Customisations

helena · 31-05-2004

What have you done to customise your clothes?

My favorites are:-

- swapping buttons
- shortening skirts/coats
- dying stuff (although recently tried dying a lace top & it was a disaster - I used the dye you have to boil up in a big pan with loads of salt & my house stunk & i was nearly sick)

- dying shoes/boots with leather dye (always been quite good at this one - white spirit is the key)
- sewing sequins onto tops & jackets with invisible thread
- sewing lots of interesting buttons onto cardigans or jerseys
- sewing felt shapes onto doubled over scarves (good as presents)
- i recently cut up a long sleeved black top - to make a scoop neckline (not very succesful)

Would love to hear others experiences.

softgrey · 31-05-2004

very easy one...

swapping the handles on bags...usually vintage ones...because the handle can wear out...
i've switched to chain...purchased from a scrap metal store...
and suede...using a narrow suede belt i bought on sale at j.crew...

i regularly cut up t-shirts...sleeves...necklines...hems...etc...

i took my mom's vintage brn tweed=y blazer with brn suede piping and shrank it in the wash...then i cut about four inches off the bottom so it would be a little kickier...i opened up the two seams in the back...so now it's double vented...left the bottom edge raw...(verycdg)...and the collar stays up permanently...almost nehru...it now looks like it came right off the miu miu runway...but better imo...cause it's unique and authentically vintage...not a reproduction...
(the only tricky part was reworking the lining to fit the shrunken blazer...)

i wear it with a vintage brass pin and a cut off denim mini...also customized by me...i cut off the waistband and about 6 inches from the bottom......

i often buy full length pants and have them cropped...i've been doing this for years...cropped pants just look so good with boots...

i've dyed shoes before...but haven't for a long time...

helena · 31-05-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by softgrey@May 31st, 2004 - 12:27 pm
very easy one...

swapping the handles on bags...usually vintage ones...because the handle can wear out...
i've switched to chain...purchased from a scrap metal store...
and suede...using a narrow suede belt i bought on sale at j.crew...

i regularly cut up t-shirts...sleeves...necklines...hems...etc...

i took my mom's vintage brn tweed=y blazer with brn suede piping and shrank it in the wash...then i cut about four inches off the bottom so it would be a little kickier...i opened up the two seams in the back...so now it's double vented...left the bottom edge raw...(verycdg)...and the collar stays up permanently...almost nehru...it now looks like it came right off the miu miu runway...but better imo...cause it's unique and authentically vintage...not a reproduction...
(the only tricky part was reworking the lining to fit the shrunken blazer...)

i wear it with a vintage brass pin and a cut off denim mini...also customized by me...i cut off the waistband and about 6 inches from the bottom......

i often buy full length pants and have them cropped...i've been doing this for years...cropped pants just look so good with boots...

i've dyed shoes before...but haven't for a long time...

Softgrey - very clever re the jacket. Making me rack my brain to think what jackets my Mum has...(by the way she got her purse stolen in Paris last week so couldn't indulge me with a Vanessa Bruno bag - so I've had to make do with a petit bateau t-shirt which is very nice).

How does the handles thing work though? Do you cut off the old handles? How do you attach the chain? I have a gorgeous suede bag that I got when i was at school with a big chain handle which I am thinking of resurrecting. Its got blue & plum & green sections on it & was for years a prized possesion.

I must admit I have often looked at pics of girls in mags with their cropped trousers & thought it looked great but have read so many articles on 'style rules' saying that cropped trousers are unflattering because the chop the leg in two. I think that it probably depends on what body shape you have though. I nearly bought a pair of cropped trousers for work last year but thought they would be deemed to risque - lawyers are a conservative lot! I have been known to dress inappropriately for a lawyer in the past though...so i might consider a pair for winter (if I can handle the stifled laughter).

foxinthesnow · 31-05-2004

I am always cutting up and reworking white tops which have become stained- ie, if the stain is on the sleeve, do away with the sleeve and work from there etc.

Patches - especially suede- I have a talent for tearing things.

Taking out boring linings from coats etc and having new ones put in

My mom always put grosgrain ribbon on the inside of my cardigans when I was little so sometimes I still do this.

softgrey · 31-05-2004

helena...i saw these pants on net-a-porter....i really wanted them in black...

then i found the same pair.... but full-length.... on sale at bergdorf for about 1/3 the price...

now all i have to do is crop them and i've got my pants at a fraction of the cost!!!

cropped pants have to be worn in the right way to work...it's all about proportion...i find they often make me look taller...i'm 5'4"....i never really wear them with a stiletto...the proportion doesn't work for me...and i need them to be kind of flowy or tailored...

i started wearing them way before the trend started and you should have seen the looks i used to get...hhahhaha...

purplelucrezia · 31-05-2004

The most I've really done are painting my shirts with fabric paints. I did attempt to cut up a tee once, but seeing as I can't really sew, it was pretty much a disaster. Here's one of my painted shirts, though, I still kind of like the look of it.

Spacemiu · 31-05-2004

hmm well i make t shirts (deconstructed, embelsihed, pritned etc.) , I do this to ajckets and shirts as well.

I doa lto fo things with customization

tott · 31-05-2004

I don't customize my stuff, I'm much too up-tight. :P

If I buy something, I might alter it slightly to suit me; hem trousers, re-inforce certain key points... Some stuff I make myself, so that's customized from the start I suppose... I love clean, perfect lines; I can do that myself if I work on it.

I also like the messy, dirty, deconstructed look, but I could never do it myself, in person, to my stuff because I'd feel so pretentious! But I have to say I got inspired by your jacket, softie!

sbbbjm · 31-05-2004

i take labels off of stuff

nqth · 31-05-2004

I'm making my Levis inside out so I can wear it in both sides :-). The inside has no "sewing" because the over lock of the legs now is on outside and it is not separate (like it was originally) but it connects 2 pieces of fabrics together. I hope I have writen it right :-)

So when I wear the inside out it looks like "normal" jeans, and when I wear it "right", it has the over lock standing off on 2 sides. I also made it "hipsters" :-) and leave the edge raw (very CdG, too :-)

I can't sew so a dress maker is doing it for me :-)

I also attached a piece of fabric in small flowers to my 2 year old white shirt at the front but it looks a bit pretensious :-) I should have also put the fabric in the place where the arms meet the body at the back (making "wings") but it would be too complicated :-)

Working on another shirt at the moment :-) The tie dye thread made me think of horizotal stripes at the upper front of the shirt and let the color "diffuse" a bit into the fabric (so the stripes won't be sharp) . But how to do it? Maybe I should do printing instead.

Spike413 · 31-05-2004

The thing I do mostly is cutting something off, whether it's a sleeve, or the bottom of pants to make them shorts or making holes in brand new jeans....just basic stuff to make it feel different.

brian · 31-05-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by helena@May 31st, 2004 - 10:01 am
What have you done to customise your clothes?

My favorites are:-

- swapping buttons
- shortening skirts/coats
- dying stuff (although recently tried dying a lace top & it was a disaster - I used the dye you have to boil up in a big pan with loads of salt & my house stunk & i was nearly sick)
- dying shoes/boots with leather dye (always been quite good at this one - white spirit is the key)
- sewing sequins onto tops & jackets with invisible thread
- sewing lots of interesting buttons onto cardigans or jerseys
- sewing felt shapes onto doubled over scarves (good as presents)
- i recently cut up a long sleeved black top - to make a scoop neckline (not very succesful)

Would love to hear others experiences.

i've done all of that! i love it!

rayncloudx · 31-05-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by softgrey@May 31st, 2004 - 1:13 pm
helena...i saw these pants on net-a-porter....i really wanted them in black...

aah.. don't remind me. i wanted those from netaporter too but i'm so stupid that i listened to my friend. she said not to get it cuz it would look weird on me and i'm regretting it so much

think they still have the full length ones at bergdorfs?

banana · 31-05-2004

I once cut the collar off a t-shirt because it was bothering me. But then some of the other seems started to unravel and I had to sew them back together by hand since I'm too lazy to figure out my mom's sewing machine. I almost ruined one of my favourite t-shirts (I got it in England years ago so it is irreplacable). The stitching looks sloppy... but at least it's not unraveling anymore.

I cropped a pair of excersise pants once because they shrunk in the wash.

I usually hate cropped pants.

helena · 01-06-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by softgrey@May 31st, 2004 - 2:13 pm
helena...i saw these pants on net-a-porter....i really wanted them in black...

then i found the same pair.... but full-length.... on sale at bergdorf for about 1/3 the price...

now all i have to do is crop them and i've got my pants at a fraction of the cost!!!

cropped pants have to be worn in the right way to work...it's all about proportion...i find they often make me look taller...i'm 5'4"....i never really wear them with a stiletto...the proportion doesn't work for me...and i need them to be kind of flowy or tailored...

i started wearing them way before the trend started and you should have seen the looks i used to get...hhahhaha...

Yes I see what you mean about proportion. Great that you found the trousers. Ok so what shoes do you wear with them - flats? I think I will definately try the cropped trousers for work in Autumn - worn with marc jacobs plum coloured boots. I'll ignore the remarks I get. As a side - one of my friends has just got back from NY and his imprssion was that it was much more 'dressdown' than London.

I also used to buy lots of metallic fabric paint & paint wrapover skirts with abstract patterns. in my uni days.

ngth - like your idea about the jeans - sounds difficult to do though.

FAQ	Calendar	Search	Today's Posts	Mark Forums Read	Rules	Links	Mobile	How to Join

31-05-2004	11
Spike413 barcode Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: New York Gender: homme Posts: 14,358	The thing I do mostly is cutting something off, whether it's a sleeve, or the bottom of pants to make them shorts or making holes in brand new jeans....just basic stuff to make it feel different. __________________ You need to move fashion forward when there's a reason to move fashion forward - Tom Ford

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

31-05-2004	1
helena Swim Upstream Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: europe Gender: femme Posts: 6,457	Customisations What have you done to customise your clothes? My favorites are:- - swapping buttons - shortening skirts/coats - dying stuff (although recently tried dying a lace top & it was a disaster - I used the dye you have to boil up in a big pan with loads of salt & my house stunk & i was nearly sick) - dying shoes/boots with leather dye (always been quite good at this one - white spirit is the key) - sewing sequins onto tops & jackets with invisible thread - sewing lots of interesting buttons onto cardigans or jerseys - sewing felt shapes onto doubled over scarves (good as presents) - i recently cut up a long sleeved black top - to make a scoop neckline (not very succesful) Would love to hear others experiences.

31-05-2004	2
softgrey flaunt the imperfection.. Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: downtown... Gender: femme Posts: 49,970	very easy one... swapping the handles on bags...usually vintage ones...because the handle can wear out... i've switched to chain...purchased from a scrap metal store... and suede...using a narrow suede belt i bought on sale at j.crew... i regularly cut up t-shirts...sleeves...necklines...hems...etc... i took my mom's vintage brn tweed=y blazer with brn suede piping and shrank it in the wash...then i cut about four inches off the bottom so it would be a little kickier...i opened up the two seams in the back...so now it's double vented...left the bottom edge raw...(verycdg)...and the collar stays up permanently...almost nehru...it now looks like it came right off the miu miu runway...but better imo...cause it's unique and authentically vintage...not a reproduction... (the only tricky part was reworking the lining to fit the shrunken blazer...) i wear it with a vintage brass pin and a cut off denim mini...also customized by me...i cut off the waistband and about 6 inches from the bottom...... i often buy full length pants and have them cropped...i've been doing this for years...cropped pants just look so good with boots... i've dyed shoes before...but haven't for a long time... __________________ "It is not money that makes you well dressed: it is understanding." ChristianDior

31-05-2004	4
foxinthesnow backstage pass Join Date: Feb 2003 Gender: femme Posts: 614	I am always cutting up and reworking white tops which have become stained- ie, if the stain is on the sleeve, do away with the sleeve and work from there etc. Patches - especially suede- I have a talent for tearing things. Taking out boring linings from coats etc and having new ones put in My mom always put grosgrain ribbon on the inside of my cardigans when I was little so sometimes I still do this.

31-05-2004	7
Spacemiu V.I.P. Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Los Angeles Gender: homme Posts: 9,450	hmm well i make t shirts (deconstructed, embelsihed, pritned etc.) , I do this to ajckets and shirts as well. I doa lto fo things with customization __________________ Oceans of angels, oceans of stars

31-05-2004	8
tott slightly dizzy Join Date: Aug 2002 Gender: homme Posts: 4,261	I don't customize my stuff, I'm much too up-tight. :P If I buy something, I might alter it slightly to suit me; hem trousers, re-inforce certain key points... Some stuff I make myself, so that's customized from the start I suppose... I love clean, perfect lines; I can do that myself if I work on it. I also like the messy, dirty, deconstructed look, but I could never do it myself, in person, to my stuff because I'd feel so pretentious! But I have to say I got inspired by your jacket, softie! __________________ What a strange power there is in clothing. Isaac Bashevis Singer

31-05-2004	9
sbbbjm backstage pass Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 526	i take labels off of stuff

31-05-2004	10
nqth arndom Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Hanoi, Vietnam Gender: homme Posts: 2,581	I'm making my Levis inside out so I can wear it in both sides :-). The inside has no "sewing" because the over lock of the legs now is on outside and it is not separate (like it was originally) but it connects 2 pieces of fabrics together. I hope I have writen it right :-) So when I wear the inside out it looks like "normal" jeans, and when I wear it "right", it has the over lock standing off on 2 sides. I also made it "hipsters" :-) and leave the edge raw (very CdG, too :-) I can't sew so a dress maker is doing it for me :-) I also attached a piece of fabric in small flowers to my 2 year old white shirt at the front but it looks a bit pretensious :-) I should have also put the fabric in the place where the arms meet the body at the back (making "wings") but it would be too complicated :-) Working on another shirt at the moment :-) The tie dye thread made me think of horizotal stripes at the upper front of the shirt and let the color "diffuse" a bit into the fabric (so the stripes won't be sharp) . But how to do it? Maybe I should do printing instead. __________________ http://ilovesorbet.blogspot.com/: hanoi street style.

31-05-2004	14
banana backstage pass Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 959	I once cut the collar off a t-shirt because it was bothering me. But then some of the other seems started to unravel and I had to sew them back together by hand since I'm too lazy to figure out my mom's sewing machine. I almost ruined one of my favourite t-shirts (I got it in England years ago so it is irreplacable). The stitching looks sloppy... but at least it's not unraveling anymore. I cropped a pair of excersise pants once because they shrunk in the wash. I usually hate cropped pants.