with chains and studs for a true Wang imitation (oxymoron?). I plan on studding mine by following this other tutorial I found, but that's a story for another day :)
