Oh MY! It's a headband D.I.Y.

       Want to know how to make the kooky colored headband that you saw in our last post? Set aside an hour or two and grab some styrene, a ruler, exacto knife, heat gun, acrylic paint, and glossy clear spray paint.

   Step Un: Cut the styrene into a long band, to the desired width that you would like your headband to be. Then, size it to your head and cut off the excess, rounding the end of the band so it adjusts better to your head. You can also cut out some fun shapes to glue to your headband, like I did with mine!


   Step Deux: Grab your heat gun! Heat up the styrene until it reaches a liquidized state and then start to shape it in a circular, head shaped form. Once you reach the desired shape and flexibility, let it cool down for a minute.


   Step Trois: It's time to get creative with acrylic paint--go crazy--headbands are meant to be playful! Let it dry completely and then coat it a couple of times with a clear, glossy spray paint for a smooth finish. Once again, think of patience as a virtue and let it dry completely.


   Step Quatre: You're almost there! All you have to do is attach your two or three or four pieces with glue and for the last time, let it sit and dry. 


   Step Cinq: DONE! Now pair it with an amazing outfit!

Wannabe Wang.

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 :)

study. study. study. death.
and then photobooth pictures, heck yes. i'm wearing the banana republic cardigan i bought from my weekly's salvation army journey. included in this week's bargain bag were a checked dress, a pair of vintage suspenders, and wonderfully squishy, canary yellow flats. the flats are definitely something new for me. i'm generally pretty self-conscious about my measly height (five'three").

BTDUBS, i learned how to do a parisienne bun. so perfect for those last-minute dashes to class, hallelujah!






(tutorial copied from here.)

Step #1: Make your hair dirty. “I wash my hair only once a week,” admits C. “When your hair is too clean, it won’t stay put.” After showering, she massages in either Aveda Pure Abundance Hair Potion or a homemade spray, made with one part sea salt, three parts water and a few spritzes of leave-in conditioner. “It makes my hair piece-y enough to work with,” she says.

(During the week, C. uses dry shampoo to keep her hair from getting greasy. Rene Furterer Naturia is her favorite. “And it smells like roses!” she says.)

Step #2: Next, pull together your hair and hold it straight up (“like Lucky Troll Doll,” she laughs).

Step #3: Then twist your hair down to a few inches above the crown.

Step #4: Wrap your hair around itself until it forms a loose bun, right on top of your head.

Step #5: Pin the bun in place with bobby pins. “Anywhere from four to eight, depending on how thick your hair is,” C. says. “You want it loose but secure.”

Step #6: Finally, pull loose strands of hair from the nape of your neck and around your face to make it look like you’ve worn the bun all day (or even slept in it!) And there you have it: That certain je ne sais quoi.

(Photos by Anna Wolf)

and voila! the perfect, effortless look. those french girls really know how to work some magic. hmmm, looks like mine could use some more work. i'm suddenly inspired to try a french-themed post. but that'll have to wait for next time!